The 8th Air Force staff moved into a freshly renovated 77,000 square-foot headquarters building at Barksdale AFB, La., following a ribbon-cutting ceremony with community officials on base last week. “Our distinguished visitors represent our long-term relationship with Shreveport and Bossier City that makes the Eighth Air Force successful,” said 8th AF boss Maj. Gen. Scott Vander Hamm, during the July 2 rededication of the building. The French colonial, revival-style building now houses the state-of-the art 608th Air Operations Center as well as US Strategic Command’s Task Force 204, which oversees strategic bombing and reconnaissance aircraft. Civil engineers began refurbishing the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, in 2010, reported local TV station KTAL News. The numbered air force, which oversees Air Force Global Strike Command’s strategic bomber force, has made its home at Barksdale since 1975, according to the base release.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.