Findings in multiple studies had determined that our nuclear forces and our whole enterprise lacked clear lines of authority and responsibility. And through a series of initiatives, captured in an Air Force road map for this enterprise, we set out to correct that situation.
We've established in the Air Force an air staff directorate to ensure clear and consistent voice in the headquarters for the nuclear mission. We've established a nuclear panel in our resourcing process, to make sure we have resource advocacy for the nuclear mission. We've unified nuclear sustainment under the Nuclear Weapons Center. And we've stood up an executive-level nuclear oversight board, which has met, I believe, three times thus far, to oversee these activities in total on a regular basis.
This week, we will achieve a major milestone in the activation of Air Force Global Strike Command. This command will bring together our strategic nuclear forces, our ICBMs and our nuclear bomber forces, under a single commander. Standing up this command is no small task, and we have actually been able to do it a little bit of -- ahead of the schedule that we had forecast last year. This command will provide the combatant commanders with forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence in global strike operations through the ICBM, B-2 and B-52 operations.
We've reinvigorated in this process the accountability and compliance issues with respect to nuclear forces at all levels. We have been reemphasizing training for inspectors at our inspection center and also at the MAJCOM level.
There's been enough recent sloppiness involving nuclear forces. It doesn't matter if there is no peer with missiles looming over us, nuclear weapons are too serious a matter to treat lightly.
The SAC is dead. Long live the GSC.
