America's Nuclear Backbone: The Value of ICBMs and the New Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent

Arlington, VA: Air Force Association, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, 2017. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. [4], 56 pages. Illustrations (color). Endnotes. Major General (retired) Roger Burg is the President of O’Malley Burg Consulting, LLC, a San Antonio based company that specializes in connecting industry with opportunity in the defense and government sectors in San Antonio, Texas. Their client base includes cybersecurity, information technology and aerospace companies active in Washington, D.C. and connected in the San Antonio defense sector. General Burg serves on the Strategic Command Advisory Group, a federally-chartered advisory group which provides advice and analysis on the command’s broad strategic missions. General Burg retired from active duty in September 2010 after 32 years of service in the Air Force. He commanded ICBM and space units for 15 years, including squadron, group, vice wing, wing and Numbered Air Force. He also served in significant national security and international affairs positions at the White House, the Joint Staff, the Air Staff, US Strategic Command, US Space Command, and Strategic Air Command. His final active duty position was commanding 20th Air Force, responsible for 10,000 airmen, three operational bases, and 500 deployed ICBMs. Foreword by Lt. Gen. David Deptula. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has delayed and truncated much of the required modernization of the nuclear deterrent enterprise. Today, senior U.S. military leaders and civilian defense officials have emphasized that the cost of supporting old nuclear systems is becoming prohibitive. The new Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program is the proposed modernization of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force, the land-based missile portion of the US nuclear triad. In this new Mitchell Institute study, Maj. Gen. Roger W. Burg, USAF (Ret.),explains and examines the elements to maintain, preserve, and strengthen the ICBM leg of the US nuclear deterrent. He describes the political, economic, and military environment that demands the recapitalization of the ICBM force by the new Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, and why the nuclear triad—anchored by GBSD— will remain as relevant to US national security in the 21st century as it was in the 20th century. Condition: Very good.

Keywords: Ballistic Missiles, ICBM, Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, GBSD, Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Warheads, Nuclear Enterprise, Global Security, Industrial Base

[Book #74615]

Price: $45.00

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