Aircraft, crew and support personnel from Bossier City's Barksdale Air Force Base continue to be at the heart of our nation's fight against international terrorism.

Several of Barksdale's B-52s have been at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar since early April as part of  operations to battle terrorists in Iraq and Syria, including bombing sorties that began in mid-April.

From an official Air Force release:

"The B-52 will provide the Coalition continued precision and deliver desired airpower effects," said Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. of the U.S. Air Forces Central Command and Combined Forces Air Component in a press release. "As a multi-role platform, the B-52 offers diverse capabilities including delivery of precision weapons and the flexibility and endurance needed to support the combatant commander's priorities and strengthen the Coalition team."B-52s first launched in 1952 and have been instrumental in several U. S. operations, including Operation Desert Storm in Kuwait  in 1991 and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2006. The planes can fly up to 650 mph and have a 70,000 pound carrying capacity and are capable of a variety of missions, including strategic attack, maritime operations and also close-air support.

"To date, coalition forces have conducted more than 33,000 missions as of April. Since June 2014, the coalition has struck approximately 459 vehicle-based improvised explosive devices, 776 mortar systems, 1,933 logistics buildings housing these weapons, 662 weapons caches and 1,341 staging areas."

 

More From K945, The Hit Music Channel