WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- On July 17, 2019, the B-2 Spirit turned 30 years old – a special milestone of aviation and 509th Bomb Wing history.
During these years, the Whiteman AFB base newspaper chronicled the mission and accomplishments of Team Whiteman as “The Warrior” - or under its old mastheads like “Spirit Times.”
Effective July 27, 2019, however, the legacy base newspaper will no longer be available in print.
For many years, the Whiteman Warrior has been distributed every Friday with 4,800 copies delivered on and around base and served as our primary news outlet. It is an indelible part of our base history and its spirit will live on as we continue to highlight the accomplishments of Airmen on base and worldwide in new ways:
Our stories and announcements, as well of coverage of events in our community, will continue to be available in non-print forms. Rather than layout and distribute paper copies of the Warrior each Friday, the 509th Bomb Wing will continue to inform Airmen, families and supporters via our digital channels such as our website, mobile app and social media. This shift will enable us to reach a wider audience in a more timely and convenient fashion.
Pivot to digital resources
You can now find all content digitally on whiteman.af.mil and shared with you via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
In addition, information will be even more accessible than ever with AF Connect, the Air Force-wide mobile application toolkit. The free app can be downloaded via Apple and Android app stores today. Simply add Whiteman AFB as your favorite to receive up-to-date news, notifications and access useful features such as PT Score calculator, events calendar and phone directory at your fingertips.
Trying to find a story or picture later? We also permanently archive published material via the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) for use by news media, and download by Airmen and families.
The decision to change our command information products did not come easy. You’re reading this story on a screen and this will likely not surprise you: The way we read news and get information has changed.
We live and operate in a 24-hour environment. The conversation in news and social media doesn’t stop and wait for the publishing deadline of a weekly newspaper. Many stories and events notifications are old or offer short notice by the time we are able to get them into a Friday newspaper. A week later – they are often old news.
In a world expecting increasingly instantaneous and interactive communication; research by the Air Force Public Affairs Agency showed that digital tools offer far more effective ways to reach Airmen and families with the information they need.
If you prefer the smell of newsprint, you may view this change as we do, with some sentimentality, as we anticipate the last day to see the paper in print will be Friday, Aug. 2.
Our team sincerely thanks you for your readership and we hope you will join us online.
Download the new mobile app, AF Connect, from your app store and favorite "Whiteman AFB" for all updates relevant to your career and family! Questions or suggestions? Submit them to our contact section on whiteman.af.mil/connect or message us on Facebook.