Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: dfkling@cs.washington.edu (Dean F. Kling)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Strategic weapons
Message-ID: <13049@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 11 Jan 90 05:00:40 GMT
References: <12983@cbnews.ATT.COM>
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From: dfkling@cs.washington.edu (Dean F. Kling)


	>Over half the U.S. nuclear arsenal is on submarines ... BUT those
	>submarines may be commanded by CINCSAC (now General Chain).  He
	>is of course an air force officer, and he also is in charge of
	>the targeting of those missiles (as chairman of the Joint
	>Strategic Target Planning Staff).  De facto, the air force won
	>out over the navy in 1960 for overall control of U.S. strategic
	>weapons.

  Missile submarines are not commanded by CINCSAC; but are under the 
operational control of CINCPAC and CINCLANT: the unified (joint force)
commanders in the Atlantic and Pacific regions (both Navy officers).
 Strategic targeting for all forces is coordinated by JSTPS, 
(a joint command with several naval officers on the staff); but the 
operational control of the platforms has no connection to them.  
No one service has "overall control" of U.S. strategic weapons 
(probably a good idea).



			Dean F. Kling
			dfkling@cs.washington.edu