[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3749-3750]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    DYESS AIR FORCE BASE MILESTONES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RANDY NEUGEBAUER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 20, 2012

  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the work of the 
men and women of Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, we are a country that has been at war for over 10 years. 
Whether it is the 317th Airlift Group delivering troops and supplies to 
the front lines, or the 7th Bomb Wing putting metal on target, the 
missions at Dyess have played indispensable roles in the war against 
terror. Today I would like to honor two recent major milestones that 
have been achieved by these exemplary airmen.
  Earlier this month the B-1 bomber flew its 10,000th combat mission. 
Since 2001, the B-1 has been providing intelligence, surveillance, 
reconnaissance, and close air support to our troops on the ground 
nearly 24 hours a day, 7 says a week. In fact, at this very moment, 
there is a B-1 in the air over southwest Asia. Able to carry a larger 
payload than any other aircraft in the military, one supersonic B-1 can 
do the same job of multiple aircraft. It is truly a workhorse in our 
military.
  Additionally, March 7th marked the 3,000th consecutive day of 
deployment for the 317th Airlift Group. Since December of 2003, more 
than 7,000 airmen from this unit have been put in harm's way. The air 
mobility mission is one of the most important missions in the modern 
military. Operations that used to take weeks or months now take days or 
hours. The 317th has often been labeled the ``busiest C-130 unit'' in 
the Air Force, and this current deployed streak is another honored mark 
in the long history of Dyess Airlifters.
  Mr. Speaker, I have come to the floor today to recognize and 
celebrate these achievements, and to honor the sacrifices the men and 
women of Dyess have made. And I am a firm believer that when one member 
of the family serves this country--the whole family serves. Deployments 
across the globe over the last decade have meant many missed birthdays, 
holidays, and special moments for our soldiers and their families. May 
we never take for granted the sacrifices our men and women in uniform 
make every day for our freedom and security.
  I ask that the two attached articles also be made a part of the 
Record.

                            [Feb. 27, 2012]

                The Bone Notches 10,000 Combat Missions

                           (By Philip Ewing)

       America's favorite low-flying, long-loitering, wing-
     swinging bomber has flown its 10,000th combat mission, Boeing 
     announced Monday.
       The B-IB Lancer in question flew its sortie over 
     Afghanistan--where the Bone has had a second career 
     supporting troops on the ground--and returned to its base in, 
     er, ``Southwest Asia,'' Boeing announced. (The bases in Qatar 
     and the UAE aren't actually there, and the Air Force clings 
     to that non-fact like a vise.)
       Here's more of what Big B said:
       The heavy bomber entered service with the U.S. Air Force on 
     June 29, 1985, and has been in nearly continuous combat for 
     the past 10 years. The milestone mission took off from a base 
     in Southwest Asia and was flown in support of operations over 
     Afghanistan before returning to base.
       ``The B-1 brings tremendous flexibility to our nation's 
     defense,'' said Lt. Col. Alejandro Gomez, mission team lead. 
     ``In any mission, the B-1 has the ability to loiter, dash, 
     positively identify targets, show force, and strike targets 
     precisely. Whatever our aircrews are asked to do, they can 
     perform with this aircraft.''
       B-1 crews in Southwest Asia fly a variety of missions, 
     including close air support for troops on the ground, giving 
     them cover and alerting them to threats they cannot see. On-
     site maintainers keep the fleet ready to fly.
       ``10,000 conventional combat missions for a relatively 
     small fleet of 66 B-1s is a major milestone and a testament 
     to the men and women who built, sustain and modernize the 
     fleet, including the U.S. Air Force, Boeing and our 
     subcontractors,'' said Rick Greenwell, Boeing B-1 program 
     director. ``We continue to draw on expertise and experience 
     from across Boeing to enhance our support of this amazing 
     aircraft.''
       The B-1 bomber has advanced over the years as it is 
     modified for current needs. The aircraft began as a nuclear 
     bomber and moved into a solely conventional role in the 
     1990s. It carries the largest payload in the Air Force's 
     long-range bomber fleet--during Operation Iraqi Freedom, it 
     dropped 40 percent of all weapons while flying only 5 percent 
     of the sorties.

[[Page 3750]]

       Today's B-1 can carry a mixed load of weapons in each of 
     its three bays. Its long range allows it to base far from the 
     conflict and loiter unrefueled for long periods. Its swept 
     wings allow it to fly fast, slow, low or high as the 
     situation demands. With only four crewmembers required, 
     missions can rapidly be adjusted in flight to keep up with 
     adversaries. The radar and targeting pod can be used for 
     positive target identification and the aircraft can employ a 
     variety of other weapons, including Joint Direct Attack 
     Munitions (JDAMs), Laser JDAMs, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff 
     Missiles-Extended Range, and BLU-129 warheads.
       ``The B-1 fleet and crews have readily adapted to an ever-
     changing environment to accomplish this 10,000th combat 
     sortie milestone,'' said Greenwell. ``This aircraft has 
     proven its ability to continue to evolve and be effective 
     well into the future.''
       And as the B-1 's adopted parent, Boeing isn't the only one 
     pleased with its performance. The Air Force appears to have 
     quietly shelved its onetime idea of beginning to pare back 
     bombers to save money, at least in the near term. Its fiscal 
     2013 budget submission this month included this unambiguous 
     sentence: ``The Air Force does not plan to retire any bomber 
     aircraft in FY 2013.''
       That will mean ever more combat missions for the Lancer 
     fleet, at least for now.
                                  ____


