An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

New command to be advocates for bomber missions

  • Published
  • By Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs
ORLANDO, Fla. --  In front of hundreds of attendees at an Air Force Association conference here, Air Force Global Strike Command's top officer emphasized his command's dedication to the bomber mission.

"Let me state right up front," said Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, "Global Strike Command is absolutely committed to providing robust and relentless advocacy for current and future bomber capabilities - in the conventional, as well as in the nuclear realm."

Saying bombers have always been at the "heart and soul" of the United States Air Force since its very beginnings, General Klotz observed that "the ability to hold at risk or strike any target anywhere in the world" is one of the twelve Air Force core functions.

He acknowledged that the B-52 and the B-2 bombers, which came under his responsibility Feb. 1, were "aging aircraft."

"As such, our bomber force faces significant challenges in terms of sustainment of current capabilities and the modernization of the existing platforms to exploit their full potential in the joint fight," the general said.

He emphasized that nuclear-capable bombers remain a vitally important component of the "triad" of nuclear forces--intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles being the other two legs of the triad--that serve to deter attacks against the United States, as well as its allies and partners. And he underscored the bombers' powerful non-nuclear, or 'conventional,' capabilities.

General Klotz addressed the issue of how nuclear and conventional operations will coexist in Global Strike Command.

"I'm often asked how we will be able to balance emphasis on both the nuclear and conventional missions of the bombers and airmen assigned to Global Strike Command," the general said. "The simple fact is that this is not a new challenge."

General Klotz detailed how bombers have played a significant conventional role in conflicts from the Second World War through current actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bomber's "role was not limited strictly to the nuclear mission, even during the most intense periods of the Cold War," the general said.

The general also updated the audience on the "methodical, step-by-step" stand-up of the Air Force's new major command, noting the assumption of the ICBM mission Dec. 1, the command's assumption of long-range, nuclear-capable B-2 and B-52 bombers Feb. 1, and the plan to attain 'full operational capability' by the end of the summer.

Part of that process was the reactivation of the 69th Bomb Squadron at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., in September, becoming the second operational B-52 squadron at Minot, "thus mirroring Barksdale," which already has two operational B-52 squadrons, said the general.

"This move will help balance the workload between nuclear deterrence and conventional missions - not only at Minot, but across the entire B-52 force," he said. The new people and jets have already begun to arrive in a phased deployment that will be complete by this spring, he said, and the action will ultimately bring 10 additional B-52s and over 800 people to Minot.

The crowd, gathered in the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel main ballroom, as part of the Air Force Association's Global Warfare Symposium, included senior Air Force leaders, industry experts and other members of the association.