Press Releases

Squadron Commander Relieved
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – Lt. Col. Carsten Stahr, commander of the 28th Force Support Squadron here, was relieved of command Sept. 11 by Col. Derek Oakley, 28th Bomb Wing commander, due to loss of trust and confidence in Stahr's ability to lead the squadron. 
 
Base Conducting Raider Reach Exercise Sept. 9-23
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – Ellsworth personnel are scheduled to participate in a base-wide exercise Sept. 9-23 intended to assess the ability of the 28th Bomb Wing to respond, react, and adapt in various scenarios.
During the exercise, residents on or near the installation may hear announcements over the base’s “giant voice” system, sirens, simulated gunfire, explosions, and see smoke and response vehicles.
The exercise may impact traffic entering and exiting the installation. Individuals are encouraged to plan to arrive early for appointments and call in advance to ensure services are not impacted.
For more information, contact the 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs office at (605) 385-5056, or by emailing 28bw.public.affairs@us.af.mil.

Base Conducting Raider Reach Exercise Sept. 9-23
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – Ellsworth personnel are scheduled to participate in a base-wide exercise Sept. 9-23 intended to assess the ability of the 28th Bomb Wing to respond, react, and adapt in various scenarios.
During the exercise, residents on or near the installation may hear announcements over the base’s “giant voice” system, sirens, simulated gunfire, explosions, and see smoke and response vehicles.
The exercise may impact traffic entering and exiting the installation. Individuals are encouraged to plan to arrive early for appointments and call in advance to ensure services are not impacted.
For more information, contact the 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs office at (605) 385-5056, or by emailing 28bw.public.affairs@us.af.mil.

B-1B Flyover Part of Days of 76 Celebration
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – The 28th Bomb Wing is scheduled to conduct a B-1B flyover in support of the Days of 76 Rodeo in Deadwood. The flyover is scheduled, weather permitting, on July 24 at 7 p.m.B-1 flyovers are part of an approved training missions. Residents living near the event and the surrounding community could experience an increased noise level related to the flyover. Individuals who witness the flyover are encouraged to share their photos and videos on Ellsworth Air Force Base’s official Facebook and Instagram pages available at: www.Facebook.com/ellsworthairforcebase and @ellsworthafb on Instagram. For more information, contact the 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs office at (605) 385-5056, or via email at 28bw.public.affairs@us.af.mil.

Base Conducting Exercise July 24 - 25
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – Ellsworth security personnel are scheduled to conduct an exercise July 24-25 intended to evaluate the ability of the 28th Bomb Wing to respond to a variety of situations. During the exercise, residents on or near the installation may hear announcements over the base’s “giant voice” system, sirens, simulated gunfire, explosions and see smoke and response vehicles. The exercise is not expected to impact traffic entering and exiting the installation. However, individuals are encouraged to plan to arrive early for appointments and call in advance to ensure appointments and services are not impacted. For more information, contact the 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs office at (605) 385-5056, or via email at 28bw.public.affairs@us.af.mil.

Base Conducting Exercise July 16-18
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – Ellsworth security personnel are scheduled to conduct an exercise July 16-18 intended to evaluate the ability of the 28th Bomb Wing to respond to a variety of situations. During the exercise, residents on or near the installation may hear announcements over the base’s “giant voice” system, sirens, simulated gunfire, explosions and see smoke and response vehicles. The exercise is not expected to impact traffic entering and exiting the installation. However, individuals are encouraged to plan to arrive early for appointments and call in advance to ensure appointments and services are not impacted. For more information, contact the 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs office at (605) 385-5056, or via email at 28bw.public.affairs@us.af.mil.

Ellsworth conducting response exercise Apr 17
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – The 28th Bomb Wing will be conducting an active shooter response exercise today, Apr. 17, intended to evaluate the ability of the 28th Bomb Wing to respond to an emergency situation on the installation. During the exercise, residents on or near the installation may hear announcements over the base’s “giant voice” system and sirens, and see response vehicles. All assigned personnel, family members and visitors are required to take appropriate actions. No interference in traffic is expected. For more information, contact the 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs office at (605) 385-5056, or via email at 28bw.public.affairs@us.af.mil.



