B-1 Bomber Joins Air Show
37th Bomb Squadron Brings Rare Aircraft
Of all the sights and sounds of the Sioux Falls Air Show, the toughest of them all may have been parked on the ground.
A B-1 Bomber from Ellsworth Air Force Base showed what it’s about Saturday afternoon.
Not only its hardware, however, but the group that makes it work.
A crew from the 37th Bomb Squadron was presented to detail the aircraft’s capabilities and what their positions were.
Weapons Systems Officer First Lieutenant call-sign “Ice” said he has a lineage of combat fliers.
“My grandfather actually flew F-4’s and following that, my father flew B-52’s then B-1’s and he was one of the original guys on the B-1’s back in the day,” said 1st Lt. Ice
He said continuing the family line in the sky gives him added pride to be in his position.
“Knowing one, that my dad did that but also it’s just an amazing aircraft and being selected for it was an awesome privilege,” said Ice.
For its pilot, Captain call-sign “Knuckles,” she said the visit was a trip closer to home in Humboldt.
She also said trips to airshows give them the opportunity to explain their everyday duties.
“Not a lot of people have ever seen one. A lot of people still think we carry nukes but we only carry conventional weapons so just getting them out there, walking around a plane and showing them what our capabilities are kind of expands the knowledge of the general public,” said Knuckles.
For the job itself, Maj. call-sign “Crowbar” said the dynamic situations is the best part.
“Actively trying to solve a problem that there’s some sort of event going on on the ground that I’ve got a whole bunch of tools available to make a large difference. I think it’s coming up with a right solution in a timely manner,” said Crowbar.
The 37th Bomb Squadron recently returned from deployment this past January.
They spent several month aiding ground troops over Iraq and Syria.
Capt. “Knuckles” said while on deployment, they released the most weapons by any B-1 Squadron in history.
