This series honors the 20th anniversary of the delivery of the first B-2 Spirit bomber to Whiteman Air Force Base. Team Whiteman and Air Force Global Strike Command are celebrating this major milestone in Air Force history by naming 2013 the Year of the B-2.
"2013 is a significant year for the 509th Bomb Wing, Team Whiteman, and the entire United States Air Force," said Brig. Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of the 509th Bomb Wing. "For 20 years, the B-2 has defended America as a strategic deterrent, and when called upon by the commander-in-chief, the B-2 has led the way in combat for each of our nation's past four armed conflicts."
The B-2 Spirit is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions. A dramatic leap forward in technology, the bomber represents a major milestone in the U.S. bomber modernization program.
Each B-2 is named for a state (such as the Spirit of Missouri) except for two - the Spirit of Kitty Hawk and the Spirit of America.
The B-2 brings massive firepower to bear, in a short time, anywhere on the globe through previously impenetrable defenses. The first combat use of this capability was during 1999, as part of Operation Allied Force, the air campaign over Serbia and Kosovo. Later the B-2 was instrumental in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq, flying multiple combat sorties, some of which totaled more than 40 hours. Finally, and most recently, three B-2s took off from Whiteman AFB on March 22, 2011 and flew more than 6,000 miles to Libya, where they took part in Operation Odyssey Dawn, a NATO operation to enforce a UN no-fly zone to prevent Muammar Gaddafi from using his air forces to attack civilians. The aircraft destroyed a series of hardened aircraft shelters at an airfield near Sirte, and resulted in the nearly complete destruction of Gaddafi's air forces.
Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, MO, is the home of the 509th Bomb Wing, the world's only B-2 Spirit stealth bomber unit.
The series of 50 geocaches is designed to be found in order and is an approximately 25 mile drive, finishing back where it starts up.
All the caches in this series are located outside of Whiteman AFB's perimeter and the commander of the base's Security Forces Squadron is aware of the proximity of the cache locations to base property. While it is legal to drive along roads next to the base, it is not okay to stop and park on a road where it borders the base. Because of this, none of the caches are hidden in a spot where you will have to park on a road next to the base's border as I don't want you to suffer the consequences of being mistaken for a bad guy gathering information about Whiteman.
Tweezers are suggested, but not required.