Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base ( AFB ) is a United States Air Force base located approximately south of Knob Noster , Missouri ; east - southeast of Kansas City , Missouri . The host unit at Whiteman AFB is the 509th Bomb Wing ( 509 BW ) , assigned to the Eighth Air Force of the Air Force Global Strike Command . The 509 BW operates the B - 2 Spirit Stealth Bomber , designed to be employed to strike high - value target s that are either out of range of conventional aircraft or considered to be too heavily defended for conventional aircraft to strike without a high risk of loss . Whiteman AFB was established in 1942 as Sedalia Glider Base . Overview . Whiteman AFB is a joint - service base , with Air Force , Army and Navy units . Its host unit is the U . S . Air Force ' s 509th Bomb Wing ( 509 BW ) . Tenant units include the Missouri Air National Guard ' s 131st Bomb Wing ( 131 BW ) , the Air Force Reserve Command ' s 442nd Fighter Wing ( 442 FW ) , the Missouri Army National Guard ' s 1 / 135th Aviation Battalion and the U . S . Navy Reserve ' s Mobile Inshore Undersea Warfare Unit 114 . Whiteman AFB is the only permanent base for the B - 2 Spirit stealth bomber . Whiteman can launch combat sorties directly from Missouri to any part of the globe , engaging adversaries with nuclear or conventional weapon payloads . The 509th Bomb Wing first flew the B - 2 in combat against Serbia in March 1999 . Later , Whiteman B - 2s led the way for America ' s military response to the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D . C . in September 2001 . B - 2 bombers were the first U . S . aircraft to enter Afghanistan airspace in October 2001 , paving the way for other coalition aircraft to engage Taliban and Al Queda forces . During these operations , the aircraft flew round - trip from Missouri , logging combat missions in excess of 40 hours – the longest on record . Other aircraft assigned to Whiteman include the A - 10 Thunderbolt II ground - attack fighter ; the T - 38 Talon jet trainer , and the AH - 64 Apache attack helicopter . Units . The 509th Bomb Wing consists of the following groups : The 509th Force Support Squadron is a part of the * 509th Mission Support Group at Whiteman AFB Missouri The 131st Bomb Wing is a unit of the Missouri Air National Guard . It is located at Whiteman AFB as an associate unit of the 509th Bomb Wing The 442nd Fighter Wing , an Air Force Reserve Command unit controlled by the Tenth Air Force In addition , the wing boasts the 442nd Medical Squadron , as well as a wing staff . There are also two geographically separated units that report to the 442nd Fighter Wing . The 710th Medical Squadron and 610th Intelligence Operations Flight , both located at Offutt Air Force Base , Nebraska , look to the 442nd FW for support in accomplishing their missions . The 476th Fighter Group , stationed at Moody Air Force Base , Georgia , is an Air Force Reserve Command unit linked to the 23rd Fighter Group at Moody . The 442 FW oversees the 476th FG ' s administrative and mission - support needs not provided by Moody ' s host , active - duty wing . It consists of the following squadrons : Missouri Army National Guard 1st Battalion 135th Attack Reconnaissance Brigade , AH - 64 Apache The Navy Reserve ' s Maritime Expeditionary Security Division 11 , which provides light , mobile , short - duration , point defense Anti - Terrorism Force Protection forces for USN ships and aircraft and other high value assets in locations where U . S . or host - nation security infrastructure is either inadequate or non - existent . History . Named in honor of 2d Lieutenant George Allison Whiteman ( 1919 – 1941 ) . On 7 December 1941 Lieutenant Whiteman attempted to take off from Bellows Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . Hit by enemy fire , his P - 40 Warhawk crashed and Lieutenant Whiteman became the first member of the United States armed forces to die in aerial combat in World War II . World War II . The base had its beginnings in 1942 when U . S . Army Air Corps officials selected the site of the present - day base to be the home of Sedalia Army Air Field and a training base for WACO glider pilots . In May 1942 , construction workers descended upon an area known to locals as the " Blue Flats " because of the color of the soil and began building a railroad spur for the new air base . The new railroad line , laid by the Missouri - Pacific Railroad , was only the beginning . The runways , the main impetus for the base , required 27 , 800 square yards of concrete . The entire runway was poured in 18 hours during a driving Midwestern rainstorm . The base reached a major milestone on 6 August 1942 when the Army declared the field officially open . In November 1942 , the installation became Sedalia Army Air Field and was assigned to the I Troop Carrier Command of the Army Air Force . The field served as a training site for glider tactics and paratroopers . It was one of the eight bases in the United States dedicated to training glider pilots for combat missions performed by the Troop Carrier Command . Pilots flew C - 46 or C - 47 transports and several types of cargo and personnel gliders , usually the Waco CG - 4A . The forest green , fabric - covered