Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 06 (14 page)

 
          
“But
what makes me proudest of this base’s legacy is its commitment to its
community. The people of
Bossier City
and
Shreveport
, and the soldiers of Barksdale, have been
tightly linked, supporting one another through good times and bad, through
triumphs and tragedies. I was privileged to serve as a wing commander of the
Second Bomb Wing during my career—the year we missed the Fairchild Trophy by
missing one time-over-target by eleven seconds, I hasten to add—and so I know
firsthand the link that has always existed between the uniformed and civilian
members of the Bossier City and Shreveport community. It is a tradition that
has set the standard for the rest of the
United States
’ armed services.

 
          
“I
am pleased to tell you that the Air Force is giving back to this great
community a great deal of the support that we have received over the decades.
Barksdale Air Force Base will become Barksdale Jetport, with a variety of
aviation and non-aviation businesses relocating here with state and federal
assistance, including an aviation-career campus of Louisiana State University;
the base hospital will become a joint Veterans Administration and community
hospital; and the other buildings, housing units, and dormitories on base will
be used for a variety of programs and industries, including job retraining and
agricultural research.

 
          
“In
addition, the men and women of the 9-17th Wing of the Air Force Reserves under
Brigadier General selectee Maxwell will still be here with the A-10 Thunderbolt
II, but will eventually transition from the B-52H to the B-1B Lancer bomber
when all of the B-ls go to the Guard and Reserves; and the beautiful Eighth Air
Force Museum will still be here, open to the public, mostly because of the
generous support from our friends in western Louisiana and eastern Texas. The
Air Force is committed to easing the impact of the loss of a
one-hundred-and-sixty- million-dollar federal payroll to the citizens of the
cities of
Shreveport
and
Bossier City
.”

 
          
Samson
paused, fidgeted with his notes for a moment, then added solemnly, “I can also
tell you that it has been announced by the Pentagon that Eighth Air Force will
stand down, as of October first of this year.”

 
          
There
was a plainly shocked expression from most of the audience and even from most
of the staff—this was news to almost everybody. “For sixty years, Eighth Air
Force has been synonymous with the heavy bomber,” Samson went on, sticking to
his prepared remarks, even though he, like many in the audience, was obviously
emotionally affected by the surprise announcement. “From northern
Africa
to
Europe
to
Korea
to
Vietnam
to the Kremlin to the
Middle East
, warplanes bearing the ‘Mighty Eighth’ seal
have struck terror into the hearts of the enemy as they hunkered down against
the relentless bombardment of our planes.

 
          
“Our
planes were rarely pretty—the B-17, B-29, B-36, even the B- 52H behind me could
hardly be called sexy except by a few romantic ex- crewdogs like myself. Our
missions were certainly never very glamorous—Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
Inchon Harbor, Linebacker Two, the Iraqi Second Corps and Republican Guards,
and the nightmarish concept of MAD, or ‘mutually assured destruction.’ But the
men, women, and machines of Eighth Air Force have always been victorious by the
use of the world’s deadliest war machines, the heavy bomber. As the old saying
goes, ‘fighters are fun, but bombers win wars,’ and that has been true ever
since Lieutenant Eugene M. Barksdale of the Eighth Aero Group, Army Air Corps,
the pioneer for whom this base was named, first carried a seven-pound mortar
shell aloft in his Curtis- Wright Aero to test out the then-outlandish idea of
dropping bombs from an airplane.”

 
          
Finally,
the emotions welling to the surface could be contained no more. Ignoring the
reporters and cameras—CNN was here, carrying this ceremony internationally, as
were a number of local stations, but still the big three-star general ignored
the warning lights flashing in his brain— Samson put aside his notes and
affixed his audience with a deep, sincere stare, as he continued:

 
          
“As
commander of Eighth Air Force, the major operational command in charge of Air
Combat Command’s heavy and medium bomber forces, I can tell you that Em not in
agreement with my superiors on their decision to drastically reduce the size of
the bomber force by retiring all the B-52H and F-111F bombers and to turn all
of the sixty operational B-1B Lancer bombers over to the Air National Guard and
Air Force Reserves, with the other thirty B-l bombers going into flyable
storage. This decision will leave Air Combat Command with only twenty
active-duty long-range bombers, the B-2A Spirit stealth bombers, by the year
2000— yes, twenty bombers, twenty planes.” The audience, which was made up of
community leaders and military dependents, all very knowledgeable of the Air
Force’s plans for the heavy bomber force and how their plans affected their lives,
shook their heads in sympathetic amazement.

 
          
“The
argument is of course that the B-2 stealth bomber is that much more capable,
that the threat has changed, and the B-52s and B-ls are too costly to maintain
and don’t have enough precision-guided weapon capability. The newer planes, the
F-15s and F-16s and F-22s and the Navy birds with their laser-guided weapons,
can perform surgical strikes on any target, while the ‘heavies’ lack a similar
precision-kill capability and it would be far too costly to retrofit them to
give them the same capability. I can’t argue with the fact that the B-2 is an
incredible warplane and it is redefining strategic warfare almost every time it
flies. I will also not argue that the threats facing the
United States
and its military have changed: we are no
longer using nuclear deterrence to threaten any nation, a strategy that the
people of Barksdale and the other warriors of the U.S. Air Force exemplified
but whose time is now past. We now foresee numbers of low-intensity non-nuclear
conflicts similar to Desert Storm, rather than a major intercontinental war
between superpowers with the possible use of nuclear weapons.

