The wing can launch combat sorties directly from Missouri to any spot on the globe, engaging adversaries with large payloads of traditional or precision-guided munitions.

[6] The 509th BW led the way for America's first military response following the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., on 11 September 2001.

The group made history on 6 August 1945, when the Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay," piloted by Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

The B-29 "Bockscar," piloted by Maj. Charles Sweeney, flew over the Japanese mainland on 9 August 1945 and dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

The 509th was taken off nuclear alert as its B-52Ds were designed to carry a large number of conventional bombs (84 500-lb Mk 82 or 42 750 lb M-117s) for service in the Vietnam War as part of Operation Arc Light.

Headquarters SAC decreed that the 509th would not inactivate but would transfer to Whiteman Air Force Base to become the first B-2 stealth bomber unit.

In 1988, Pease was identified as one of several Air Force installations to be closed by 1991 as part of a Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendation.

In 1988, Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO) announced the B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber would be based at Whiteman AFB, Missouri.

Its 509th OG received the first operational B-2 Spirit stealth bomber on 17 December 1993 (the date was the 49th anniversary of the activation of the 509th Composite Group and the 90th of the Wright brothers' flight).

[6] Since its arrival at Whiteman, the 509th underwent inspections, tests, and other challenges to insure it was ready to return as an integral part of the nation's defensive coalition.

This deployment provides a continuous bomber presence in the Asia-Pacific region and augmented Pacific Command's establishment of a deterrent force.

[6] On June 5, 2015, Paul W. Tibbets IV, grandson of the World War II nuclear pilot, assumed command of the 509th Bomb Wing.

[12] Or, in base a label Gules of three, surmounted by an atomic cloud Proper, between a pair of wings Azure; all with a diminished bordure of the first.

Attached below the shield a White scroll edged with a narrow Yellow border and inscribed "DEFENSOR VINDEX" (Latin for "Champion Defender") in Blue letters.

When the ancient Greeks approached a stranger, they raised their arms with palms outward to show they were carrying no weapons – a sign of peace.

Finally, the 'eldest son' symbol (the red 'tripod') shows that the wing is the oldest atomic trained military unit in the world.