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Safeguarding our Freedom

Protecting America’s freedom is the global role of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha. The social and economic impact locally of Offutt and other military units is also impressive.

Offutt is home to USSTRATCOM and the “Fightin’” 55th Wing of the Air Combat Command. The 4,000-acre base employs more than 10,500 military and civilian personnel, making it the largest employer locally. Offutt’s annual economic impact on the community is estimated at more than $2 billion.

The air base has a rich history. Built in 1896 as Fort Crook, it was dedicated Offutt Field in 1924 in memory of Omaha’s first air casualty in World War I, Lt. Jarvis J. Offutt. During World War II, the north side of the base held the Glenn L. Martin Co. Bomber Plant, which produced B-29 Superfortresses and B-26 Marauders.

It was renamed Offutt Air Force Base in January 1948. Eleven months later, it became home to the Strategic Air Command (SAC).

In 1992, President George H. Bush established a new unified command, USSTRATCOM. For the first time, the planning, targeting and wartime employment of strategic forces came under the control of a single commander.

A decade later, U.S. Space Command was merged with USSTRATCOM, bringing together the interrelated strategic defense and space communities. Today, USSTRATCOM provides intelligence, planning and information operations expertise to U.S. forces and allies around the globe.

The merger has enhanced Omaha’s ability to recruit defense contractors and space-related industries, among them Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin. More than 50 defense contractors do business here, resulting in more than 2,500 defense-related jobs.

To attract additional interest from the defense industry, a contingent led by representatives of the Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership (GO!), participates each year in the Space Symposium, a national gathering of space and defense contractors and related businesses.

Each October, the city hosts the Strategic Space and Defense Conference, which draws more than 2,000 people to Qwest Center Omaha. The 2006 event included a CEO Roundtable breakfast for nearly 140 visiting and local defense contractors and business leaders. The featured speaker was Gen. James E. Cartwright, USSTRATCOM commander.

The 2007 conference is Oct. 9-11.

“Our goal is to continue to build upon the area’s current momentum,” says Rod Moseman, vice president of economic development for the Chamber. “As defense contractors solidify their relationships with USSTRATCOM, we want to help them on the commercial side, to develop their technologies and services for use beyond defense.”

More information about the Omaha conference and other GO! economic development efforts is available at
www.accessomaha.com.