United States Senator Deb Fischer’s Weekly Column
On March 4, 1944, the 95th Bombardment Group was doing what few others could do. Just three months before D-Day, in the thick of World War II, poor weather conditions threatened to derail an important bombing raid. The cloud cover was too heavy for many units to fly through, as snowstorms enveloped the skies above Germany. These units either were recalled altogether or forced to attack secondary targets. But the 95th Bombardment Group persevered through storm and cloud. They attacked Berlin and successfully hit their target despite the hostile weather. That remarkable mission—the first ever daylight bombing raid over Berlin—earned the 95th their third Distinguished Unit Citation.
Eighty years later, the 95th Bombardment Group lineage is being honored again. After serving various purposes over the decades for our national defense, and being inactivated and reactivated more than once, it was reactivated last weekend as the 95th Wing. I was proud to attend the activation ceremony of the unit, based at our own Offutt Air Force Base.
At the activation ceremony, we honored the accomplishments of the 595th Command and Control Group, which will now be a part of the 95th Wing. As Col. Patrick Hook, 595th Command and Control Group commander, observed in his speech, this unit has overcome a thousand-year flood and endured the COVID-19 pandemic. They had to find a way to execute their mission while displaced because of these events. The men and women of the 595th have accomplished their mission despite adverse circumstances.
We also heard about the vision for the new 95th Wing. The 95th will fill a critical role centralizing and streamlining the support forces of our nation’s nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) in one place: Offutt Air Force Base. As a response to Great Power Competition between the United States and our peer nuclear adversaries, Russia and China, the Air Force reorganized to create this centralized unit. The 95th Wing’s mission is to strengthen NC3, allowing the president of the United States to direct nuclear forces during a crisis.
The 95th Wing is comprised of units from the 595th Command and Control Group, which maintains and operates a fleet of four “Doomsday Planes”; the 610th (Six-Tenth) Command and Control Squadron, an Air Force Reserve unit; and the 253rd (Two-Fifty-Third) Command and Control Group, an Air National Guard unit involved in missile command and control.
Finally, at the activation ceremony, we heard about the history and heritage of what is now the 95th Wing. The 95th Bomb Group Memorials Foundation attended the ceremony and expressed their confidence that the 95th Wing will build on the legacy of the 95th Bomb Group. The 95th honors that legacy with its adoption of the 95th Bombardment Group’s original emblem and the same “Square B” aircraft tail insignia used during the Second World War. These symbols remind us of the heroism of the 95th Bombardment Group, a heroism that will be continued by the men and women of the 95th Wing.
As Col. David Leaumont (La-Mont), 95th Wing commander, said at the ceremony, the 95th Wing will carry on the heritage of a storied World War II unit while moving forward with complex missions providing national-level command and control. Nebraska is proud of the 95th Wing and its placement at Offutt Air Force Base. We look forward to watching all that the unit accomplishes in the years to come.
Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
