After more than eight years of planning and construction, Air Force Global Strike Command officials cut the ribbon on a new storage and weapons load training facility at Barksdale AFB, La., according to a base release. The Louisiana installation is home to the 2nd Bomb Wing, a nuclear-capable B-52 unit. The building, which opened on Sept. 19, will help streamline operations for the 2nd Maintenance Group by providing a covered area for airmen to store training munitions and the MHU-196 trailers they use to load munitions on B-52s during drills, states the Sept. 25 release. Prior to its opening, crews had to store the trailers on the flight line, and inclement weather could bring training operations to a standstill. “The facility will provide greater storage area, keep our items in better shape, and prevent us from losing any training time because our munitions will be serviceable,” said TSgt. Erin Bernik, a lead crew member with the group. Housing the MHU-196s in the facility will also save on their maintenance costs, states the release. Plus, the building will serve as a central meeting location for crews to train.
U.S. munitions have been expended at a high rate during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, prompting concerns that the Pentagon is eating into weapons stockpiles it needs to deter threats around the world. Yet the newly released $1.5 trillion defense budget request was developed before the war against Iran and…