Dusty Johnson: “I rise today to welcome home the members of the 28th Bomb Wing stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base. The B-1 bombers…”

“I rise today to welcome home the members of the 28th Bomb Wing stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base. The B-1 bombers and crews of the 28th Bomb Wing are returning home today, and over the next few weeks, from their service in Operation Iraqi Freedom. As they did in Kosovo and Afghanistan, the B-1 bombers performed superbly in the war in Iraq. They have once again demonstrated that they are the backbone of America's bomber fleet. The B-1's unique ability to linger over the battlefield and provide responsive firepower at the time and place required by military commanders was an integral part of our victory in Iraq. I want to specifically honor four members of a B-1 crew stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base who were acknowledged for their service during the war. CPT Chris Wachter, LTC Fred Swan, CPT Sloan Hollis, and 1LT Joe Runci were each awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross medal for their April 7 attack on a suspected hideout of Saddam Hussein. While in the course of another assigned mission, this four-member B-1 crew was tasked with striking a building in which current intelligence indicated Saddam Hussein was meeting with top Iraqi officials. This information was relayed to the B-1 crew which confirmed the coordinates, flew to the target, and accurately released four 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs. This all occurred within 12 minutes.”