gliders could carry 15 fully equipped men or a quarter - ton truck plus a smaller crew . They were towed in either single or double tow behind the transport aircraft and could land on fields not equipped for larger aircraft . In the opening months of 1945 Sedalia AAFld began converting from C - 47s to C - 46s . By July and August 1945 , the base had assumed the function of providing central instructor training for all combat crew training bases throughout the I Troop Carrier Command . This program provided skills and teaching methods in all aspects of troop carrier flying . During the massive demobilization in the mid - 1940s , the base closed and most of the buildings were abandoned . Cold War . In August 1951 , SAC selected Sedalia AFB to be one of its new bombardment wings , with the first all - jet bomber , the B - 47 Stratojet , and the KC - 97 Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft assigned to the unit . Construction of facilities was conducted by the 4224th Air Base Squadron until 20 October 1952 , when the base was turned over to the 340th Bombardment Wing . The first B - 47 arrived on 25 March 1954 and the first KC - 97 arrived six months later . On 3 Dec 1955 , Sedalia AFB became Whiteman AFB in honor of 2nd Lt George A . Whiteman . A native of Sedalia , Whiteman was one of the first American airmen killed in World War II when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , on 7 Dec 1941 . During the attack of Bellows Air Field , Oahu , Lieutenant Whiteman managed to reach his fighter aircraft . While attempting to take off , enemy fighters attacked his plane and Whiteman ' s P - 40 crashed , fatally injuring the mid - Missouri native . By the time rescue teams reached the aircraft , Whiteman had died . Construction on Whiteman continued throughout the 1950s . During this period , the Air Force built military family housing units as well as a base pool and gymnasium . However , a project on a much grander scale soon overshadowed this flurry of construction . In June 1961 , the Department of Defense chose Whiteman to host the fourth Minuteman ICBM wing . On 17 Jan 1962 , the joint venture team of Morrison - Knudsen , Paul Hardeman , Inc . , Perini Corporation , and C . H . Leavell & Co . received the prime contract for construction of hardened , underground launch facilities and 15 launch control centers . The project called for the excavation of over 2 , 000 , 000 cubic yards of earth and rock . The contractors used 168 , 000 yards of concrete , 25 , 355 tons of reinforcing steel and 15 , 120 tons of structural steel . In addition , the project called for the installation of a vast underground intersite cable network . If laid end to end in a straight line , this cable would stretch from Whiteman AFB to beyond Los Angeles . Construction of the complex was officially completed in June 1964 at a cost of $ 60 , 665 , 000 . Before completion of the construction , SAC activated the 351st Strategic Missile Wing at Whiteman on 1 Feb 1963 . The 340th BMW gradually phased out operations during the same year with its remnants transferring to Bergstrom AFB , Texas , on 1 Sep 1963 . After the mission change in 1963 , life on Whiteman remained relatively stable throughout the 1960s and 1970s . Still , there were programs to continually update and improve the base ' s weapons systems . Whiteman initially employed the Minuteman I weapons system until the mid - 1960s , when a force modernization program converted the Minuteman I to the Minuteman II . Throughout the ICBM ' s tenure at Whiteman , it went through a variety of modifications to keep it at the forefront of America ' s defense . Several new buildings emerged from time to time as the base matured . However , with the beginning of the 1980s , a new construction phase started . New missile operations , maintenance and security police facilities as well as several enlisted dormitories marked the start of a new era . Meanwhile , the base continued to lead the way . In the late 1980s , the 351st fielded the first female Minuteman missile crew , the first male and female Minuteman crew , and the first squadron commander to pull alert in the Minuteman system . Under the provisions of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty , the Minuteman II system is being inactivated . Then came an announcement that would change Whiteman forever . On 5 Jan 1987 , Congressman Ike Skelton revealed that the first deployment of the B - 2 Advanced Technology Bomber would be at Whiteman . Beginning in 1988 , a massive construction wave that created new buildings designed for B - 2 operations , maintenance and support activities swept over the base . On 1 July 1990 , the 100th Air Division activated at Whiteman and assumed host responsibilities for the base . Accordingly , the 351st Combat Support Group and the 351st Security Police Group , along with their assigned units and the squadrons under the deputy commander for resource management , inactivated at Whiteman . Concurrently , the Air Force activated equivalent squadrons bearing the 800th designator to replace the inactivated 351st units . Modern era . Several months after the air division ' s activation , on 30 Sep 1990 , the 509th Bomb Wing moved its headquarters