US Air Force,
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam: The B-2 Spirit is a two-person bomber that can strike a target virtually anywhere in the world. But it takes more than just the pair flying the B-2 to make the Spirit soar.
Members of the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron routinely demonstrate their global reach capability by flying B-2s from Andersen Air Force Base in sorties that can last close to 24-hours in duration.
The Airmen, deployed to Guam from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., take off on missions that often involve dropping weapons on targets located at training ranges in Alaska or Hawaii, and require support from aerial refueling platforms. The B-2s are in Guam to maintain a bomber presence in the Western Pacific, which is aimed at preserving peace and deterrence in the region.
But, a peacetime global power sortie involves more people than the two pilots in the B-2 cockpit.
First, there's the planning.
Peacetime planning
“Mission planning for a global power sortie begins at least a month out,” said Maj. Ryan Link, the 393rd EBS assistant director of operations.
The reason so much time is taken for planning these long duration missions is to ensure things like tankers, command and control, ground members and the training ranges are all coordinated and scheduled perfectly, Major Link said. A few weeks prior to the actual flight, it takes four people to plan for the specifics of one jet's particular mission.
After that, the aircrews just stroll out to their jet, fire it up and cruise off. Right? Wrong.
“During the day of the sortie, there are two pilots to pre-flight the jet,” Major Link said. “There's one pilot to act as an equipment mover, one pilot to sit command and control for the sortie, one pilot for supervisor of flying and all of the pilots that mission planned to brief and ensure the fliers are prepared.”
Half of a 24-pilot squadron can be involved in a global power sortie from the beginning to its end, Major Link said.
Wartime planning
While peacetime planning can sometimes take weeks to coordinate, a combat sortie can be built and executed in a matter of hours when needed.
“We're training new mission leads and other specialists during these global power training missions,” said Lt. Col. John Vitacca, the 393rd EBS commander. “Mission planning timelines for combat sorties are completely different.”
During exercises or combat operations, concurrent actions by the Air Operations Center and the B-2's mission planning cell reduce the timeline, Colonel Vitacca said. For wartime planning, a mission can be planned and a B-2 ready to strike a target anywhere on the globe at a time and place of the combatant commander's choosing.
However, there's much more to keeping a squadron flying than just flying.
Teamwork
“Almost every aspect of the care and feeding of the squadron is accomplished by the pilots,” Major Link said. Some of the things involved in running an operational bomber squadron that largely fall to the aviators are training, standardization, scheduling, deployment, tactics and mission planning.
“Flying, by percentage, actually takes up a relatively little portion of our work schedule,” he said.
But, they don't get it done alone.
While the B-2 aircrews are constantly ready and prepared to put a weapon across a target if ordered to do so, there's a very special group of Airmen the fliers entrust their lives to for every mission.
“I cannot go to the fight without the professional support of all our enlisted troops,” Major Link said. “However, life support is most directly involved with our daily flying operations.”
The pilots fly the mission, but a group of very specialized Airmen make sure they can get there and back should the worst of situations arises.
“We take care of the pilots so they have one less thing to worry about,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Cost, the NCO in charge of the aircrew flight equipment section. He said he and Airmen from his section maintain and repair things like the survival vests the aviators wear, their helmets and the attached breathing apparatus.
“Ultimately, the price paid could be death if we didn't do our jobs,” he said.
“Their professional conduct while maintaining my equipment can, quite literally, is the difference between life and death,” Major Link said. “It never fails to impress me how these troops shoulder their grave responsibility to me, my family, and this country without hesitation. I can always count on my life support equipment to be well maintained and working properly.”
