Re-Invigorating Nuclear Enterprise a Top Priority

LOS ANGELES --- Maintaining accountability and improving stewardship of the Air Force's nuclear program is the top priority, said the service's 19th chief of staff recently.>> Gen. Norton Schwartz said the Air Force has gone through some "rough" air in the realm of nuclear deterrence, but the service is already on the path to recovery.>> "The nuclear enterprise is getting a lot of my own and Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley's attention," he said.>> As a result, Air Force officials have a rigorous accountability and "back to basics" approach for compliance, precision and reliability within the nuclear arena. The goal is to restore the Air Force's nuclear mission to the standard of excellence for which it was known throughout the entire Cold War.>> "We will train, organize and inspect to that standard," General Schwartz said. "The bottom line is we lost focus, and we're bringing that focus back.">> One way the service plans to accomplish this is by setting up a nuclear-only major command, called the Global Strike Command. This organization will include both the 8th and 20th Air Forces and will be responsible for the management of the Air Force's nuclear assets.>> "We will have the nuclear missiles and the nuclear-capable bombers in the same organization and the focus will be on the nuclear mission," General Schwartz said. "We're going to make sure that we're focusing on doing our nuclear mission the right way, which is the Air Force way.">> In addition to establishing this new command, Air Force leaders also created a new Air Staff directorate, or A10, for nuclear matters. Called the Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Office, and led by Maj. Gen. C. Donald Alston, the office will be the focal point on the Air Staff for the Air Force nuclear enterprise.