Lt. Col. Dave Anderson of the 394th Combat Training Squadron at Whiteman AFB, Mo., on Feb. 17 reached his 1,000th flight hour piloting a B-2A stealth bomber. Anderson, chief of B-2A training systems for the unit, became only the 26th B-2 pilot to reach that pinnacle. “It is a privilege and honor to fly such a magnificent machine,” he said upon reaching the milestone. Anderson has been flying B-2s since 1993, having previously flown B-1Bs for seven years. “I’ve loved every second of it,” he said of his time with the B-2. He added, “Not every minute or hour, but every second.” (Whiteman report by A1C Torey Griffith)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.