History

Officially established Oct. 1, 2002, today’s U.S. Strategic Command traces its heritage to the interwar period of the early 20th century and the development of strategic bombing theory. The theory proposed that aerial bombardment could destroy a country’s ability to wage war. During World War II, this theory evolved into the U.S. doctrine of daylight precision bombing. Army Air Forces leadership hoped the doctrine would succeed and help establish an independent air force after the war. Though largely successful in Europe, precision bombing was less effective in the Pacific and was replaced by widespread firebombing. The catastrophic results, combined with aerial mining and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, led to Japan’s surrender in 1945.

The new atomic age began with fierce interservice clashes over limited budgets and strategic policy. During a massive postwar drawdown, about 22,000 service members mustered out of uniform each month. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act, creating the Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Air Force. Coupled with sharp reductions in personnel, equipment, and funding, this led to bitter debates over which service should receive the resources needed to lead national defense in the atomic era. The public dispute—dubbed “The Revolt of the Admirals”—resulted in the ouster of the Chief of Naval Operations. The crisis escalated after the Soviet Union successfully tested its own atomic bomb. Ultimately, with civilian control of the military reaffirmed, the budget prioritized the Air Force’s strategic bombers and doctrine. Strategic Air Command (SAC) became the central player in national defense.

In 1948, SAC moved to Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska. U.S. Air Force Gen. Curtis E. LeMay, then leading the Berlin Airlift, transferred to Offutt to reorient the struggling command. The postwar drawdown had cut 68 percent of SAC personnel and 78 percent of its aircraft. LeMay’s decisive leadership quickly transformed SAC into a competent force poised for the Cold War.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “New Look” policy of the 1950s emphasized nuclear capabilities and massive retaliation. The decade saw the development of the nuclear triad—strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. With all three legs in place by the decade’s end, the nation required a unified nuclear war plan. Senior leaders debated coordinating through interservice conferences or creating a unified strategic command. On Aug. 16, 1960, Secretary of Defense Thomas S. Gates, Jr. directed the formation of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff. His decision marked a compromise, as JSTPS would develop nuclear war plans but control no nuclear forces.

Though it reported to the Joint Staff, JSTPS was collocated with SAC to employ the Command’s available computing power and leverage existing nuclear war planning expertise. The SAC commander served dual roles as JSTPS director, while a Navy vice admiral acted as vice director for day-to-day operations.

For 31 years, JSTPS served as the critical link between national strategy and operational nuclear forces. It produced the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP), the nation's strategic nuclear war plan, and the associated National Strategic Target List (NSTL). The SIOP incorporated all triad weapon systems. Starting in 1960, all combatant commands and NATO coordinated with JSTPS to integrate their requirements into the plan. At the end of the Cold War, JSTPS personnel formed the core of the first U.S. Strategic Command.

The 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act prompted major reforms in the Department of Defense and resolved lingering interservice rivalries. The 1990 SIOP Targeting Review revealed the U.S. had more strategic nuclear weapons than needed for deterrence. This gave the president confidence to reduce the arsenal without risk, paving the way for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), signed by President George H.W. Bush in July 1991. START—later called START I—limited each side to 6,000 accountable warheads and 1,600 delivery vehicles.

Meanwhile, the geopolitical map was rapidly evolving. The Warsaw Pact effectively ceased to function after the fall of the Berlin Wall and was dissolved in March 1991. Ukraine and the Baltic states pressed for independence. In response, Soviet hardliners launched a failed coup to prevent the USSR’s dissolution.

With the Cold War over, SAC commander Gen. George “Lee” Butler recommended creating a new Strategic Command to manage all nuclear weapons and deterrence. President Bush announced the Presidential Nuclear Initiatives in September 1991 during a televised address. This unilaterally cut nuclear forces, de-alerted the bomber force, withdrew Minuteman II missiles and removed tactical nuclear weapons. He also announced the formation of a new “Strategic Command.”

Strategic Air Command was officially deactivated June 1, 1992. At the same time, U.S. Strategic Command was activated with Gen. Butler as its first commander.

The 1990s brought force reductions and renewed arms control efforts. The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program helped dismantle nuclear arsenals in former Soviet states. U.S. Strategic Command contributed its nuclear expertise to the effort and supported the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Throughout the decade, the Command continued writing nuclear war plans that adhered to national policy and treaty obligations.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, it was clear that no combatant command focused on homeland defense. At the time, the DoD had a limited number of combatant commands authorized. In order to create U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Space Command and the first U.S. Strategic Command were disestablished. Their functions merged into a new organization, which planners thought would be called “U.S. Global Operations Command.” However, the new command retained the name U.S. Strategic Command per direction from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The second U.S. Strategic Command was activated Oct. 1, 2002. Since then, its missions and capabilities have expanded, with some evolving into independent combatant commands. Cyber capabilities started as Joint Task Forces, which became a sub-unified command in 2009. This led to the establishment of U.S. Cyber Command in 2018. Congress expanded the space mission in 2019, leading to the re-establishment of U.S. Space Command.

Building on its legacy and the vision of commanders like Gen. Curtis LeMay, today’s U.S. Strategic Command continues to execute its mission to deter strategic attack through a safe, secure, effective, and credible global combat capability and, when directed, is ready to prevail in conflict.

(Updated June 16, 2025)