Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
6/6/2014
The Air Force is aiming to strengthen its nuclear mission, and announced plans last week to elevate several nuclear-related commands. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James is proposing to increase leadership of Global Strike Command from a three-star general to a four-star general, and would also increase the Air Force assistant chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration from a two-star to a three-star billet. The change would require Congressional authorization. "This important mission in the Air Force deserves the highest level of leadership oversight similar to our other operational core mission areas," James said.
The Air Force also said it plans to increase nuclear staffing levels and strengthen professional development, placing more mid-level officers in missile squadrons. Two majors would be added to each squadron to "serve as assistant operations officers and help fill the gap between the lieutenant colonel squadron commander and lieutenants and captains who perform the alert mission," the Air Force said. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh added: "This is our most critically important mission and these personnel actions show that. And we are not just increasing the rank within the organization, we are also increasing the overall manpower by more than 1,100 personnel to address shortfalls and offer our Airmen a more stable work schedule and better quality of life."
