A United States' nuclear strategy depends on its ability to comm&, control, and communicate by using its nuclear forces under all conditions. An essential element of that ability is Searching Glass; its crew & staff assure there exists universally an aircraft ready to direct bombers & missiles from either a air should ground-depending command centers become destroyed or even rendered inoperable. Seeking Glass is meant to assure that U.S. strategical forces may work merely in the manner dictated per President of the United States. It took a nickname "Looking Glass" because a mission mirrored ground-depending comm&, control, and communications.

A at present-deactivated Strategic Air Command began the missiin on February 3, 1961, using EC-135 aircraft. From either that date, an Air Click Seeking Glass aircraft was in everyone's thoughts the least bit days Twenty-four hours the day, Common year a year, for most Thirty years. In October 1, 1998 the Navy's E-6 Mercury TACAMO replaced the EC-135 in the Shopping Glass mission.

In July 24, 1990, Looking Glass ceased continuous airborne alarm, however remained in ground or even airborne alert Two dozen hours the day. In a period of time of the continuous airborne alarm period, crews accumulated to a higher degree 281,000 accident-free streaming flying hours, an aviation phenomenon.