Air Force Global Strike Command Communities Unite

ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. — The 28th Bomb Wing provided civic leaders from the greater Cheyenne area, which spans parts of Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming, a look into the B-1B Lancer long range strike mission and showcased the ironclad ties between the base and Black Hills community at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, Feb. 8, 2023.

The 90th Missile Wing of Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming provided the opportunity to visit Ellsworth to acquaint its civic leaders and honorary commanders with the bomber aspect of Air Force Global Strike Command’s global strike mission.

"Air Force Global Strike Command has a vital mission to national security by providing nuclear deterrence," said Col. Robert Ford Jr., 90th Security Forces Group commander and 90th MW Civic Leader Tour escort. "I'm excited for the opportunity to bring our local civic leaders to visit our fellow Strikers at Ellsworth. It's important to show them what the bomber side of the Global Strike mission is all about as the enterprise works modernization efforts."

The visitors represented a wide swath of the greater Cheyenne area and included mayors, senators, administrators, business owners and others from the communities around F.E. Warren. Ellsworth’s guests arrived in Feb. 8, 2023 and connected with civic leaders from across the Black Hills.

“It was an amazing opportunity to meet some of the civic and business leaders from the greater Cheyenne area and talk with them about the strong relationships that communities around the Black Hills have with Ellsworth,” said Jack Lynass, Black Hills Community Bank president, and chair of the Black Hills Military Advisory Coalition. “We share a lot of the same interests and commitment to advancing the current and future missions at the bases we live near. While the mission at F.E. Warren is different than that being accomplished by the Raiders of the 28th Bomb Wing, the commitment to the Airmen and their families are exactly the same.”

An Ellsworth base tour showcased the 28th Maintenance Group Manufacturing Flight where visitors learned about the capabilities of Ellsworth’s cold spray manufacturing and saw a demonstration of the innovative process that took weeks of B-1B repairs down to mere hours, visited with aircrew assigned to the 37th Bomb Squadron, known as The Tigers and met Col. Joseph Sheffield, the 28th Bomb Wing commander, who detailed the history of the Doolittle Raiders and how the 28th BW continues in their legacy of excellence, with the help of the Black Hills community, to this day.