• Striking the enemy: WSO’s train to fight

    B-52’s and bombs, the two are synonymous when it comes to Barksdale’s global strike capabilities, but what often goes unrecognized, are the men and women inside the plane who actually employ those weapons.Without the skilled Airmen who earn the title of weapons system officer, the lethal B-52H

  • History in the making: final CALCM missile package retired

    The sun has set on an integral component of the United States long-range strategic bombing capabilities as the final Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) package was downloaded and disassembled at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, Nov. 20, 2019.Initially beginning design in 1974, the

  • MacDill broadens global strike

    When carrying out the nation’s top mission, there is no room for failure. The nation relies on the capabilities of its armed forces to ensure that freedoms endure. Strategic deterrence is the responsibility of Airmen from each of the Air Force’s major commands and Air Mobility Command’s role is to

  • Bomber Task Force 20-1 Completes Mission in Europe

    On the evening of the October 10, 2019, four B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers from the 2nd Bomb Wing departed Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, enroute to a month-long deployment at RAF Fairford, England. While based at RAF Fairford, the bombers, air crew, maintainers and support personnel

  • Aircrew flight equipment: The right equipment for a global mission

    Airmen with the 2nd Operations Support Squadron aircrew flight equipment flight line section work around the clock to revise, equip and maintain modules designed to bring aircrew back home in case of survival situation. Survival modules are a self-sustaining lifeline designed provide the aircrew

  • Best with what they’ve got: A new life for old parts

    Just like every other aircraft, parts on a B-52H Stratofortress age, get damaged and become unserviceable.One detachment on base has developed a way to take those unusable parts and create hands-on training opportunities for maintainers.