U.S. Strategic Command Meeting Global Challenges

The Nation has faced unprecedented threats over its history that called for a bold strategy. Consider the following statement in the inaugural address of Harry Truman: Events have brought our American democracy to new influence and new responsibilities. They will test our courage, our devotion to duty, and our concept of liberty. Those words reflect the major challenges faced by a commander in chief who worked with Congress to reorganize the Armed Forces and establish new missions demanded by national security. Today civilian leaders are again taking bold steps to introduce changes in military organization because of national security imperatives. Established in October 202 to replace Strategic Air Command capitalizes on synergy generated by combining command and control of nuclear forces and space-based operations. Subsequently, it received four previously unassigned missions global strike planning and execution; integrating information operations; integrating global missile defenses; and command, control, communictions, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C(4)ISR). Each new mission is strategic in both scope and effect. Full operational capability for this dynamic package will provide a unified resource for better understanding threats as well as a means to respond quickly. Legacy missions impose the rigorous discipline of nuclear responsibilities and creative drive of experience in space. Effective evolutionary strategy runs through these missions as the command gathers and translates real-time data to produce actionable intelligence to enable decisions on a timely bais for joint warfighters. Published in Joint Force Quarterly, n35 p28-33, 2004.