to Whiteman albeit in an unmanned and non - operational state . However , the 100th AD ' s tenure at Whiteman did not last long as SAC inactivated the unit on 26 July 1991 . Similarly , Whiteman ' s host unit responsibilities reverted to the 351st . During the next two years , Whiteman ' s building infrastructure continued to grow as the arrival date of the first B - 2 drew nearer . Meanwhile , another change developed in the Air Force . With the end of the Cold War , the Air Force disestablished Strategic Air Command , Tactical Air Command and Military Air Command on 1 June 1992 . In their place arose two new organizations , one of which was Air Combat Command , the 509th ' s newer , higher headquarters . On 1 April 1993 , the 509th returned to operational status when people from Detachment 509 , the base ' s B - 2 overseers for the past two years , were formally assigned to the wing . Then , on 1 July 1993 , the 509th accepted the host responsibilities for Whiteman from the 351st and a new era dawned for the base . Several days later , on 20 July 1993 , flying operations returned to the base after a 30 - year hiatus when the first permanently assigned T - 38 landed at Whiteman . Then , on 17 Dec 1993 , the event that Whiteman had long awaited finally arrived . On that day , at approximately 2 pm , a dark jet bomber swooped from the sky and landed on the Whiteman runway . Amid much fanfare , the first operational B - 2 , The Spirit of Missouri , had arrived . Less than a week later , on 22 Dec 1993 , Whiteman again made history as it generated the first B - 2 sortie from the base . On 12 June 1994 , the base welcomed the 442nd Fighter Wing ( 442 FW ) . The 442nd , an Air Force Reserve Command unit operating the A - 10 Thunderbolt II was previously assigned to Richards - Gebaur AFB , Missouri , transferring to Whiteman after the closure of Richards - Gebaur . Yet , the 442nd was not really a newcomer to the base . On 1 Sep 1943 , the then - called 442nd Troop Carrier Group activated at Sedalia Army Air Field . It subsequently remained at the base until December 1943 . In 1995 the base also lost one of its long - time resident units . On 31 July 1995 , the 351st Missile Wing officially inactivated , ending its 33 - year association with Whiteman AFB . Throughout its history , the base has always been at the forefront of national defense . With the arrival of the first B - 2 and the subsequent assignment of others , the future for the installation does , indeed , look bright for many years to come . On 1 Feb 2010 , the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base became part of the newly created Air Force Global Strike Command . In February 2010 , the 20th Reconnaissance Squadron , a ground control station for unmanned aerial drones , began operation at the base . Previous names . Established as : Sedalia Glider Base , 1 March 1942 Geography . Whiteman AFB is located at ( 38 . 732758 , −93 . 554851 ) . According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 13 . 4 km² ( 5 . 2 mi² ) , all land . Part of the base is a census - designated place ( CDP ) ; it had a population of 3 , 814 at the 2000 census . Nearby towns include Knob Noster and Warrensburg . The nearest major city is Kansas City , Missouri . Demographics . As of the census of 2000 , there were 3 , 814 people , 931 households , and 901 families residing in the CDP . The population density was 284 . 8 / km² ( 737 . 7 / mi² ) . There were 982 housing units at an average density of 73 . 3 / km² ( 189 . 9 / mi² ) . The racial makeup of the CDP was 81 . 8 % White , 9 . 7 % Black or African American , 0 . 7 % Native American , 1 . 7 % Asian , 0 . 5 % Pacific Islander , 2 . 2 % from other races , and 3 . 5 % from two or more races . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5 . 7 % of the population . There were 931 households out of which 79 . 2 % had children under the age of 18 living with them , 90 . 1 % were married couples living together , 4 . 2 % had a female householder with no husband present , and 3 . 2 % were non - families . 2 . 7 % of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older . The average household size was 3 . 53 and the average family size was 3 . 56 . In the CDP the population was spread out with 37 . 6 % under the age of 18 , 25 . 7 % from 18 to 24 , 35 . 5 % from 25 to 44 , 1 . 2 % from 45 to 64 , and 0 . 1 % who were 65 years of age or older . The median age was 21 years . For every 100 females there were 125 . 5 males . For every 100 females age 18 and over , there were 130 . 9 males . The median income for a household in the CDP was $ 33 , 664 , and the median income for a family was $ 32 , 586 . Males had a median income of $ 22 , 095 versus $ 16 , 466 for females . The per capita income for the CDP was $ 11 , 538 . About 5 . 6 % of families and 7 . 3 % of the population were below the poverty line , including 7 . 3 % of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over . Whiteman in pop culture . Whiteman was one of the settings for the television movie " The Day After " . In the Dale Brown novel " Plan of Attack " , the base is destroyed by two Russian nuclear - tipped AS - 17 Krypton cruise missiles . In the aftermath , only two B - 2 stealth bombers survive .