5th Air Force
Bomb Wing returns
to Hawaii
The air group, here for
By Gregg K. Kakesako
RimPac 98, saved Hilo
back in 1935
Star-BulletinLt. Col. Joe Griffith was 2 years old when the B-52H Stratofortress bomber he now pilots rolled off Boeing's assembly line in 1960.
But the long-range, heavy bomber is still the backbone of the Air Force, delivering 40 percent of all the weapons dropped by coalition forces during Desert Storm in 1991.
On July 17, elements of 5th Bomb Wing flew to Hawaii where it was once stationed to participate in the largest maritime exercise in the Pacific: RimPac 98,ml6 Lt. Col. Mike
Moeller which brings together the countries of Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, South Korea and the United States.
Working for the first time in the Pacific theater under a concept known as Air Expeditionary Group, the U.S. Air Force has combined eight F-16 jet fighters, one AWACS aircraft, four B-1B bombers and four B-52 bombers to practice what they would do in a wartime mission. A total of 300 Air Force personnel is involved.
"It's excellent training," said Griffith, the wing's plans officer. "We are integrated into a group, and this is the way we would fight."
Cmdr. Neil "Cowboy" Zerbe, 3rd Fleet plans officer, said the concept was developed following Desert Storm as the Air Force developed plans and packages to react quickly to impending crises.
In the case of the B-52 and B-1B bombers, the idea is to launch them from their home bases, have them drop their ordnance and return, Zerbe said.
But to help with the post-mission evaluations, the bombers may fly into Hickam Air Force Base for debriefings before returning home.
Yesterday, two B-52 bombers took off from Hickam and flew to the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area, where Navy SEALs on the ground helped direct the bomber's laser-guided munitions from an altitude of 15,000 feet before returning to Louisiana.
This year's RimPac exercise also gave B-52 bomber crews the chance to practice their maritime strike missions, which included launching AGM 142 missiles at targets north of Kauai.
For the 5th Bomb Wing, now located at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, it was a homecoming of sorts, said Lt. Col. Mike Moeller.
The motto on the wing's patch is in Hawaiian -- "Kiai O Ka Lewa," which means "Guardians of the Upper Realms" and dates back when the "Bomber Barons" were located in Hawaii.
Moeller said, "Fifth Bomb Wing earned its place in Hawaiian history when it saved the city of Hilo during the 1935 Mauna Loa eruption."
Dropping 20 600-pound bombs on the volcano, elements of the 5th Bomb Wing and the 23rd Bomber Squadron were able to divert the flow from Hilo. The patch of the 23rd Bomber Squadron now depicts bombs falling into a volcano.
Six years later, on Dec. 7, 1941, the 5th Bomb Wing lost six B-17 bombers during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
The RimPac training exercises began nearly 30 years ago and this year bring together more than 25,000 military personnel for a month ending Aug. 6.
As a farewell salute to the islands, 12 to 14 ships participating in the 16th RimPac naval exercise will parade past Waikiki and Diamond Head Aug. 6 on their way home. RimPac parade
Led by the American carrier USS Carl Vinson, ships from the other participating countries -- Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan and South Korea -- will steam past Waikiki about 4,000 yards from shore beginning at 11 a.m. after leaving Pearl Harbor.
RimPac, or Rim of the Pacific, is the largest maritime naval exercise in the Pacific, involving more than 50 ships, 200 aircraft and 25,000 military personnel.
