Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visits Team Whiteman

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joel Pfiester
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visited Team Whiteman here as part of his final tour to U.S. military bases Jan. 13, 2015.

Secretary Hagel took time to meet with Airmen from Team Whiteman who all support the same mission -- delivering dynamic air power for the United States and providing both a powerful deterrent to our enemies and an assurance to our allies.

After being greeted by base leadership, Hagel toured a B-2 Spirit and received insight from pilots and maintainers.

Maj. Aaron Hager, 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander, gave Secretary Hagel a tour of the B-2 and spoke about the aircrafts special capabilities, noting that the B-2 can bring massive firepower to bear, in a short time, anywhere on the globe through previously impenetrable defenses, which is why it is so well-suited to its deterrence mission.

After touring the B-2 Secretary Hagel held a troop call where he addressed questions from the joint service crowd and spoke about the next generation of long-range strike bombers. 

"We need to upgrade the capacity and capabilities to assure that our platforms stay ahead of our adversaries," said Secretary Hagel. "The long-range strike bomber is absolutely essential to keep our deterrent edge as we go into the next 25 years. It is a critical element of our long-range strategic deterrence capabilities."

He also spoke about the importance of Team Whiteman and its mission of ensuring a strong and reliable strategic deterrent to any adversary.  The key, he said, is that our adversaries not only know and trust that we have such unique deterrent capabilities, but also that they believe we will use them if necessary.    
 
With Secretary Hagel announcing his resignation last November, this will be his final tour speaking to service members as defense secretary. Ashton Carter, former deputy defense secretary, was nominated in early December to take Hagel's place.