• The real deal on coming home

    If you have recently returned to Whiteman Air Force Base, let me first of all say to you a very heartfelt welcome home and well done. Anyone who has counted down the days knows the sweetness of returning to loved ones and familiar surroundings. Often there is a "honeymoon" period after deployment,

  • March signals start of tornado season

    The start of "tornado season" is once again upon Missouri, but if you ask around, local residents will tell you that tornadoes can happen year round. On an average, the state of Missouri reports 26 tornadoes per year and 3 deaths. While a small percentage of tornadoes actually strike occupied

  • Words from the Forward Operating Location

    Hafa Adai (greetings) from the Niner Forward Operating Location, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. With three months of this deployment complete, we've succeeded in accomplishing many of our pre-deployment goals and have also fielded many additional taskings and projects with professionalism. As this

  • SECDEF revisits past at Whiteman

    It was a homecoming of sorts as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates visited here Nov. 20 to meet with local community leaders and members of Team Whiteman. Secretary Gates first came to the base as a second lieutenant in 1967 when he was assigned to the 351st Strategic Missile Wing, which controlled

  • Wing announces quarterly award winners

    The 509th Bomb Wing honored third quarter award winners during a breakfast at the Mission's End Oct. 25. The winners are:                                            CGO Second Lieutenant Claus Fasting, 509th Munitions, is the Company Grade Officer of the Quarter. Lieutenant Fasting was a leader

  • Perspectives on change

    I'm sure you've heard it said "the only constant is change." For many of us, change can be very frustrating, but change offers us many opportunities. It allows us to refine our processes and rid ourselves of waste. It forces us to get in the instructions and brush up on requirements, instead of

  • Life’s lessons

    My grandfather was a very wise man. Although he never said much, what he did say often caught me off guard and I really never understood the underlying meanings until much later in life. My fondest memories of Grandfather are immersed in this quiet man's actions and the truth in his sayings. On one

  • TRICARE Reserve Select deadline extended

    Did you miss the Sept. 30 deadline to re-enroll into TRICARE Reserve Select? Previously enrolled and eligible Reserve Component members still have until Nov. 29 to re-enroll in TRS and still have continuous TRICARE coverage. Members who want a retroactive coverage effective date of Oct. 1 must

  • New TRICARE Reserve select program begins Oct. 1

    Oct. 1 marks the first day of a new and simplified TRICARE Reserve Select health care plan. Current TRS members who do not enroll into the restructured program risk losing continuous TRICARE coverage for themselves and their families, as active re-enrollment is required and is not automatic. The

  • Introduction to OPSEC

    When employing aircraft in any type of hostile situation, most people instantly think of the physical characteristics that make it survivable. Throughout the history of air power tactics and counter tactics, aircraft have used speed and maneuverability, electronic countermeasures, the ability to fly