- Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
- F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming
- Malmstrom AFB, Montana
- Minot AFB, North Dakota
- Offut AFB, Nebraska
- Whiteman AFB, Missouri
Five of the six installations host nuclear-capable bomber units or ICBM wings, which will form the core of Strike Command's mission. The remaining base (Offut) is home to the headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command, which controls all of the nation's nuclear bombers, ICBMs, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Strike Command is currently operating from a temporary headquarters at Bolling AFB in Washington, D.C. A decision on the command's permanent home is expected by late spring or early summer.
Sources tell In From the Cold that Minot AFB has emerged as an early favorite for Strike Command Headquarters. The North Dakota installation currently hosts a B-52 wing and an ICBM unit. It is the only Air Force base that currently has both a nuclear bomber and missile mission.
But an Air Force official downplayed Minot's supposed advantage. Major General C. Donald Alston, the USAF's Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration said he didn't think the presence of B-52s and ICBMs would prejudge one base ahead of another.
Only bases with active nuclear missions were considered in the nomination process.
Global Strike Command is part of recent nuclear reforms within the USAF. It will eventually control of all CONUS-based strategic nuclear missions, including those performed by B-52 and B-2 bombers, and Minuteman III ICBMs. The changes came after a pair of embarrassing incidents involving weapons at Minot and the transfer of nuclear components from Hill AFB, Utah.
