Tasked with ensuring strategic deterrence, employing armed forces and protecting the United States, US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) is one of 11 unified combatant commands located within the the US Department of Defense.

The command's mission is to safeguard the United States through maintaining continuous global combat capability across several domains, including deterrence and global strike.

The command oversees collaboration between joint forces and coordinates command-and-control capabilities that ensure the provision of accurate information to senior leadership ranging from the President to the Secretary of Defense as well as combatant commanders.

The command also serves as a unified national resource that unites threat assessment and threat response.

On the operational side, STRATCOM oversees strategic deterrence, joint electromagnetic spectrum operations, global strike, missile threat assessment, and analysis and targeting.

It is responsible for a swath of US nuclear functions including nuclear operations and nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) enterprise operations.

By managing both nuclear command with global strike operations, STRATCOM further integrates its threat assessment and response capabilities.

The command also provides essential support to the other combatant commands including strategic warning; integrated missile defense; and global command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR).

In particular, it operates the Defense Department's Global Information Grid, a globally interconnected, end-to-end set of information capabilities for collecting, processing, storing, disseminating and managing information on demand to war fighters, policymakers and support personnel.

Headquartered out of Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, STRATCOM was initially formed in 1992 and then reformed in 2002 to incorporate the United States Space Command (SPACECOM).

After the founding of the US Space Force in 2019, SPACECOM was spun back out of STRATCOM.

Under the 2022 Unified Command Plan approved in April 2023, missile defense responsibilities were transferred to SPACECOM. The US Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense (JFCC-IMD) were transferred from STRATCOM to SPACECOM.

Component commands

STRATCOM still includes several component commands that play key roles in training, equipping and sourcing the forces necessary to carry out the command's global missions.

In the air domain, Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) serves as STRATCOM's Joint Force Air Component Command (JFACC).

AFGSC provides combat-ready forces to conduct global strike and strategic deterrence operations, and is responsible for the nation's three intercontinental ballistic missile wings, two B-52 Stratofortress wings and the only B-2 Spirit wing.

Together, STRATCOM and AFGSC provide support to regional combatant commands such as US Central Command (CENTCOM), the unified combatant command responsible for engaging with strategic partners in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Meanwhile, US Fleet Forces Command (USFF) acts as the Joint Force Maritime Component Command (JFMCC) under STRATCOM, serving to conduct joint maritime operations focused on strategic deterrence. It is also the US Navy’s service component to US Northern Command (NORTHCOM).

The command's mission "is to organize, man, train, and equip naval forces for assignment to Unified Command Combatant commanders; to deter, detect, and defend against homeland maritime threats; and to articulate Fleet warfighting and readiness requirements to the Chief of Naval Operations," according to the USFF website.

Specifically, the USFF advises STRATCOM on the global operations of the current fleet of 14 Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in their efforts to defend both the United States and its allies and strategic partners.

Collocated out of Offutt Air Force Base, US Marine Corps Forces Strategic Command (MARFORSTRAT) is the Marine Corps service component of STRATCOM.

It represents the Marine Corps' capabilities and interests and advise STRATCOM on the employment of Marine forces.

It advises other commands on the development of education, training, doctrine and capabilities related to STRATCOM's domains of operations such as electronic warfare and combating weapons of mass destruction.