Knob Noster to mark decade of B-2 bombers at base

KNOB NOSTER, Mo. -- To motorists enjoying peaceful rural scenery along meandering U.S. 50 in western Missouri, the batwing-shaped plane's sudden appearance can be startling.

Knob Noster police Lt. Jane Logan just chuckles.

"You always know the visitors and tourists, because they are pulled over on the highway shoulder to get a good look at it. But folks around here have gotten used to seeing that plane, and we like it," Logan said.

That plane is the B-2. All 21 of the United States' B-2 bombers are based next door to Knob Noster at Whiteman Air Force Base.

On Dec. 17, the town and the base will mark the 10th anniversary of the B-2's arrival at its Missouri headquarters, a mission that re-energized Whiteman, where the end of the Cold War also concluded its role as home of nuclear-tipped missiles.

The B-2 was untested in combat when the first one eased down to its new home in 1993.

Then came combat missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan and, this year, Iraq, all providing tests of the machine and its corps of two-person flying teams and support personnel.

"The B-2 10th anniversary is a very exciting time because it's going to mark a maturation of the B-2," said Col. Doug Raaberg, commander of the B-2s at Whiteman. "In all three of those conflicts, the B-2 has yet to be detected."

Raaberg likes to say that the B-2's main role is "kicking in the door" of targets with a combination of swiftness, undetectability and precision munitions.

At the Sparrow's Nest, a Christian gift shop, popular T-shirts combine an image of the B-2 with this message: "Seek the Everlasting Arms."

The surrounding communities will be invited to the base Dec. 17 to watch a B-2 re-enact the arrival flight a decade ago, and a banquet and ball will be held that night at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg.

Raaberg said he's delighted that the 10th anniversary of the B-2's arrival will be marked on the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.

"There is not just a historical thread there. It's a strong cord through history," he said. "Just think: We went from two men on sand dunes in North Carolina flying the first plane, and now we have two people on a B-2, leading missions for America."

On the Net

Whiteman Air Force Base: www.whiteman.af.mil