U.S. Strategic Command to Conduct Exercise Global Lightning

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. – U.S. Strategic Command will conduct GLOBAL LIGHTNING 2016, a command and control exercise, with components and tasks forces beginning April 23.

In coordination with other combatant commands, services and appropriate U.S. government agencies, USSTRATCOM conducts global operations to deter and detect strategic attacks against the U.S. and its allies, and is prepared to defend the nation as directed.

“To deter strategic threats and defend the nation, our forces must be ready and prepared to execute all assigned missions and provide our unique capabilities to the joint and combined force,” said Adm. Cecil D. Haney, USSTRATCOM commander. “Comprehensive and detailed exercises such as GLOBAL LIGHTNING enable us to better confront today’s threats in transregional, multi-domain, and multi-functional contexts. The complexity of today’s warfighting is not contained by borders or stove-piped domains of a specific area of responsibility.”

The scenario for GLOBAL LIGHTNING 2016 integrates nearly every conceivable strategic threat to our nation to ensure the resilience, redundancy and survivability of our strategic deterrent forces, while stressing the USSTRATCOM capabilities provided to geographic combatant commanders in a crisis or contingency.