AIR FORCE DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON -- The Air Force's newest command stood up its provisional headquarters at Bolling Air Force Base, D.C., Jan. 12. 

The Air Force Global Strike Command is led by Brig. Gen. James Kowalski, who was the deputy director for global operations for the Joint Staff in the Pentagon before taking the reins of the provisional command. He is a command pilot with more than 4,500 flying hours, including 127 combat flying hours. He has flown the B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer, E-3 Sentry (AWACS), T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon; and, he has commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels. 

"There is an incredibly rich tradition of operational excellence in this mission, and our Air Force has done a lot of work to restore our focus on deterrence," General Kowalski said. "We look forward to laying the foundation needed to stand up Global Strike Command." 

General Kowalski is leading a team of 55 people tasked to implement the organization's Program Action Directive, which outlines necessary actions to stand up the new Global Strike Command. This includes assisting in identifying a final location, and identifying manpower and resource requirements that will transfer to the newly established AFGSC. 

"The command only has a basic staff right now," said Lt. Col. John N. Bryan, director of Public Affairs for Air Force Global Strike Command. "But, the initial estimate is to authorize up to 900 headquarters positions. The goal is to reach initial operational capability by Oct. 1, 2009. However, because of the importance of the mission, the AFGSC commander will make the final determination when the MAJCOM has achieved IOC." 

Three bomber wings from the 8th Air Force and three missile wings from the 20th Air Force will transfer under the new command eventually. 

Candidate bases for the command's permanent home include (in alphabetical order): Barksdale Air Force Base, La.; F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo.; Malmstrom AFB, Mont.; Minot AFB, N.D.; Offutt AFB, Neb.; and Whiteman AFB, Mo. 

"Air Force officials will evaluate each base against a standard set of criteria," said Colonel Bryan. "The criteria includes synergy with the AFGSC mission and availability of requisite expertise, facilities and infrastructure, support capacity, transportation, communications and bandwidth, and security to support the AFGSC headquarters." 

"The Air Force intends to make a final selection (for the permanent location) no later than the end of June 2009," Colonel Bryan added. And, a three-star Air Force general will eventually lead the new command, but has not been officially named yet.