B-2 pilots celebrate 20 years with dining-in

  • Published
  • By Retired Lt. Col. Frank Cavuoti (#78)
  • Det. 5, 29th Training Systems Squadron
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Past, present and future B-2 Spirit stealth bomber pilots gathered June 14 during the fourth B-2 Pilot Dining-In to celebrate their collective diverse backgrounds, their unique and rich heritage, their shared common vision, and 20 years of the B-2 stealth bomber.

Held at Whiteman Air Force Base Mission's End club, an unprecedented 133 B-2 pilots attended, including 51 who were able to return from off-station locations such as Lajes Field, Portugal; Edwards AFB, Calif.; Barksdale AFB, La.; the Pentagon and many other "stealthy" areas.

Major Gen. Garrett Harencak, a former B-2 pilot (#407) and the eighth B-2 wing commander here at Whiteman, attended as the guest speaker presiding over this formal event rich with Air Force tradition. Harencak currently serves as assistant chief of staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration in Washington, D.C.

Our current 509th Bomb Wing commander, Brig. Gen. Thomas Bussiere (#114), served as the President of the Mess, assisted by Capt. Marcus Antonini (#500) as Mr. Vice.
Brigadier Gen. Scott Vander Hamm (#94), Brig. Gen. Greg Champagne (#403), Brig. Gen. Jim Dawkins (#184), Col. Michael Francis (#427), Col. Kenneth Eaves (#420), Col. Rob Spalding (#191), Col. Kristen Goodwin (#279), and Capt. Dale Wilds (#551) filled out the Cranium Table. The lowest Spirit in attendance was Tom Lebeau (#5).

The Air Force tradition of the dining-in has ancient, pre-Christian, Roman roots, coming to our modern times by way of Viking warlords and King Arthur's knights in the sixth century, through British soldiers in colonial America and George Washington's Continental Army, to Gen. Henry H. Hap Arnold's "Wing Dings" in the 1930s and finally, into today's present format.

Through all this, the purpose of the dining-in is to bring together members of a unit in an atmosphere of camaraderie, good fellowship and social rapport to promote high morale and esprit de corps.

Formal traditions during this Mess Dress event included toasts to the president, the queen, the chief of staff of the Air Force, chief of naval operations and deployed members, as well as the somber POW/MIA table ceremony.

Additionally, attendees observed some less formal but just as important traditions, like the "grog bowl" and wearing of unit specific regalia. The evening was even pleasantly interrupted by a live satellite feed from Fox New Network's own Greta Van Susteren and past presidential candidate, Arizona Sen. John McCain, with special messages to all B-2 pilots.

The actual dining-in was a culmination of several events surrounding this gathering of so many B-2 pilots, to include a ReBlue Symposium, aircraft and simulators refreshers, and a Stealth Golf Tournament complete with joint air-to-surface standoff missile and massive ordnance penetrator shots.

This series of events and B-2 pilot dining-in usher our wing into a very significant timeframe, as we prepare to celebrate Dec. 17 as the 110-year anniversary of man's first flight and the 20-year anniversary of the first arrival of the B-2 stealth bomber here at Whiteman AFB.

Many thanks to all the individuals that volunteered to make this event such a success. It is your hard work and dedication that keeps tradition and the Spirit alive!