Three cheers for the B-1s in Desert Fox

The B-1B Lancer is no longer a question mark in the Air Force arsenal. It’s now a combat-tested veteran, and the United States knows for certain it can rely on it whenever our national security needs protecting.

And that’s a terrific Christmas present for Dyess Air Force Base and for Abilene.

Even though more than 100 personnel from Dyess remain in Southwest Asia and won’t be home for Christmas, morale at the base is, well, sky high. Friday’s bombing of Iraq by a B-1 in Operation Desert Fox marked the aircraft’s first use in combat. The mission involved successfully dropping 500-pound bombs on Iraqi targets.

The final reports aren’t in yet, but the initial assessment of the performance by the bomber, crew and support personnel is thumbs up all the way. In fact, the maintenance crew exceeded expectations. A training run last week disclosed a B-1 required maintenance that ordinarily would take 48 hours, but everyone had been put on 36-hour notice of possible combat involvement. Obviously, the plane was needed sooner. The maintenance crew kicked into high gear. The job was completed in 17 hours, and that plane flew the first combat mission. What a feat!

That’s the kind of training Dyess provides, and that’s why Dyess remains a critical element in the overall Air Force picture.

Dyess brass, B-1 crews and civilian proponents of the B-1 have argued for years that the bomber had overcome the problems of its infancy and was now capable, when fully supported as it should be, of meeting all the demands that could be placed on it. Thanks to Operation Desert Fox, that’s no longer a theoretical argument. It’s a fact. The country knows it, and the naysayers can take a hike.

The importance for Dyess and for Abilene of the B-1’s outstanding performance in Desert Fox is enormous. The B-1 is, clearly, the future of the Air Force. The plane could have done much more than was asked of it this time. The base and the city have further secured their place in the U.S. military’s lineup and should reasonably expect that enhanced status to pay off.

We owe at lot to the B-1 personnel in Southwest Asia, and we’re relieved that everyone is safe. The two communities, Abilene and Dyess, join together in sending out three loud cheers for the airmen who have done us and the country proud, even though they remain thousands of miles away. We knew they could do it. But there’s no better present than proof.