Contact: Ernie Blazar 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Tuesday, September 18, 2001

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE - Senator Kit Bond thanked members of the 509th bomb wing today for their service to country during his visit to Whiteman Air Force Base.

“The United States will soon ask much of our troops, especially those at Whiteman who are the tip of our military spear. I thanked them on behalf of all Americans and reassured them that our national leadership is already providing whatever support may be needed for the job ahead.”

Bond is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, which funds the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence community. Whiteman Air Force Base, in Knob Noster, Missouri, is home to the 509th Bomb Wing, which operates the Air Force’s force of 21 strategic B-2 bombers.

Whiteman is the second to last stop on Bond’s “Readiness and Response” tour of Missouri military installations. The purpose of the visits is to personally brief U.S. servicemen and women on the extraordinary unity of purpose in Washington in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. On Friday, he visited with the commanding officer of the 131st Fighter Wing in St. Louis, homeland defense officials at Ft. Leonard Wood and later today will visit the 139th Air Mobility Wing at Rosecrans Memorial Airport in St. Joseph.

The B-2 bombers at Whiteman would likely be used when the United States responds to the terrorist attacks in New York City and the Pentagon. Their first use in combat came on March 24, 1999, during the air war against the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. During Operation Allied Force the B-2s flew 45 30-hour missions, which accounted for less than 1 percent of the combat sorties but dropped 11 percent of the total bombs totaling 1.3 million pounds.

“The terrorists’ war came home to America last week,” said Bond. “In the coming days, America will soon be returning the favor, many times over.”