The Air Force announced Thursday afternoon that it had settled on Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana as the permanent site for the headquarters of its new Air Force Global Strike Command. The service had tapped Barksdale in April as its preferred location for the new command, which will comprise the service’s force of nuclear-capable bombers and ICBMs, pending the outcome of the required environmental assessment. That decision sparked much dismay among folks in Nebraska, who thought Offutt Air Force Base, the former home to Strategic Air Command, would be the logical choice. According to the Air Force’s June 18 statement, it will activate the new command at Barksdale on Aug. 7. The service already has selected Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz to lead the command.
The Air Force is seeking funding to let its pilots fly a little more than 1.1 million hours in fiscal 2027, which would be the most in about four years. But even if Airmen actually do fly all 1.1 million hours, it would still be short of the 1.3 million…