Cotton takes command of USSTRATCOM

Air Force Gen. Anthony J. Cotton relieved Navy Adm. Charles A. Richard as commander of U.S. Strategic Command during a ceremony at Offutt Air Force Base Dec. 9.

Cotton becomes USSTRATCOM's eighth commander, highlighting the enduring stability of the nation's strategic enterprise during a time of increased global pressure and reliance on a safe, reliable, and effective nuclear deterrent.

"A competition is underway among major powers to try to shape what comes next," Cotton said. "In this new phase of competition, we face two near-peer adversaries simultaneously. U.S. Strategic Command must be ready for the complex challenges to deterring adversary aggression and coercion."

As the new USSTRATCOM commander, Cotton takes responsibility for the nation's nuclear triad, including ballistic missile submarines, long-range strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and nuclear command and control during a period of intense nuclear coercion and the unprecedented need to deter two near-peer nuclear adversaries at the same time.

"Everything we do is foundational to national and international security. It's not just our nation that is counting on us. It is also our allies and partners," Cotton said when discussing integrated deterrence. "NATO calls the strategic forces of the alliance, particularly those of the U.S. 'the supreme guarantee of the alliance's security,' and we embrace that. We know what is riding on our shoulders."

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