Kosovo. Operating from RAF Fairford as part of the 2nd Air Expeditionary Group in the United Kingdom, Barksdale B-52s flew over 180 combat sorties and released over 6,600 weapons against military targets throughout the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during Operation Allied Force. "War on Terror" Immediately following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, Barksdale provided a safe haven for President George W. Bush on his return flight to the nation's capital. Shortly thereafter, the National Command Authority called upon the base to provide substantial forces to spearhead the Global War on Terrorism. Operating from multiple overseas locations, Barksdale airmen and B-52s, both active and reserve alike, played a key role in the first airstrikes of Operation Enduring Freedom. Returning yet again to the skies of Iraq, Barksdale B-52s flew over 150 combat sorties against military targets throughout the southern half of the country during Operation Iraqi Freedom. On 30 August 2007, a B-52 originating from Minot AFB carried six AGM-86 cruise missiles, each loaded with a W80 nuclear warhead, to Barksdale without the knowledge of base personnel or crew. The incident sparked controversy across the country. As an end result of the situation, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that, "A substantial number of Air Force general officers and colonels have been identified as potentially subject to disciplinary measures, ranging from removal from command to letters of reprimand", and that he had accepted the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Michael Moseley. This led to the establishment of the Global Strike Command, activated in August 2009 with headquarters at Barksdale. The 2nd Bomb Wing was assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command on 1 February 2010. On 1 January 2011, Air Force Reserve Command inactivated the 917th Wing, while at the same time activating the 307th Bomb Wing, which subsumed the B-52 units of the 917th Wing. The A-10 units of the 917th Wing remain at Barksdale AFB, under the newly created 917th Fighter Group, while organizational control is with the 442nd Fighter Wing, Whiteman AFB, Missouri. A 2013 North Korean propaganda photo shows that Barksdale is one of four targets in the United States for a potential North Korean nuclear attack, alongside the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the headquarters of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the site of the Pearl Harbor