During a senior leadership meeting in October, Air Force Global Strike Command officials crafted the mission statement and vision for the new organization, which will oversee the nation’s ICBMs and nuclear-capable bombers. The command’s mission is to: “Develop and provide combat-ready forces for nuclear deterrence and global strike operations … safe, secure, credible … to support the President of the United States and combatant commanders.” Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, the AFGSC commander, said this mission “needs to be understood by everyone in the command, because we truly have been given a special trust and responsibility for our nation’s strategic deterrence mission.” The command’s vision is: “American airmen with special trust and responsibility for the most powerful weapons in our nation’s arsenal … an elite, highly disciplined team … building a model command.” (Barksdale release)
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
