Sentry Staff
The United States Air Force announced it will activate a new wing to increase readiness for emergency security threats.
The 95th Wing, under Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), will consolidate all wing command and control (C2) units from the Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. This will provide an enterprise view of broad C2 capabilities and improve the ability to lead, advocate and provide for resources, training and readiness.
“The creation of the 95th Wing under Air Force Global Strike Command [AFGSC] will enable effective command of forces to ensure readiness, and in time of conflict, the delivery of strategic and national-level capabilities to multiple combatant commanders and warfighters,” the Air Force said in a September 2024 news release.
The AFGSC has responsibility over the nation’s three intercontinental ballistic missile wings, the Air Force’s bomber force, Air Force Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) systems, and operational and maintenance support to organizations within the nuclear enterprise. The 95th Wing will be based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and will provide a unified command path to assure readiness of the Offutt-based 595th Command and Control Group’s (CACG) National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC) and NC3 mission. The NAOC, a fleet of four E-4B aircraft, ensures senior U.S. leaders have a reliable command, control and communications center ready in case of a national emergency or the unavailability of ground centers. The fleet also provides travel support to the U.S. secretary of defense and U.S. defense personnel to ensure C2 connectivity.
The 95th Wing will incorporate existing positions from the 595th CACG; the 253rd CACG, Wyoming Air National Guard at Cheyenne Air National Guard Base; and the 610th Command and Control Squadron, AFRC, at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. The wing is expected to be fully operational by 2027.
“This decision represents the culmination of years of work by the Air Force and the congressional defense committees to ensure the United States is fully prepared to deter and defeat any adversary who threatens our national security,” U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee strategic forces subcommittee, said in a news release.
This consolidation is part of Air Force and Space Force efforts to reorganize the department for great power competition.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall unveiled the department’s reorganization plans at the Air Force Association Warfare Symposium in February 2024. Objectives include actions covering force development, improving readiness, projecting power and developing capabilities.
“Both China and Russia are actively developing and fielding more advanced capabilities designed to defeat U.S. power projection,” Kendall told the symposium audience. “We can no longer regard conflict as a distant possibility or a future problem that we might have to confront. The risk of conflict is here now, and that risk will increase with time. Our job, our fundamental mission, the reason we exist is so that we can be ready now and always.”