Stratcom turns over missile defense mission to U.S. Space Command

The U.S. Space Command's joint operations center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has assumed responsibility for U.S. missile defense as part of a realignment of missions, taking over an assignment previously held by the U.S. Strategic Command, headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base.

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The Offutt-based U.S. Strategic Command has turned over responsibility for providing missile defense for the United States and its allies to the U.S. Space Command, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

President Joe Biden made the change April 25 as part of the government's adoption of a new "Unified Command Plan" that assigns missions to the U.S. military's major combatant commands, including Stratcom and SpaceCom as well as regional commands such as Northern Command, European Command, and Indo-Pacific Command.

However, the missile defense change was not announced until last week, in a press release from Space Command.

In the release, Spacecom's commander, Army Gen. James Dickinson, described the transfer as "the culmination of a comprehensive study on the roles, responsibilities and authorities associated with the Missile Defense enterprise."

He said the change will bring missile warning, missile defense and space domain awareness under one command.

Stratcom's commander, Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, said he backs the realignment, which he said "better supports our integrated deterrence framework in safeguarding our nation."

No military or civilian jobs are expected to be lost at Stratcom's Offutt Air Force Base headquarters because much of the missile defense work has already been taking place in Colorado Springs, said Lt. Cmdr. Joshua Kelsey, a Stratcom spokesman.

"It doesn't change a whole lot," Kelsey said. "Instead of Stratcom overseeing it, it's Spacecom."

Stratcom is best-known as the keeper of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, but it has also carried out other duties under its broader mission of "strategic deterrence."

The missile defense element has its roots in the early-warning system set up across Canada and the northern tier of the United States by the Strategic Air Command in the 1950s and '60s, said retired Lt. Gen. Bob Hinson, Stratcom's deputy commander from 2000 to 2002.

"It devolved into a mixture of ground-based radars and space-based systems," said Hinson, who also commanded the 14th Air Force, which is responsible for space-related activities.

SAC stood down after the Cold War, and the expanding work of missile defense moved to other commands, including the Missile Defense Agency (created as part of the Reagan-era Strategic Defense Initiative, commonly known as "Star Wars") and a former version of U.S. Space Command that was established in 1985.

Stratcom took over missile defense after the original Spacecom was inactivated in 2002, and three years later it became part of Stratcom's Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense. The command's work has included missile defense planning, operations and advocacy.

In 2019, U.S. Space Command was re-established by an act of Congress, and Dickinson became its commander the following year. He has supported the integration of space and missile defense operations.

"It's evolving back to where it should be," Hinson said.

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A historical overview of Offutt Air Force Base, longtime headquarters of the Strategic Air Command during the Cold War and current headquarter…