U.S. bomber fleets re-aligned under single command

All U.S. Air Force bomber fleets are being re-aligned under a single command, officially effective Oct.1, the Air Force announced.

The move moves joins B-1B Lancers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and Ellsworth AFB, S.D., with B-52H Stratofortresses and B-2 Spirits of the Eighth Air Force, which is part of the Air Force Global Strike Command.

A ceremonial re-alignment of the Seventh and 28th Bomb Wings from Air Combat Command was held on Monday.

"All five bomb wings and the long range strike capability they provide to our nation are stronger today as a result of this homecoming," said Maj. Gen. Richard Clark, Eighth Air Force commander. "Change of any kind can be tough at first. "However, this realignment makes practical sense and is grounded in our past as an air force."

The transfer of authority involves 63 aircraft and 7,000 personnel, the Air Force said.

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James earlier this year said that the consolidation would "provide a unified voice to maintain the high standards necessary in stewardship of our nation's bomber forces."

The Air Force Global Strike Command is a descendant of the Strategic Air Command of the Cold War era.