Offutt AFB; A Hook and Ladder; Swine Dining; Buffett for Lunch? Omaha; The Old Market

Offutt Air Force Base is host to the military’s Strategic Command (STRATCOM) headquarters, and also is home to many of the largest aircraft in the military inventory, most of which you’ve never heard of: the converted Boeing 747-200/Air Force E-4B Sentry, or Doomsday Plane, which serves as an airborne national command authority in case of nuclear war. EC-135 Rivet Joint is a signals intelligence aircraft that collects and analyzes everything from enemy radars to communications systems. Another E-4B, the Nightwatch, is modified as the command post for the Secretary of Defense in times of national emergency. 


Offutt AFB was also the site for the modifications of the B-29 bombers Enola Gay and Bockscars that delivered the only atomic weapons ever to be used in combat to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945. We worked out today in this hangar where those modifications were made; it is now the largest gym/fitness facility in the US, if not the world. You can see that it stretches almost forever into the background. It is also not air conditioned, and today’s temps inside the gym were 90+F. Fortunately, there are plenty of fans moving air briskly, so it was tolerable while we lifted weights, something we can’t do on The Bus. 


Other facilities inside this huge former hangar include a 4/10 mile indoor track and 3 tennis courts, which you see here, an aerobics area, free weights, several basketball courts, two racquetball courts and a swimming pool. 2,600 service personnel (and retirees like us) use this facility every day. As a major joint force base, Offutt has personnel from all four services here, although the Air Force has the largest contingent. Navy comes in second because of our nuclear ballistic missile submarines and their global strategic deterrent mission.  

As we were leaving the gym, a group of 50 bicycle riders passed; they included 5 young Wounded Warriors who were riding their bikes across the USA; the rest were local riders, mostly military or retirees, who were giving them an honor escort to a reception near our campground. The Bellevue, Nebraska, fire department was even out with a hook and ladder and an enormous American flag. 

One of their firefighters, Sam, is a very pleasant Nebraska lad. I asked him when the heat wave was expected to break; he thought about it a few seconds and said, “Maybe in October when the first snows come.” I also asked him about the drought and whether some of the corn would be saved. He said that some could be used for feed, but not much would be usable for people-food. “It’s not a good year to be a farmer”, he added. 

As we were passing a restaurant called Swine Dining BBQ, I asked Suzanne what she’d like for dinner... “Salmon, I think.” (That restaurateur needs to re-think his business’ name!) 

Omaha is an interesting city; it was once called “The Gateway to the West”. Here are some other interesting trivia about the city:

- In 1883 Omaha hosted the first performance of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show for 8,000 attendees, a huge crowd by the standards of the 19^th century. 

- It once had the largest stockyards in the world. 

- Composer Antonin Dvorak wrote his New World Symphony based on his impressions of Omaha and the Mid-West following a visit to the Czech community here in 1893. 

- In 1898 Omaha hosted the World’s Fair for over 1,000,000 visitors. 

- Notable inventions from Omaha-based companies include the TV dinner (Swanson Co.), Raisin Bran (Skinner), cake mix (Duncan Hines), the Reuben sandwich (Blackstone Hotel), the bobby pin and the pink hair curler (Omaha’s Tip Top), the ski lift (Union Pacific), and the “Top 40” radio format (Storz Broadcasting).

Omaha is also the home of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s company; nicknamed “The Oracle of Omaha”. He may be the richest man in the world. We tried to invite Warren to The Bus for Ty’s Famous Chicken Enchiladas and Corona beer, but his executive assistant said his social calendar was really full this week... and next... sigh... I really wanted to get some insider tips on investing...

Our last stop was a walking tour of the Old Market area in downtown Omaha. This area has lots of art galleries, restaurants, bars, and upscale shopping. Unfortunately, it was still 95F outside at 6:30 PM, and we and the puppies all quickly wilted. Then back into air conditioned comfort!