The units also received the Air National Guard Award for Superior Unit Performance. Both awards recognized the teamwork, preparation and operational performance behind the long-range strike mission.
On June 21, 2025, seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers departed Whiteman Air Force Base to strike two Iranian nuclear facilities. The aircraft delivered 14 precision-guided weapons against hardened underground targets.
The operation marked the first combat use of the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. More than 4,000 Airmen from 20 squadrons and hundreds of specialties supported the mission.
“GBU-57s and B-2 bombers are technology,” said retired Gen. James Slife, former vice chief of staff of the Air Force. “It’s Airmen that breathe life into technology and turn it into combat capability.”
Slife said the mission tested the wings’ ability to convert years of preparation into combat performance. “When the President called, this set of wings here at Whiteman delivered absolutely brilliantly.”
“The mission showcased to the world how an unrivaled team of teams operates,” said Col. Joshua Wiitala, commander of the 509th Bomb Wing. “There’s only one country in the world that could have pulled this off.”
“And only one team, and that team starts with the Airmen here at Whiteman,” Wiitala said. Personnel supporting the operation included maintainers, intelligence specialists, logisticians, communicators, medical staff and other support teams.
“When people look at Whiteman, it’s like looking at a Swiss watch,” Slife said. “Everyone sees the face of the watch, the B-2s and the GBU-57s, but what makes it a precision timepiece are the gears and springs behind the face.”
Operation Midnight Hammer also demonstrated the Total Force Integration partnership between the active-duty 509th and Air National Guard’s 131st. Air National Guardsmen participated directly in a strategic B-2 strike package for the first time.
“The sum of these two wings is greater than the individual parts,” said Col. Matthew Howard, commander of the 131st Bomb Wing. The two organizations have trained, deployed and operated together for nearly two decades.
“Whiteman is the standard for what right looks like. The Airmen of the 131st and the 509th are absolutely, critically intertwined,” Howard said.
“I believe with all my heart this would have been one of my grandfather’s favorite awards,” said Jonna Doolittle Hoppes, granddaughter of Jimmy Doolittle. “It isn’t about an individual.”
“It’s about everyone who contributed to the success of Operation Midnight Hammer,” Hoppes said. The annual award recognizes organizations whose achievements have a lasting impact on the Air Force and national defense.
“The sheer boldness of Operation Midnight Hammer reminds me of the Doolittle Raid,” Hoppes said. “Every one of you volunteered for a high-risk mission that had never been done before.”
“I’m proud to stand before the team that pulled this off,” Wiitala said. “More than that, thank you for stepping up over and over again to defend this great nation.”
