Airman 1st Class Robert Gaines calls in an air strike Oct. 23 during the Koa Lightning exercise at the Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii. Airman Gaines is a tactical air controller from the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron, Wheeler Army Air Field, Hawaii. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo)
Staff Sgt. George Earhart plots coordinates on a range map Oct. 23 at the Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii. Sergeant Earhart is a tactical air controller from the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron, Wheeler Army Air Field, Hawaii. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo)
A lone crew chief launches a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber for a training combat sortie Oct. 24 on the Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii. They practiced combat operations while working with joint terminal attack controllers on the ground that were calling in coordinates. (Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brian Kimball)
by Tech. Sgt. Steven Wilson
36th Operations Group Public Affairs
10/31/2007 - ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFPN) -- The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber deployed here practiced weapons drops in the Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii Oct. 23 without using built in state of the art targeting system.
This time, the fliers were conducting operations with joint terminal attack controllers on the ground to allow the specially trained Airmen an opportunity to hone their skills with a bomber platform.
JTACs say the difference in what the B-2 brings to the battlefield is dramatic.
"Strategic bombers in and of themselves are huge force multipliers," said Tech. Sgt. Richard Setlock, a JTAC from the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron. "Fighter
attack aircraft can stay on station for 45-minutes and provide six to eight bombs. We can have a bomber overhead for two to four hours and provide four times the firepower that a fighter attack aircraft could."
The global reach and long loiter time over a target is a unique capability of America's bomber force. This makes the B-2 especially lethal to America's enemies.
"Our aerial refueling capability means we're only limited by the human factor of aircrew fatigue," said Col. Damian McCarthy, 36th Operations Group commander. "Having the ability to stay over a target for extended periods, especially in a stealth airframe, gives the combatant commander the option to strike the bad guys at a time and place of their choosing."
This capability can be put to good use by the Airmen on the ground.
"(Bombers) can strike several targets at one time, where a fighter attack aircraft is basically doing one at a time. With accurate coordinates pulled up by a JTAC, we can hit up to fourteen targets at once," Sergeant Setlock said.
For this series of exercises, the B-2s were dropping 2,000-lb bombs on targets in the training area. They did it the old fashioned way too. No laser designating the target and no joint direct attack munitions with global positioning system guidance. It was just the aviators, their instruments, a deadly airframe and some Airmen on the mock battlefield calling in the coordinates.
"This is the first time I've worked with the B-2, and I was actually kind of amazed by the accuracy, considering we weren't using precision weapons," Sergeant Setlock said.
The B-2 deployment to Guam demonstrates the commitment of the U.S. to regional and global security. Alaska, Hawaii and Guam create a strategic triangle in this area of the world and allows the Air Force to project its capabilities from U.S. soil.