Press Releases

B-1 aircrews make history by employing laser JDAMs

  • Published
  • By 040512
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  For the first time in history, B-1 aircrews from Ellsworth employed laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions against moving targets during a Weapon System Evaluation Program exercise May 14 to 16.

Aircrews from the 37th Bomb Squadron "Tigers" and 34th BS "Thunderbirds" employed six GBU-54 laser JDAMs against targets on the Utah Test and Training Range as part of the Air Force's air to ground WSEP known as Combat Hammer.

"Combat Hammer provided us with the unique opportunity to employ weapons in real-world scenarios and evaluate the weapon and aircraft-to-weapon interface in great detail due to the telemetry kits on the weapons," said Lt. Col. Stuart Newberry, 37th BS commander. "This data, when coupled with scenarios usually unavailable to us except in combat scenarios, provides us with an opportunity to validate and refine our tactics, techniques, and procedures ... as well as adjust training plans and combat standards."

The goal of the exercise was to evaluate the effectiveness, maintainability, suitability, and accuracy of precision guided munitions and other advanced air to ground weapons. The entire process of weapons handling was evaluated from start to finish during Combat Hammer.

Maj. Michael Ballard, 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron lead bomber evaluator for Combat Hammer, said this time around, WSEP focused on the cradle-to-grave evaluation for the LJDAM.

The LJDAM is a 500-pound, dual-mode guided weapon. It's equipped with a laser seeker, which aids in its ability to demonstrate outstanding accuracy and can be employed to engage both stationary and moving targets on the ground.

"We didn't do anything different because of WSEP - our main focus is always on safe and reliable loading first time, every time," said Master Sgt. Joshua Klotz, 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron NCO in charge of loading. "We qualify monthly on all B-1 bomber assigned munitions and are required to complete proficiency loading every month."

Leadership was mindful in the selection process of aircrews for Combat Hammer, ensuring that Airmen who had less experience would be teamed up with seasoned aviators.

"We try to provide a mix of experience during Combat Hammer sorties," Newberry said. "All crewmembers were fully qualified, but it's important to allow younger aviators - those without a lot of experience - the opportunity to build confidence in their skills and weapon system while they are supervised by more experienced aircrew."

Newberry noted that aircrews have been limited in training opportunities with the LJDAM unless they are participating in a Combat Hammer scenario.

"It was gratifying to be part of the first operational release," said Capt. Charles Armstrong, 37th BS B-1 weapon systems operator and a mission leader for Combat Hammer. "We're learning a lot from these missions, and it's vital to uncover the peculiarities of this weapon now in a training environment so we can employ it with no issues in combat."

Since LJDAMs had never been employed by an operational B-1 squadron before, Ellsworth was the first to be evaluated on tactics and procedures while employing LJDAMs.

Newberry added that the Combat Hammer team continuously looks for different scenarios that could occur during combat situations, including GPS jamming, slowing down or speeding up moving targets, and then attempts to replicate them during sorties.

"Evaluators will be able to retrieve data from the telemetry kits on the weapons and build a picture of how the weapon was or was not affected in various scenarios," Newberry said. "That data is invaluable in refining and adjusting our training plans."

Ellsworth is home to two of the nation's three B-1 combat squadrons and carries the lion's share of the deployment taskings involving the B-1. Since 2007, Ellsworth B-1s have deployed 12 of every 18 months in support of missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Aircrews from Ellsworth conduct missions to rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against adversaries.

Armstrong said that adding LJDAMs to the B-1's already diverse arsenal will only increase the already remarkable mission effectiveness rate Ellsworth has had in current operations around the globe.

For more information, please call the 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs Office at (605) 385-5056.