    Dyess' 317th Airlift Group Celebrates 3,000 Continuous Days of 
                            Deployment Today

                           (By Brian Bethel)

       They call Dyess Air Force Base's 317th Airlift Group 
     ``purple ops'' these days, said Maj. Jason Anderson, who 
     bears the lengthy title of 317th operation support squadron 
     assistant director of operations.
       ``We called the 40th blue squadron, the 39th red 
     squadron,'' Anderson said, musing about the tail colors that 
     once graced the C-130s of the base's 39th and 40th Airlift 
     Squadrons.
       But now the 317th, which today at the base marked 3,000 
     days of continuous deployment, is one. Since Dec. 20, 2003, 
     Dyess' 317th has had ``folks in the theater fighting the 
     war,'' Anderson said.
       ``The tails changed,'' Anderson said. ``They're now both 
     red and blue. And the attitudes changed. It's one team 
     fighting for one another.''
       It takes a four-month on, four-month off rotation to keep 
     up that tempo, he said, with both squadrons, a ``maintenance 
     package,'' and numerous others, from tactics to intelligence, 
     working together to keep planes flying and missions running 
     smoothly.
       In general, ``a little over 200'' people from the 317th 
     Airlift Group are deployed at any time, with more than 7,000 
     airmen deployed over the 3,000-day period, Anderson said.
       ``There's always a squadron that's out there at any given 
     time,'' he said.
       Gray Bridwell, an honorary commander for the 317th Airlift 
     Group, said that when the initial deployment began, he was 
     honorary commander for the 317th Maintenance Squadron and 
     ``as a civilian'' had little understanding about ``massive 
     deployments of this nature.''
       ``Little did I know 3,000 days later this routine would be 
     the normal mode of operations,'' he said.
       Typically, deployments are a little more than 120 days, 
     Anderson said, meaning that there have been more than a 
     million ``airmen days'' of deployment since the first.
       Dyess' C-130s have been key in providing combat and 
     humanitarian aid in overseas operations, most recently in 
     Operation New Dawn since the withdrawal of combat troops from 
     Iraq, said Master Sgt. Matt Rossi, 39th Airlift Squadron 
     loadmaster superintendent.
       ``But when we're not doing that, we answer the nation's 
     call with humanitarian aid, whether it's in South America, 
     Japan, Africa or wherever it's needed,'' Rossi said.
       Anderson said that the airdrop and medical evacuation are 
     essential pieces of what the 317th's planes are regularly 
     called to do.
       ``The airlift piece is probably something you could equate 
     to the air-land mission of FedEx or UPS,'' he said. ``We are 
     delivering goods, but with us, we're delivering what the 
     military needs. So it's not only beans, bullets and water but 
     people, as well, to different locations. And a lot of the 
     time, we do that in harm's way, so that's where we're 
     different.''
       The airdrop portion of the C-130 mission is primarily 
     dropping ``air packages, supplies, sometimes even special 
     reconnaissance teams'' to forward-operating bases, such as 
     those in the mountains of Afghanistan.
       The medical evacuation component is ``the saving lives 
     piece'' of the mission, Anderson said.
       ``You can think of us as a hospital in the sky,'' he said.
       Wounded soldiers, ``even wounded Iraqis,'' are served by 
     that part of the mission, he said, while other humanitarian 
     missions, such as providing aid to those affected by flooding 
     in Pakistan, are another vital component.
       Time away from home can be tough, said Rossi, who once 
     spent a year deployed in Afghanistan as an air adviser.
       Being away from home for a year, and working with 
     individuals of an at-times profoundly different culture, 
     proved challenging but rewarding, he said.
       ``You're not only building an air force but a good 
     relationship between the Americans and the Afghans, and not 
     just the soldiers but the civilians,'' he said.
       When squadron members come home, their work doesn't end, 
     Rossi said.
       ``We have to maintain proficiency in the aircraft,'' he 
     said. ``We're constantly training, and we train like we 
     fight.''
       Such training can include low-level flying, tactical 
     approaches and landings, Rossi said, with a goal of becoming 
     proficient in such before being in a deployed environment, 
     especially if facing combat.
       For Anderson, training also is time to prepare for ``a 
     multitude of different types of contingencies.''
       ``We have to be forward-looking at what could happen and 
     make sure our military is ready,'' he said. ``If we fight in 
     other theaters, like we're down in South America or we're in 
     a different theater, it's a very different scenario.''
       Looking back on the accomplishment of 3,000 deployment days 
     Tuesday, Bridwell said he was exceptionally proud of all the 
     Dyess personnel ``who serve our country so well.''
       ``I especially want to thank the families for their daily 
     contributions to our nation's hard-earned security,'' he 
     said.
       Anderson said that the support of the community is 
     essential in achieving the milestone.
       ``Living in Abilene, folks here understand what we go 
     through and support us, and they do that in a million 
     different venues,'' he said.
       Rossi said that the accomplishment was important not only 
     to highlight what troops had done but also to ``highlight the 
     support that we've received.''
       ``People on the base would be lying if they say they don't 
     get a warm spot in their heart when someone out in the public 
     thanks them for their service,'' he said.
       A seven-aircraft launch is among activities scheduled 
     today, a day of storytelling and remembrances, Anderson said.
       ``When you're running so hard, a lot of the time you don't 
     remember how far you've gone,'' he said of the need to stop 
     and reflect.
       And then? Back to work.
       ``We know this is not stopping,'' Anderson said of the 
     317th's future. ``And we know we are ready and will be ready 
     to answer the nation's call.''

                          ____________________