SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Illinois -- Air Mobility Command and Air Force Global Strike Command leadership recognized Airmen at multiple air refueling bases Aug. 27-Sept. 5 who played a critical role in the success of Operation Midnight Hammer.
Gen. Johnny Lamontagne, AMC commander, and Maj. Gen. Ty Neuman, AFGSC Strategic Plans, Programs and Requirements Director, expressed their appreciation and reinforced the strategic significance of the June strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities at events that honored Airmen from Travis Air Force Base, California; Fairchild AFB, Washington; Altus AFB, Oklahoma; McConnell AFB, Kansas; MacDill AFB, Florida; and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.
“We are incredibly proud of the Airmen who made this complex and important mission successful,” Lamontagne said. “They are a unified team of aircrews, maintainers, munitions experts, logisticians, intelligence, planners and support professionals coming together to provide unrivaled power projection for the joint force.”
By conducting these recognitions together, the commands showcased the long history of seamlessly integrating the capabilities of global reach and global strike to project power for America anytime, anywhere.
B-2 Spirit aircraft that conducted Operation Midnight Hammer departed Whiteman AFB in Missouri for a 36-hour mission, reached their targets, and returned home without the need for forward staging because they were enabled by KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling aircraft that more than doubled the bombers’ range to more than 13,000 miles.
“With the boundless reach our tankers provide, the free world’s only long-range penetrating bombers become unstoppable, capable of deterring aggression and defeating any adversary,” Gen. Thomas Bussiere, AFGSC commander, said. “This is how history is made."
Editor’s note: The names of those recognized are being withheld to protect operational and personnel security.