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United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the nine Unified Combatant Command s of the United States Department Of Defense . USSTRATCOM controls the Nuclear Weapon s assets of the United States Military . It is also a globally focused command and a global integrator charged with the missions of Space Operations; Information Operations; Integrated Missile Defense; Global Command and Control; Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Global Strike; Strategic Deterrence; and Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction. It is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base , Nebraska . It absorbed the '''United States Space Command''' in 2002. MISSION Provide the nation with global deterrence capabilities and synchronized DoD effects to combat adversary weapons of mass destruction worldwide. Enable decisive global kinetic and non-kinetic combat effects through the application and advocacy of integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); space and global strike operations; information operations; integrated missile defense and robust command and control. UNIQUE COMMAND RESPONSIBILITIES USSTRATCOM combines the synergy of the U.S. legacy nuclear command and control mission with responsibility for space operations; global strike; Defense Department information operations; global missile defense; global Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, And Reconnaissance ( C4ISR ); and combating Weapons Of Mass Destruction . This dynamic package gives the President and the Secretary of Defense a unified resource for greater understanding of specific threats around the world and the means to respond to those threats rapidly. USSTRATCOM exercises command authority over four joint functional component commands, also known as JFCCs as well as Joint Task Forces and Service Components. This combination of authorities, oversight, leadership and management enables a more responsive, flattened organizational construct according to the commands leadership. LEADERSHIP Currently, General James E. Cartwright is the commander of USSTRATCOM, and serves as the senior commander of the joint military forces from all four branches of the military assigned to the command. General Cartwright is the leader, steward and advocate of the nation's strategic capabilities. His responsibilities include integrating and coordinating the necessary command and control capability to provide support with the most accurate and timely information for the President Of The United States , the Secretary Of Defense , and to regional Combatant Commanders . He will be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Admiral Mike Mullen on October 1st, 2007. The President has nominated to the Senate the following general officer for re-appointment to the grade of general with assignment as indicated:GEN KEVIN P. CHILTON, FROM: Commander, Air Force Space Command, Peterson AFB, CO; TO: Commander, United States Strategic Command, Offutt AFB, NE (from 23 Jul 07 Air Force Senior Leader Announcement). Lieutenant-General C. Robert "Bob" Kehler will be promoted to General and will take the post as new Commander, Air Force Space Command. ORGANIZATION Primary operational units
Organizational and support units
The correct mission statement for JIOWC is: "The JIOWC plans, integrates, and synchronizes Information Operations (IO) in direct support of Joint Force Commanders and serves as the USSTRATCOM lead for enhancing IO across DoD." Additionally, JIOWC is a functional command, per USSTRATCOM homepage, not an "Organizational and Support Units". Task Forces USSTRATCOM relies on various task forces for the execution of its global missions. These include:
INNOVATIONS General Cartwright is exploring ways to incorporate innovative collaborative tools into what has traditionally been considered a very centralized military organization. Speaking at a recent convention General Cartwright said, "Where I would like to be is well outside the comfort zone of my organization. But what we've started with is just some simple 'blogging' tools, to try to change the culture a little bit; to try to allow people to contribute." {Link without Title} HISTORY On June 1 , 1992 , President George H. W. Bush established the U.S. Strategic Command out of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) and other Cold War military bodies, now obsolete due to the change in world politics. The Command unified planning, targeting and wartime employment of strategic forces under one commander. Day-to-day training, equipment and maintenance responsibilities for its forces remained with the Air Force and Navy. As a result of the 2002 Nuclear Posture Review , the Cold War system of relying solely on offensive nuclear response was modified. Shortly after a meeting between President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in May 2002 , a summit was held during which both leaders signed a treaty promising bilateral reductions that would result in a total of 1,700 to 2,200 operationally deployed strategic Nuclear Weapons for each country by the year 2012 . Space Command The United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) was a Unified Command of the United States Military created in 1985 to help institutionalize the use of Outer Space by the United States. The Department Of Defense merged U.S. Space Command with the United States Strategic Command on October 1 , 2002 . Military space operations coordinated by USSC proved to be very valuable for the U.S.-led coalition in the 1991 Persian Gulf War . The U.S. military has relied on communications, intelligence, navigation, missile warning and weather satellite systems in areas of conflict since the early 1990s, including the Balkans, Southwest Asia and Afghanistan. Space systems are considered indispensable providers of tactical information to U.S. warfighters. As part of the ongoing initiative to transform the U.S. military, on June 26 , 2002 , Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced that U.S. Space Command would merge with USSTRATCOM as part of the ongoing initiative to update the Department of Defense. As part of a change to the Unified Command Plan , President Bush migrated space missions from the former USSPACECOM and subsequently nominated Admiral James Ellis to be commander of the new unified command, which would retain the U.S. Strategic Command name and would be headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base . The merger was intended to improve combat effectiveness and speeds up information collection and assessment needed for strategic decision-making. The activation of the new USSTRATCOM took place October 1 , 2002 . The merged command was responsible for both early warning of and defense against missile attack as well as long-range strategic attacks. President Bush signed Change Two to the Unified Command Plan on (command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance). This combination of roles, capabilities and authorities under a single unified command was unique in the history of unified commands. Space and Global Strike Reorganization After some consideration concerning the separation of the JFCC for Space and Global Strike missions, according to AirForceTimes.com and InsideDefense.com,[http://defense.iwpnewsstand.com/cs_newsletters.asp?NLN=MISSILE&ACTION=RECENT General Cartwright is now in the process of separating the JFCC for Space and Global Strike into two individual JFCCs: a JFCC for Space (JFCC Space) and a JFCC for Global Strike and Integration (JFCC GSI). U.S. Strategic Command officials are expected to deliver a detailed plan on the separation to General Cartwright for approval by September 2006.[http://defense.iwpnewsstand.com/cs_newsletters.asp?NLN=MISSILE&ACTION=RECENT Some officials believe this will allow each to focus more effectively on its primary mission and allow the mission of space to have focused attention and be better integrated with other military capabilities. This comes after some concern by officials and lawmakers such as U.S. Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), an outspoken advocate for national security space activities, complained in a March 2006 memo to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about what he sees as a declining emphasis on space within the U.S. Department of Defense and specifically the way space has been organized at U.S. Strategic Command. {Link without Title} However, to the contrary, there are officials who believe the reorganization into the current setup where the space mission was folded into U.S. Strategic Command and merged into a JFCC for Space and Global Strike creates better synergy and integration of space with other interrelated capabilities rather than have a single entity devoted to space. Commanders
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Johnson, Spencer (September 2002). “ The Unified Command Plan .” Joint Forces Quarterly |
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