Ellsworth Airmen deliver record breaking results

  • Published
  • By Airman Hrair H. Palyan
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  The 34th Bomb Squadron returned home Jan. 25 after a record breaking deployment to Southwest Asia, continuing a stellar performance provided by the 37th Bomb Squadron.

In the last 12 months, B-1Bs from Ellsworth flew more than 1,200 combat sorties totaling more than 15,000 hours, with a mission effectiveness rate of 98.83 percent. During this period, they also received nearly 200 million pounds of fuel during in-flight refueling operations, searched nearly 15,000 Named Areas of Interest and filled 3,000 Joint Tactical Air Requests for the joint force.

"We proved again that when we're called upon we can accomplish the mission and deliver support for ground force commanders," said Lt. Col. John Martin, 34th BS commander. "When we're not out there, American lives are at risk."

Ellsworth Airmen responded to troops-in-contact situations 432 times, providing B-1B top cover to American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines in Afghanistan who were receiving enemy fire. Over the course of two deployments, Ellsworth B-1 aircrews dropped nearly 700 weapons, resulting in the destruction of over 320 targets and an estimated 150 enemies killed.

"We flew more sorties in this deployment than any other deployment prior to this," said Martin. "This deployment was a terrific bookend for what was a decade of dominance for our base."

Ellsworth aircrews provided critical air presence, precision strike, and surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, which once again supported military objectives in the region. Additionally, Airmen in a variety of non-aviation roles performed a wide range of sortie generation and mission assurance duties.