JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Two U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirits took off from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPH-H), Hawaii, to conduct routine training in the vicinity of Guam and Hawaii, Sept. 6, 2018.

The B-2s deployed to JBPH-H from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, in support of the U.S. Strategic Command’s (USSTRATCOM) Bomber Task Force deployment. USSTRATCOM regularly tests and evaluates the readiness of strategic assets to ensure they are able to honor U.S. security commitments.

“This unique training is key to ensuring that our crews are ready,” said Lt. Col. Nicholas Adcock, Air Force Global Strike 393rd Bomber Squadron commander. “Our allies and partners depend on us to be ready, capable, and lethal at all times in the joint environment. Our crews need the integration experience to maximize our platform and pilots’ capabilities.”

The B-2s regularly rotate through the Indo-Pacific region to conduct routine air operations that integrate capabilities with key regional partners and familiarize aircrews with operations in the region.

Although this is the first time the B-2s deployed specifically to JBPH-H, it’s not the first time they were in the region. The B-2s last deployed to the Indo-Pacific theater at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in January 2018. During their last deployment, they conducted local and regional training sorties and integrated capabilities with key regional partners.

“Hickam affords us the chance to work closely with the 154th Air National Guard Wing and refine and exercise multiple tactics, techniques and procedures that are crucial to the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility,” Adcock said.

With a wingspan of 172 feet, the width of a football field, plus 12 feet, and weight of 160,000 pounds, this multi-role bomber provides flexibility and effectiveness inherent in manned bombers. Bomber missions demonstrate the credibility of U.S. forces to address a global security environment, which demonstrates U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.