STRATCOM wishes you 'Happy New Year'!
US Strategic Command boasts about its bombs in disturbing New Year message
B-2 Spirit stealth bomber as shown in STRATCOM's New Year video © Twitter / US Strategic Command
The world is ringing-in 2019 with good cheer, but the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) has a different kind of fireworks in mind. On New Year's Eve, it showed off footage of stealth bombers and big explosions.
STRATCOM’s New Year’s greetings come in the form of a 40-second video of the B-2 Spirit bomber in flight. The aircraft deploys two GBU-57s – huge bunker buster bombs known as Massive Ordnance Penetrators – which hit a target on the testing grounds.
“Times Square tradition rings in the New Year by dropping the big ball… if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger,” STRATCOM tweeted, referring to the traditional celebration in New York City and it’s dropping crystal ball.
Now-deleted video message from US Strategic Command © Twitter / STRATCOM
The bizarre message got almost 2,000 likes and close to 1,000 retweets before it was removed. Just as many people replied – and most of them were not happy, to put it mildly.
“Delete this” was a running theme, while some of the current and former military reacted with “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,”which should be read as an acronym.
This is not funny or cool or inspiring or anything. Just poor taste,” said one commenter, who said his father flew B-52 bombers back in the 1960s.
Maybe a little more ‘Happy New Year!’ and a little less ‘Watch our powerful bombs of mass destruction’,” another commenter suggested.
There were also the inevitable memes inspired by the cult movie ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ that seemed apropos.
Someone even wondered whether STRATCOM was being racist, not understanding that “Whiteman” is a reference to the Air Force base in central Missouri, home of the B-2.
STRATCOM eventually deleted the tweet and offered an apology, saying it was "in poor taste and does not reflect our values."
Only 21 units of the ambitious Cold War stealth bomber were ever built, at astronomical costs, and fewer than a dozen are currently fit to fly, according to multiple reports.
US military tweets, deletes New Year's Eve message about dropping bombs (video)
US Strategic Command, the unified military force that controls the launch of nuclear weapons, tweeted an unusual New Year's Eve message on Monday featuring B-2 bombers dropping 30,000-pound conventional weapons at a test range.
"#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball...if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger," the tweet from US Strategic Command's official account said.
The post, later deleted, included a sizzle reel initially released earlier this year, showing a B-2 bomber dropping "a pair of conventional Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP) at a test range," the Pentagon said.
While the bombs depicted in the video -- known as "bunker busters" -- are conventional, not nuclear, the tweet seems to serve as a reminder to the rest of the world that the US military maintains the largest and most capable weapons in the world.
A Strategic Command spokesperson, Navy Capt. Brook Dewalt, told CNN that the post is "part of our recap of command priorities" and is all about reassuring the American people that the US military is ready at all times, even on New Year's Eve.
Later Monday, Strategic Command tweeted: "Our previous NYE tweet was in poor taste & does not reflect our values. We apologize. We are dedicated to the security of America & allies."
"I think it's very tacky," Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN. "We don't need to be acting this way."
US Strategic Command boasts about its bombs in disturbing New Year message
B-2 Spirit stealth bomber as shown in STRATCOM's New Year video © Twitter / US Strategic Command
The world is ringing-in 2019 with good cheer, but the US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) has a different kind of fireworks in mind. On New Year's Eve, it showed off footage of stealth bombers and big explosions.
STRATCOM’s New Year’s greetings come in the form of a 40-second video of the B-2 Spirit bomber in flight. The aircraft deploys two GBU-57s – huge bunker buster bombs known as Massive Ordnance Penetrators – which hit a target on the testing grounds.
“Times Square tradition rings in the New Year by dropping the big ball… if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger,” STRATCOM tweeted, referring to the traditional celebration in New York City and it’s dropping crystal ball.
Now-deleted video message from US Strategic Command © Twitter / STRATCOM
The bizarre message got almost 2,000 likes and close to 1,000 retweets before it was removed. Just as many people replied – and most of them were not happy, to put it mildly.
Oh, I managed to grab the whole Stratcom video pic.twitter.com/q3xVsuwtQ7
— Dylan Reeve (@DylanReeve) December 31, 2018
“Delete this” was a running theme, while some of the current and former military reacted with “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,”which should be read as an acronym.
This is not funny or cool or inspiring or anything. Just poor taste,” said one commenter, who said his father flew B-52 bombers back in the 1960s.
Maybe a little more ‘Happy New Year!’ and a little less ‘Watch our powerful bombs of mass destruction’,” another commenter suggested.
There were also the inevitable memes inspired by the cult movie ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ that seemed apropos.
Someone even wondered whether STRATCOM was being racist, not understanding that “Whiteman” is a reference to the Air Force base in central Missouri, home of the B-2.
STRATCOM eventually deleted the tweet and offered an apology, saying it was "in poor taste and does not reflect our values."
Only 21 units of the ambitious Cold War stealth bomber were ever built, at astronomical costs, and fewer than a dozen are currently fit to fly, according to multiple reports.
US military tweets, deletes New Year's Eve message about dropping bombs (video)
US Strategic Command, the unified military force that controls the launch of nuclear weapons, tweeted an unusual New Year's Eve message on Monday featuring B-2 bombers dropping 30,000-pound conventional weapons at a test range.
"#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball...if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger," the tweet from US Strategic Command's official account said.
The post, later deleted, included a sizzle reel initially released earlier this year, showing a B-2 bomber dropping "a pair of conventional Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP) at a test range," the Pentagon said.
#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball...if ever needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger.
Watch to the end! @AFGlobalStrike @Whiteman_AFB #Deterrence #Assurance #CombatReadyForce#PeaceIsOurProfession... pic.twitter.com/Aw6vzzTONg
— US Strategic Command (@US_Stratcom) December 31, 2018
While the bombs depicted in the video -- known as "bunker busters" -- are conventional, not nuclear, the tweet seems to serve as a reminder to the rest of the world that the US military maintains the largest and most capable weapons in the world.
A Strategic Command spokesperson, Navy Capt. Brook Dewalt, told CNN that the post is "part of our recap of command priorities" and is all about reassuring the American people that the US military is ready at all times, even on New Year's Eve.
Later Monday, Strategic Command tweeted: "Our previous NYE tweet was in poor taste & does not reflect our values. We apologize. We are dedicated to the security of America & allies."
"I think it's very tacky," Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN. "We don't need to be acting this way."
