I have a pretty weird problem with this game with my Logitech Extreme 3D Pro joystick. I can get to the game just fine, I can calibrate my joystick without issues and even move the cursor in the game with my joystick. But when I try to steer my fighter plane with my joystick, nothing happens. I can turn my head around in the cockpit using my joystick when I press joy button 2 and then turn my joystick around, but nothing else. I have been trying to fiddle around with DosBox config options but nothing seems to help. It seems as the game recognizes my joystick just fine, but I just cannot steer my plane with it.

Other dosbox games works without issues. For example all Wing Commander games (Privateer included), but Strike Commader does not let me turn my plane. Is there some kind of button I need to press to activate joystick controls or what? Also, the reference card says that pressing ALT+O should get me to options, but that button combo does nothing.

A few things you can try or should look at.

Make sure your joystick is the preferred device in the Windows gamecontrollerpanel.
Open the dosbox%.conf file with notepad and set joystick=auto, timed=false and if you want correct rudder set swap34=true, note that SC supports rudder but throttle is keyboard only which is a bit strange.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I actually managed to get to the games own "options" screen (ALT+O). This was only accessible during flight and I guess I just pressed ALT + O too early before, because I was not able to get it to show. The "options" screen was not accessible when you are on the runway ready to take off. Only after the view was inside the cockpit was I able to enter the "options" screen. In there, my flight options were set to keyboard. When I changed them to joystick it started to work. Weird that it was not on joystick by default.