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Air Force creates new nuclear command

=C=O=N=G=R=A=T=S= | 8:25 a.m. Oct. 25, 2008

Global Strike Command is expected to become operational in September 2009, and it will be in charge of nuclear missiles and "nuclear-coded" B-2 and B-52 bombers, officials told reporters on Friday.

Officials did not have specific information on how many airmen will be assigned to the new command or how much it will cost to set up.

Global Strike Command will be led by a three-star general, and it will comprise the intercontinental ballistic missile forces of 20th Air Force and the nuclear-coded bombers of 8th Air Force, said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley.

That does not mean that B-2 and B-52 bombers will no longer support conventional forces, Donley said.

"If theyï¿½re needed by the theater commander, they can be requested," he said.

It has not been determined who will lead the command and where it will be located, Donley said.

The decision to create a new major command is one of a series of steps the Air Force is taking to reorganize its nuclear enterprise.

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