United States Strike Command | |
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Active |
1961–72: Strike Command 1972–87: Readiness Command |
Country | United States |
Type | Unified Combatant Command |
Headquarters | MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida |
Engagements | Operation Dragon Rouge |
In 1961 the United States Strike Command (STRICOM) was established at MacDill Air Force Base as a unified combatant command capable of responding to global crises. The name of the command was originally derived from the acronym for Swift Tactical Reaction In Every Known Environment (STRIKE).[1] It integrated the CONUS-based forces of the Army's Continental Army Command (essentially elements from the Army's Strategic Army Corps (STRAC)) and the Air force's Composite Air Strike Force (CASF) and Tactical Air Command .
Mission and deployments[]
In 1965 the United States Atlantic Fleet became STRICOM's naval component command. A year later General Theodore J. Conway took command, a position he held until 1969. Initially, STRICOM's assigned missions were to: (a) provide a reserve of general purpose forces for reinforcing the other unified commands, (b) train the general reserve, (c) develop joint doctrine and, (d) plan for and execute contingency operations.[2] Subsequently, STRICOM's missions were expanded to include planning for, and execution of, operations in the Middle East, sub-Sahara Africa, and Southern Asia (MEAFSA).
STRICOM took place in the worldwide readiness test (of which Operation Giant Lance formed a part) in 1969, sortieing U. S. Navy Middle East Force ships into the Gulf of Aden.[3] STRICOM was redesignated United States Readiness Command (REDCOM) in 1972. [4] Essentially, the change was nothing more than a redesignation, except that the command was divested of its MEAFSA responsibilities.[5] The redesignated command's missions included integrating, training, and providing CONUS-based general purpose forces, as well as planning and providing joint task force headquarters and forces for operations in areas not assigned to other unified commands.[6] In 1979, the national command authorities ordered the CINC of REDCOM (CINCRED) to establish the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) headquarters as a separate subordinate command within REDCOM. That same year, General Volney F. Warner took command of REDCOM, and held command until 1981. The Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force became an independent unified command in 1983 as United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Readiness Command was replaced by United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in 1987, with the last CINCRED, General James J. Lindsay, becoming the first CINCSOC.
Detachment 1, 1150th USAF Special Activities Squadron, also known as "Communications Support Element" or CSE, was subordinate to USSTRICOM and operated from MacDill AFB. CSE was about a 50–50 mix of Air Force and Army personnel. CSE consisted of two units – "A" unit and "B" unit – and was mainly a mobile tactical communications outfit.
Commanders-in-Chief[]
Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Strike Command[]
Date | Incumbent |
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1961–1966 | GEN Paul D. Adams, USA |
1966–1969 | GEN Theodore J. Conway, USA |
1969–1972 | GEN John L. Throckmorton, USA |
Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Readiness Command[]
Date | Incumbent |
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1972–1973 | GEN John L. Throckmorton, USA |
1973–1974 | GEN Bruce Palmer Jr., USA |
1974–1979 | GEN John J. Hennessey, USA |
1979–1981 | GEN Volney F. Warner, USA |
1981–1983 | GEN Donn A. Starry, USA |
1983–1985 | GEN Wallace H. Nutting, USA |
1985–1986 | GEN Fred K. Mahaffey, USA |
1986–1987 | GEN James J. Lindsay, USA |
References[]
- ↑ Ridgway, Col. John J.; Walter, Lt. Col. Paul B. (May 1976). "Interview with General Barksdale Hamlett, Section 5". U.S. Army Military History Research Collection, Senior Officer Oral History Program. p. 60. http://ahecwebdds.carlisle.army.mil/awapps/main.jsp?nt=collection&nr=lett&nn=H.[dead link]
- ↑ Douglas C. Lovelace & Thomas-Durrell Young, Defining US Atlantic Command's Role in the Power Projection Strategy, US Army Strategic Studies Institute, August 1998
- ↑ http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB81/nnp10.pdf
- ↑ Global Security: McDill AFB
- ↑ Les Aspin, memorandum, subject: U.S. Atlantic Command (USACOM) Implementation Plan, Washington, DC: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1 October 1993. The full title of the plan is Implementation Plan for Establishing United States Atlantic Command as the Joint Force Integrator. Via Lovelace and Young.
- ↑ Headquarters, United States Atlantic Command, Implementation Plan for Establishing United States Atlantic Command as the Joint Force Integrator, Norfolk, VA, 1 October 1993, pp. 1–1 through 1–2, via Lovelace and Young
External links[]
- The short film Big Picture: Strike Command is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
- The short film Big Picture: United States Strike Command is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
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The original article can be found at United States Strike Command and the edit history here.