USSTRATCOM commander unveils new shield, mission, vision for command

Gen. Kevin Chilton unveiled the new USSTRATCOM shield inlaid at the command building's entrance April 24.     Pictured are (l to r): Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Horne, Deputy Commander, Joint Functional Component Command-Space; Major Gen. James Whitmore, Deputy Commander, JFCC-Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, Commander, JFCC-Global Strike and Integration; Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, Commander, JFCC-Network Warfare; Vice Adm. Mauney, General Chilton, Master Chief Nissen, Lt. Gen. Charles Croom, Commander, Joint Task Force Global Network Operations; Lt. Gen. Campbell; Major Gen. Craig Koziol, Commander, Joint Information Operations Warfare Command; and Rear Admiral William Loeffler, Deputy Director, USSTRATCOM Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction.

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. – Gen. Kevin Chilton, commander of United States Strategic Command, met with his Joint Functional Component Commanders here April 23 and 24 and included the group in the unveiling of a new shield inlaid on the command building's floor.

The new shield joins a patch of the former Strategic Air Command in welcoming visitors to the command's headquarters.

In introducing the new shield, General Chilton took some time to talk about the importance of the SAC patch, emphasizing that SAC "was a critical component of the defense of the United States during the Cold War.

"It had a key role to play in the collapse of the Soviet Union"" they were the nuclear sword and shield of this country for years," he said.

"We have bridged to U.S. Strategic Command and our mission areas and focuses have grown. When people walk into the Strategic Command building I want them to be appreciative of our heritage, but I also want them to honor and understand the importance of the mission set we have now, which is tremendously larger than it was in the day of SAC – and every bit, if not more, important as we look to the 21st Century. "

The general then spoke about the positioning of the new shield and its surroundings, pointing out that it's overlooked by the portraits of the Strategic Command Consultation Committee, which is, "one of the greatest supporters of any organization you could want. They're going to keep watch over this, because we do (what we do) for the people of the United States, people like those (pictured) on the wall. "

With a quick pull on the blue fabric covering the command's newest symbolization of its mission areas, General Chilton officially unveiled the new shield. He then told a story about how the new shield should be used as a walkway.

"When I was in high school, they had something like this, and it was a big deal if you walked on it, but that isn't how we were going to treat it," he said. "You can walk on these patches"" because if you look down between your feet, you get a good reminder of the pride we have in our global mission sets today and how it links us back to our great heritage. "

The general presented the command's new mission and vision statements to his JFCCs during their visit to Offutt as well. Those statements will be publicly released when they become effective with concurrence of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.