B-2 Pilots Celebrate with Dining-In

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Frank Cavuoti
  • 394th Combat Training Squadron
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Past, present and future Stealth Bomber pilots gathered April 11 at the Mission's End during the third B-2 Pilot Dining-In to celebrate their collective diverse backgrounds, their unique and rich heritage and their shared common vision. 

An unprecedented 150 B-2 pilots attended this Air Force function, including 50 who were able to return from off-station locations like Offutt and Langley AFBs, the Pentagon and even some deployed sites. 

Brig. Gen. Jonathan D. George, a former B-2 pilot (#92) and prior 509th Operations Group Commander here, attended as the guest speaker presiding over this formal event rich with Air Force tradition. General George is a recent returnee from a 365 day deployment having served as Deputy Commanding General, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. 

Our current 509th Bomb Wing Vice Commander, Col. John Robinson (#393) served as the President of the Mess, assisted by Capt. Mike "Bear" Belardo (#368) as Mr. Vice. Lt. Gen. Ronald C. Marcotte (#26), Col. Robert Wheeler (#167), Col. Tom Bussiere (#114), Col. Eric Theisen (#44), and Capt. Allen Clark (#TBD) filled out the Cranium Table. 

The Air Force tradition of the Dining-In has ancient pre-Christian Roman roots, through Viking warlords and King Arthur's knights in the sixth century, by way of British soldiers in Colonial America and George Washington's Continental Army, to General Henry H. Hap Arnold's "Wing Dings" in the 1930's and into today's present format. Through this all, 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 Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Chief of Naval Operations, Queen of England and the President, as well as the somber POW/MIA table ceremony. Additionally, some less formal but just as important traditions like the "Grog Bowl" and wearing of unit specific regalia were observed. The events were even pleasantly interrupted by our own Fire Department with the delivery of Grog Bowl materials. 

The Dining-In was a culmination of several events surrounding this gathering of so many B-2 Pilots, to include a formal and informal ReBlue Professional Symposium and golf tournament. This series of events and B-2 Pilot Dining-In usher our wing into a significant timeframe, as we prepare to celebrate on the 105th Year Anniversary of Man's First Flight and the 15th Year Anniversary of the first arrival of the B-2 Stealth Bomber here Dec. 17. 

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!