Ellsworth bomb wing commander said B1 fleet is being restored to readiness

Nearly two decades of war in the Middle East has taken its toll on the nation’s aging B-1B Lancer strategic bombers, which need critical structural repair work at a time when the demand on the U.S. Air Force's bomber fleet continues to rise.

Col. David Doss, commander of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, told a noon gathering of the Black Hills Press Club and Forum on Friday in Rapid City that the “demand for bombers has not shrunk, and the demand for the B-1B has never gone away.”

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in July that just six of the nation’s 60 B-1B bombers are fully mission capable.

Doss commands about 21 of the 45 B-1s split between Ellsworth and Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.

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