WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Accurate and timely intelligence is crucial to the 509th Bomb Wing’s mission. Good information brings awareness of adversary capabilities, but incorrect intelligence could cause a mission to fail.
To provide accurate and timely intelligence the 509th Operational Support Squadron’s intelligence officers embed within different operational squadrons to support a variety of operations across Whiteman Air Force Base.
Embedded intelligence officers use compiled information about adversary capabilities and significant threats to build realistic training scenarios to encourage pilots to think creatively and solve problems.
“My job is to ensure they know how to fly in simulated combat,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Emma, 13th Bomb Squadron Mission Training Cell chief of intelligence. “We make it as realistic as we can for them to learn how to get through certain types of missions.”
Emma said simulated training provides pilots a safe environment where they can make mistakes and the training can be scaled to be either more difficult or less difficult, depending on what the pilots are practicing.
Intelligence officers are also part of mission planning every step of the way, ensuring that pilots know what threats are out there and how to defeat them, so they can accomplish their mission and come back alive, said U.S. Air Force Capt. Calvin, 509th Operation Group executive officer.
Intelligence officers take information that the intelligence community generates, sort through it, then process it for dissemination.
“It’s our job to categorize the billions and billions of pieces of data out there and filter it down to the one or two pieces of information that the pilots need to know,” said Calvin.
Having accurate information is critical with a mission like the B-2 Spirit because of its ability to strike anytime, anywhere in the world.
Team Whiteman’s intelligence officers help ensure mission success and credible deterrence by providing accurate and timely information for our operations.