Johanns, Nelson disappointed Offutt passed over

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Sens. Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns issued statements of disappointment that Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha would not be selected as the headquarter for the Air Force's new Global Strike Command:

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mike Johanns today made the following statement after he learned Offutt Air Force Base was not selected as the location for the Air Force's new Global Strike Command:

"It is very unfortunate that Offutt Air Force Base was not selected as the location of the Global Strike Command," Johanns said. "The servicemen and women at Offutt have long demonstrated their importance to the United States military by showing outstanding leadership at STRATCOM, and would prove to be indispensable should a new assignment come their way. We will turn our focus now to demonstrating that the dedicated men and women at Offutt are ready to embrace Cyber Command as a new responsibility. Offutt remains a leading contender for Cyber Command and I will be a strong advocate to see it is chosen."

Later this year, Global Strike Command will assume control over all Air Force missions inside the United States. It will be based in Barksdale, Louisiana.

April 2, 2009 -- Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson released the following statement in response to the Air Force's announcement of the new location of the Global Strike Command:

"The Omaha and Bellevue communities are second to none in quality of life and in their support for our servicemen and women and their families and I commend everyone that has been involved in promoting Offutt as the location for the Global Strike Command.

"I am particularly disappointed, from a national security perspective, with the decision not to locate the Air Force's Global Strike Command at Offutt.

"It is on that basis that I believe the Air Force has made a huge mistake in not locating this command at Offutt. I am very disappointed and strongly disagree with the Air Force's decision.

"The Air Force has missed an opportunity to send the message that our nuclear deterrence missions are a priority. This is a cornerstone decision that will impact the world's perception regarding how serious the United States is about the security, operational control, and decisions that will affect our critical deterrent weapons systems."

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  • What do you expect when you have a bunch of bus drivers making the decision, should have left it up to the Admirals to make it, they actually have to think about the decisions they make.

    -- Posted by geewhiz on Thu, Apr 2, 2009, at 4:08 PM
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