- As part of the ongoing initiative to transform the U.S.
military into a 21st century fighting force, Secretary of Defense Donald
H. Rumsfeld today announced the intention to merge two unified commands
whose missions include control of America's nuclear forces, military space
operations, computer network operations, strategic warning and global planning.
The intended merger of U.S. Space Command (SpaceCom) and U.S. Strategic
Command (StratCom) will improve combat effectiveness and speed up information
collection and assessment needed for strategic decision-making.
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- "The missions of SpaceCom and StratCom have evolved
to the point where merging the two into a single entity will eliminate
redundancies in the command structure and streamline the decisionmaking
process," said Rumsfeld. U.S. Strategic Command, located at Offutt
Air Force Base in Neb., is the command and control center for U.S. nuclear
forces. U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colo., commands military
space operations, information operations, computer network operations and
space campaign planning. Both commands are charged with countering the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
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- "StratCom and SpaceCom have successfully provided
the capabilities to meet the nation's defense needs for many years,"
said Rumsfeld. "The merged command will be responsible for both early
warning of and defense against missile attack as well as long-range conventional
attacks." The intended merger is scheduled to take place in October
2002, and the preferred location for the command headquarters is Offutt
Air Force Base, Neb.
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- http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2002/b06262002_bt331-02.html
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