 
          
“But
I will continue to argue the fact that when a crisis of any size erupts
anywhere in the world, there is only one weapon system in existence, short of
nuclear weapons—which in my mind are totally obsolete, except for the very
small numbers that should be kept in case of a totally unforeseen political
occurrence—that can quickly and effectively reduce or even eliminate an enemy’s
ability to wage war, and that is the heavy bomber,” Samson went on, gripping
the sides of the podium, as if he had to restrain himself from pounding on it
or rushing into the audience to punctuate his points. “With or without forward
bases, with or without sea access, with or without warning, with or without
cooperation from allies or other nations, only the long-range bombers, along
with the tanker force and with the latest in standoff and near-precision
guided- weapon technology, can destroy the enemy’s will to fight. In the
opening days of a conflict, the intercontinental-range bombers would make the
difference between stabilizing or even eliminating the crisis, and losing
control of it.

 
          
“Twenty
B-2 bombers plus the ready Reserve B-ls might be able to affect the course of a
conflict in one region of the world for a few days, perhaps even a few weeks,
until other land- or sea-based forces could arrive. My concern is, what if no
other forces are available? What if the seas are denied us, unlikely as that
scenario may be? We were lucky in Desert Storm because we had a great and
powerful ally,
Saudi Arabia
, with large bases close to the action and
plenty of fuel and with two major bodies of water under Coalition control to
operate carriers and submarines. We were also very lucky because Saddam Hussein
chose not to sweep into northern
Saudi Arabia
and destroy
Riyadh
, the Saudi oil fields, or the numerous
Saudi military bases there, and instead allowed the Coalition a full six months
to prepare for war. We should not rely on any of those advantages in the next
conflict.

 
          
“And
what if another even more serious conflict breaks out somewhere else in the
world, so we are faced with two major low-intensity conflicts? In my opinion,
eighty bombers, or whatever number of them that survive the first crisis, would
be hard-pressed to respond to a second crisis elsewhere in the world with the
speed and power necessary to make a difference.”

 
          
The
audience was very quiet; a few nodding heads could be seen, a few surprised
expressions at Samson speaking his mind so plainly. This was not an uplifting
good-bye speech by the bomber forces commander—this was an ominous warning
message. Samson paused to get his emotions under control; then he took a deep
breath and continued: “I want to thank the men and women of Second Bomb Wing
for your service, and also add a personal thank-you to the men and women of
Eighth Air Force for your hard work and dedication to duty to the command, to
our nation, and to me.

 
          
“And
I know it seems silly to do so, but indulge me: I want to thank the B-52
bomber, and all the men and women who have taken them into battle and who have
sat with them on nuclear alert, defending our homes, our freedom, our way of
life, and protecting our allies. You’re only a big hunk of metal, ten thousand
random parts flying in formation, but God bless you anyway.” The applause was
unexpectedly loud and long, which greatly pleased General Samson, who took a
long look at the B-52H behind him and gave it a thumbs-up. He then turned back
to the audience, snapped to attention, and said in a loud voice, “Attention to
orders from the commander in chief.”

 
          
“Wing,
ten
-hut\
” General Vidriano shouted.
The uniformed men and women came to attention, and the audience respectfully
stood.

 
          
Samson
was passed a blue binder, and he opened it and read, “By order of the commander
in chief of the armed forces of the United States of America, the Second
Bombardment Wing, Heavy, and its component squadrons, Barksdale Air Force Base,
Louisiana, are hereby relieved of all combat and support duties and ordered to
stand down this date.” The tears flowed again, from the big man at the podium
to the combat veterans to the tough young security policemen guarding the line.
“Your success in long-range bombardment missions, as well as in maintaining a
strategic combat-ready posture over the years, has ensured the peace and
security of the
United States
and of the free world, and reflects great
credit upon yourselves and the United States Air Force. I am pleased to express
the heartfelt thanks of a grateful nation.
Mission
accomplished. Job well done. Signed, The
Honorable Arthur S. Chastain, Secretary of Defense; The Honorable Sheila F.
Hewlett, Secretary of the Air Force; General Victor A. Hayes,
Chief of Staff
,
United States
Air Force. General Vidriano, carry out the
orders.”

 
          
Vidriano
saluted, then said in a loud voice, “Wing, present your colors!” Samson closed
the binder, then left the podium and walked in front of the group of officers
and their guidon-bearers. One by one, the individual squadrons were called out.
As the squadron commander’s and senior NCOIC’s names, along with a little of
each squadron’s history and major accomplishments, were read aloud to the
audience, the officers and guidon-bearers stepped forward, and the guidon was
rolled up on its staff, covered, and presented to the Second Bomb Wing
commander, who gave it to his wing NCOIC.   _

 
          
After
all of the squadron guidons were furled and covered, General Vidriano then took
the wing flag, the tip of its flag’s staff festooned with dozens of campaign
ribbons won from more than fifty years of combat service, from his wing’s
senior noncommissioned officer and, holding it in two hands, held it out
stiffly with both arms fully extended and presented it to General Samson. “Sir,
I present to you the Second Bomb Wing, Heavy, the best heavy bombardment wing
in the world. The wing has stood down, as ordered.”