Strategic Air Command/ ACC/ NORAD/ SRW/ Space Force
Strategic Air Command/ ACC/ NORAD/ SRW/ Space Force
The Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) strategic nuclear arsenal from 1946 to 1992. SAC also controlled the infrastructure necessary to support the strategic bomber and ICBM operations, such as aerial refueling tanker aircraft to refuel the bombers in flight, strategic reconnaissance aircraft, command post aircraft, and, until 1957, fighter escorts.
Following the fall of the Soviet Union, the Air Force instituted a comprehensive reorganization of its major commands. As part of this reorganization, SAC was disestablished as a MAJCOM on June 1st, 1992, with its ICBMs and bomber, strategic reconnaissance, and command post aircraft reassigned to the newly-established Air Combat Command (ACC). Concurrently, SAC's tanker aircraft, including those in the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, were predominantly reassigned to the new Air Mobility Command (AMC), followed by a select number of tankers being reassigned to United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). The ICBM force was later transferred from ACC to the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), a joint/unified combatant command, now performs the primary mission once held by SAC, and is headquartered at SAC's previous facilities at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.
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