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USSTRATCOM reaches first milestone in command restructure

  • Published
  • By U.S. STRATCOM Public Affairs
  • U.S. STRATCOM Public Affairs
U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) inactivated its Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike (JFCC GS) as part of the command’s restructure of its components to build a coherent and streamlined warfighting structure. The move will enhance integration throughout the deterrence enterprise and match the organizational structure of other warfighting commands.

U.S. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of USSTRATCOM, presided over a ceremony Oct. 2 to recognize the achievements of JFCC GS.

“Today marks another transition in a long evolution of nuclear deterrence, everybody here should be proud of the legacy of global strike,” Hyten said.

Several USSTRATCOM and current and former JFCC GS leaders attended the ceremony to observe the official casing of the command colors, including U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Charles Richard, deputy commander of USSTRATCOM and former deputy commander of JFCC GS; and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, former commander of JFCC GS.

U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of JFCC GS, said “24/7, 365; U.S. Strategic Command maintains the nation’s foundational security without pause, with excellence and with pride. JFCC Global Strike has been a part of that forever, specifically within this command structure for the last 12 years. That’s not changing; the men and women of JFCC Global Strike will be just as important to our nation’s security tomorrow as they are today and as they were yesterday.”

Following his remarks, Bussiere and U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Nathaniel Jett, JFCC GS senior enlisted leader, furled the JFCC GS colors for the final time, signifying the inactivation of the command.

“When we furl this flag, all that means is we start a new chapter,” Hyten said. “I look forward to the continuing success stories of these remarkable men and women — soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and civilians — of U.S. Strategic Command, the most powerful warfighting command in the world.”

In addition to the inactivation of JFCC GS, USSTRATCOM established the position of deputy director for strategic targeting and nuclear mission planning (DJ5N) that will be stationed at the command’s headquarters. U.S. Navy Rear Adm. William Houston, who served as JFCC GS deputy commander until the inactivation, has been identified as the new DJ5N.

The inactivation of JFCC GS and appointment of the J5N mark the first milestone in the implementation plan Hyten signed in June. The plan identifies three joint force component commanders to support the USSTRATCOM commander’s air, space and maritime missions. Missile defense responsibilities will remain under the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense (JFCC IMD) pending completion of the ongoing Ballistic Missile Defense Review.

Under the new command structure, Hyten directed the assignment of a Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC) to make recommendations on the proper employment, planning and coordination of assets in support of USSTRATCOM’s air missions.

“The air component [commander] is going to be Gen. Robin Rand, the commander of [Air Force] Global Strike Command,” Hyten said. “He’ll have an air operations center (AOC) that works for him, and he’ll have direct coordinating authority with the tanker and airlift business, the 618th AOC - just like we do in every other warfighting theater.”

The air-centric missions and assets previously assigned to JFCC GS now fall under Rand, who also retains his current position as AFGSC commander. Hyten said the move enables him to rely on a single commander to provide consolidated information instead of going to individual component commanders for specific issues.   
 
“When I need an air solution or a missile solution to a problem, I will look to one commander to give me that one, integrated solution,” Hyten said.

In addition to the JFACC appointment, future elements of the realignments in USSTRATCOM will include the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command serving as the Joint Force Maritime Component Commander and the commander of Air Force Space Command will be dual-hatted as the Joint Force Space Component Commander. The commander of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Force Strategic will retain command of JFCC IMD.
 
JFCC GS was initially established as the Joint Functional Component Command for Space and Global Strike in January 2005 to optimize planning, execution and force management of the assigned missions of deterring attacks and employing forces should deterrence fail.

In 2006, JFCC Space and Global Strike was redesignated JFCC Global Strike and Integration, and JFCC Space was split into its own organization at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

JFCC GS assumed its final structure in 2008 to lead operational deterrence by planning, synchronizing and assessing USSTRATCOM’s everyday deterrence in support of the Department of Defense (DOD).

One of nine DOD unified combatant commands, USSTRATCOM has global missions assigned through the Unified Command Plan that include strategic deterrence, space operations, cyberspace operations, joint electronic warfare, global strike, missile defense and intelligence