USSTRATCOM exercise Global Thunder 17 concludes

A B-52 Stratofortress prepares to land at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Oct. 30, 2016, after supporting U.S. Strategic Command exercise Global Thunder 17. AFGSC supports U.S. Strategic Command's global strike and nuclear deterrence missions by providing strategic assets, including bombers like the B-52 and B-2, to ensure a safe, secure, effective and ready deterrent force. Global Thunder is an annual USSTRATCOM training event that assesses command and control functionality in all USSTRATCOM mission areas and affords component commands a venue to evaluate their joint operational readiness. Planning for Global Thunder 17 has been underway for more than a year and is based on a notional, classified scenario with fictitious adversaries. One of nine DoD unified combatant commands, USSTRATCOM has global strategic missions assigned through the Unified Command Plan which include strategic deterrence; space operations; cyberspace operations; joint electronic warfare; missile defense; combating weapons of mass destruction; and analysis and targeting. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Amanda Morris)