MINOT AIR FORCE BASE The commander of the new Air Force Global Strike Command arrived Tuesday at Minot Air Force Base, where he is meeting with military members of the 5th Bomb Wing and the 91st Missile Wing.

Today, Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz will be the featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce.

Klotz became commander of Air Force Global Strike Command in August. The headquarters are at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.

The general is well acquainted with Minot AFB and the Minot community - he was commander of the 91st Missile Group, later redesignated the 91st Missile Wing, from January 1995 to August 1996.

Lt. Col. John J. Thomas, director of Public Affairs for Air Force Global Strike Command, who is with the general during his visit to Minot AFB and Minot, said a total of six wings at five bases, including Minot's two wings, will be under the new command.

Air Force Global Strike Command was established to oversee all of the Air Force's nuclear forces.

The command will officially assume responsibility for the 91st Missile Wing on Dec. 1 and then on Feb. 1, 2010, the 5th Bomb Wing will come under the command, said Thomas, who met with local media in Minot Wednesday.

Currently, the 91st Missile Wing is a unit of Air Force Space Command and the 5th Bomb Wing is a unit of Air Combat Command.

The nuclear enterprise is a top priority for the Air Force, Thomas said.

"Right now we are building a major command where none existed before and we've started with the headquarters staff at Barksdale," he said.

There are approximately 250 people at the command headquarters, but that number is expected to increase considerably. By the end of next summer, Thomas said there will be around 900 people who are solely dedicated to the reinvigoration of the nuclear enterprise.

He said the command will be taking on the nuclear-capable missiles and bombers but not the B-1 because that bomber no longer has a nuclear role.

A second B-52 squadron has been added to Minot AFB's 5th Bomb Wing as part of the reinvigorating the nuclear enterprise plan.

After the intercontinental ballistic missile and B-52 units become units of Air Force Global Strike Command, Air Combat Command and Air Force Space Command will continue with their many other missions, Thomas said.