Air Force Global Strike Command plans to open a new education center to help educate nuclear airmen and make them better leaders.

The Nuclear Leadership Development Center at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana will help develop nuclear airmen and make sure "they get the right training at the right time in their careers," while helping them find opportunities for assignments that will help them reach their full potential, the Air Force said in a March 23 release.

Global Strike Command spokeswoman Carla Pampe said the Air Force has not set a date for the center's opening. The project is still in the planning stages, and the Air Force is developing its curriculum of both classroom and online training, she said.

Global Strike Command decided to create the center because of concerns about the Air Force's declining focus on the nuclear mission and a lack of developmental opportunities for career nuclear personnel, said Col. H.B. Brual, deputy director of Global Strike Command's Strategic Plans, Programs, Requirements and Analysis Directorate. Brual also said there are gaps in leadership development and critical thought throughout the Air Force's nuclear enterprise.

"The creation of this center will allow us to address those gaps and bring a nuclear focus back to the command's education and professional development programs," Brual said in the release.

Capt. Reed Elsbernd, a leadership education officer, said in the release that the center will complement other educational and professional development programs.

"This is a different focus than traditional professional military education and professional development," Elsbernd said. "We want to create a culture that inspires transformational leaders and makes them nuclear experts."

The center is first developing the curriculum for officer education and professional development. It will later develop an enlisted and civilian curriculum, and officials are now meeting with senior enlisted airmen to help with that process.

"Over time, the NDLC will increase capacity," Brual said. "But to make sure we get it right, we're focusing on one segment of the force right now."

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

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