Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. John Nichols, the 509th Bomb Wing commander, center left, and Col. Ken Eaves, the 131st Bomb Wing commander, display the Omaha Trophy at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., May 8, 2018. The award was awarded to Team Whiteman by U.S. Strategic Command and the Strategic Command Council for executing the best Strategic Bomber Operations of 2017. (U.S. Air Force photos by Senior Airman Jovan Banks)180508-F-YG789-0039
                        
                        
                        Brig. Gen. John Nichols, 509th Bomb Wing commander, center left, and Col. Ken Eaves, the 131st Bomb Wing commander, display the Omaha Trophy at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., May 8, 2018. The award was awarded to Whiteman AFB by U.S. Strategic Command and the Strategic Command Council for executing the best Strategic Bomber Operations of 2017. (U.S. Air Force photos by Senior Airman Jovan Banks)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

STRATCOM Commander Presents Omaha Trophy to 509th, 131st Bomb WingsPublished May 14, 2018
                    
                    By Brye Steeves
                    
                    
                    509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
            **WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. (AFNS) --**Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, awarded the Omaha Trophy to the men and women of the 509th Bomb Wing and 131st Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, May 8, 2018. 
The Omaha Trophy is awarded to units for excellence in strategic deterrence and global strike. Whiteman AFB won the trophy for executing the best Strategic Bomber Operations of 2017. 
The trophy, however, doesn’t recognize an installation; it recognizes a team of individuals—a team of Airmen. 
Hyten recalled a moment when this was reaffirmed to him.
During a family dinnertime conversation years ago, Hyten’s twenty-something son, Chris, shared an observation with his father: “You don’t do any real work anymore.” 
The four-star general certainly felt he was working pretty hard day in and day out. But, Hyten took pause, and then realized his son was right.
“The people do the real work,” Hyten said. 
And that includes the Airmen at Whiteman AFB, whom Hyten thanked in person Tuesday, both as a group of hundreds during an award ceremony and also throughout the day, one-on-one around the base.
“You’re being recognized because you’re the best,” Hyten said. “I’m just here to say ‘thanks.’”
The award was presented by USSTRATCOM and the Strategic Command Council, a civilian advisory group that acts on behalf of the people of Omaha, Nebraska. 
The Omaha Trophy was first presented as one award in 1971. It has since expanded to five categories: Strategic Bomber Operations, Global Operations, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Operations, Submarine Ballistic Missile Operations and Strategic Aircraft Operations. The 509th and 131st BW also earned the trophy in 2013 and the 509th BW received it in 2006.
Omaha business leader Steve Martin helped present the trophy during the ceremony to Brig. Gen. John Nichols, commander of the 509th BW, and Col. Ken Eaves, commander of the 131st BW.
“You stand as the best example of our nation’s freedom,” Martin said.
The two Wings earned the Omaha Trophy because of their interoperability to execute one of the country’s most important national security missions: nuclear deterrence by utilizing the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to dissuade adversaries and assure our allies. The award explicitly recognized Whiteman AFB’s inspection and exercise excellence, as well as the execution of Operation ODYSSEY LIGHTNING in Libya, which significantly degraded the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s ability to carry out attacks in Europe and the United States.
"The total force success of Team Whiteman is truly one to emulate," Eaves said. "Time after time, our successes are spotlighted or awarded by our nation's military and civic leadership. The fact that the 131st and 509th Bomb Wings were honored again with the Omaha Trophy validates the excellence in our deterrence and assurance mission, and reveals how our Airmen continue to make a difference on a global scale." 
Nichols added, “We take our mission very seriously; we understand our responsibility to our communities and our nation, and the Omaha Trophy reinforces that our Airmen’s efforts have a very real impact on the global stage. Team Whiteman is a dedicated, total force and we are immensely proud.”
Hyten had just one reminder for Whiteman AFB before his departure: “Just worry about doing your job every day,” he said, “This is the most important mission you’ll ever do.”Whiteman AFB 



Air Force Global Strike Command 



AFGSC 



U.S. Strategic Command 



USSTRATCOM 



Omaha Trophy 



509th Bomb Wing 



509th BW 



131st Bomb Wing 



131st BW 



deterrence 



Strategic Bomber Operations 2017 



Airmen 



Operation Odyssey Lightning 



B-2 



spirit 



Air Force 



AF 



Air Force Base 



global operations 



Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Operations 



Submarine Ballistic Missile Operations 



Strategic Aircraft Operations Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil