Inside the Cockpit of Operation Midnight Hammer

Summary

Morning Wire — "Inside the Cockpit of Operation Midnight Hammer"

Date: September 28, 2025
Hosts: John Bickley & Georgia Howe
Guest: Mary Margaret Olihan (Daily Wire White House Correspondent)

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Overview

This episode centers on "Operation Midnight Hammer," the secretive U.S. Air Force mission that ended the war between Israel and Iran in just 37 hours. Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan joins John Bickley to recount her exclusive behind-the-scenes experience at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, where she observed the preparation, execution, and human stories behind the B2 stealth bomber raid that destroyed Iran’s nuclear facilities. The conversation explores military technology, the skill and dedication of Air Force personnel, and the emotions surrounding such a high-stakes historic event.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. Immersion at Whiteman Air Force Base

(02:43 – 04:01)

• Mary Margaret and her team spent 6–7 hours at the heavily guarded Whiteman AFB.

  • Constant reminders of base secrecy: "We were told constantly that we couldn't be filming this, we couldn't be filming that, or, you know, this building was confidential." (Mary Margaret, 02:58)
  • Security escorts enforced strict compliance, even requiring real-time deletion of restricted footage.

• Base atmosphere: Self-sufficiency and community focus for military families, with amenities like bowling alleys and a commissary.

• Firsthand encounters with the B2 bombers in their hangars, described as cinematic and awe-inspiring.

  • "It felt like being on the set of Captain America or something like that." (Mary Margaret, 05:18)

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2. Exploring the B2 Stealth Bomber

(05:22 – 06:48)

• Mary Margaret entered a B2 bomber, noting details she could and couldn’t report due to security.

  • Cameras were restricted from key vantage points: "They did not want us filming the belly... the top... the back of the plane, because then our adversaries would have access to information that they might not have already." (Mary Margaret, 05:43)

• She described sitting in the rest area for pilots, checking the controls, and observing the manual bomb and nuclear weapon triggers.

  • "I even got to see the buttons that they press where they can manually release the bombs, the buttons for the nukes, which is pretty freaking cool." (Mary Margaret, 06:03)

• Observed loading of the massive 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs, meeting the personnel instrumental to the operation’s success.

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3. Anatomy of the 37-Hour Mission

(06:48 – 08:49)

• The operation lasted 37 hours, requiring extreme endurance from the aircrews.

  • "These guys were up there for a really long time." (Mary Margaret, 06:59)

• Complex mid-air refueling, a crucial element: Each B2 had to refuel 6 times in flight.

  • Simulating in-air refueling highlighted difficulty and risk: "One wrong move and you're far away and you're no longer up close to the other plane...in a real situation, that could be very dangerous." (Mary Margaret, 07:32)

• Colonel Kenish confirmed the ever-present danger and high level of training required for success:

  • "We trained to that. That's what we do over and over, repetitions, simulators, training hours and everything else." (John Bickley, 08:39 quoting Col. Kenish)

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4. Emotional Stakes and Human Element

(09:01 – 11:50)

• Insights from Col. Whittler (mission commander) on anticipation, risk, and family.

  • Although the pilots appeared excited, he described the "huge relief and very emotional" feeling upon safe return.
    • “I would say the biggest moment for me ever as a commander...was when I knew they were safe, when I knew they were in safe airspace and they had accomplished the mission. That's when the emotions really started to flow.” (Col. Whittler, via Mary Margaret, 10:03–10:15)

• Families remained unaware of the mission specifics; once news of the strike broke, they rushed to base for reunions and witnessed a celebratory flyover.

  • Pilots only learned full details when the mission commenced due to secrecy.
  • "It was very inspiring. These are amazing men and women, you know, not just the pilots, but the crews...And it was a mission that was being planned for a long time before this even took place." (Mary Margaret, 11:16)

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5. Reflecting on Service, Readiness, and Morale

(12:16 – 13:06)

• Mary Margaret’s key takeaway: renewed pride and confidence in U.S. military personnel.

  • "What we saw in this base was men and women who are not just inspired and ready to go, but they're so excited to serve their country and they've got some pep in their step...To me, that was inspiring." (Mary Margaret, 12:16)

• Despite national anxieties about military readiness, this operation and her visit "was a great reminder...we are guarded and protected by really fearless men and women who are willing to risk everything to protect us."

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Notable Quotes

• "We were fangirling...just having a blast." (Mary Margaret, 02:58)
• "It felt like being on the set of Captain America or something like that." (Mary Margaret, 05:18)
• "I even got to see the buttons that they press where they can manually release the bombs, the buttons for the nukes, which is pretty freaking cool." (Mary Margaret, 06:03)
• "One wrong move and you're far away and you're no longer up close to the other plane." (Mary Margaret, 07:32)
• "I would say the biggest moment for me ever as a commander...was when I knew they were safe...That's when the emotions really started to flow." (Col. Whittler, 10:03–10:15)
• "We are guarded and protected by really fearless men and women who are willing to risk everything to protect us." (Mary Margaret, 12:45)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:32 | Introduction to Whiteman AFB and Operation Midnight Hammer | | 02:43 | Mary Margaret recounts her visit and first-hand impressions | | 05:39 | Inside the B2: Security protocols and cockpit experience | | 06:48 | Mission profile: duration, refueling, training challenges | | 09:01 | Talking with commanders: anticipation, anxiety, and return | | 10:03 | Col. Whittler on the emotional impact of mission success | | 12:16 | Mary Margaret’s final reflections on morale and service |

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Episode Tone

Direct, respectful, and conversational — balancing awe for military technology with admiration for the people behind the machines. The guest’s enthusiasm and emotional candor give listeners both a technical and human perspective on a landmark event in modern military history.

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Summary by Morning Wire Podcast Summarizer

Transcript

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[Mary Margaret Olihan]

This is the geographical center of the continental United States. It's basically in the middle of nowhere. But 330 miles east of that marker is something that you wouldn't expect. One of the most secretive Air force bases in the world. It's called Whiteman Air Force base. And on June 21, 2025, seven B2 stealth bombers took off loaded with £420,000 of advanced bunker bus bombs and a mission take out Iran's nuclear program. That was Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan in a new special report on the remarkable team behind the B2 bomber operation that took out Iran's nuclear facilities in a matter of hours. The result? The end of the war between Israel and Iran in just 37 hours.

[John Bickley]

In this episode, we talk with Olihan about her experience behind the scenes at the Whiteman Air Force Base where the historic Operation Midnight Hammer was carried out. I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley with Georgia Helm. This is a weekend edition of Morning Wire.

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[John Bickley]

Joining us now to discuss her new Special on the B2 bomber Midnight Hammer operation is Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan. Mary Margaret, thanks for coming on.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Thanks for having me, John.

[John Bickley]

So this is really an amazing special. I watched it. I was like kind of jaw dropping the whole time watching this thing. First question, how long were you there and how often were you told you couldn't go in certain areas?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Great question. So we were there, got there around 7am the day that we were filming. This is a couple weeks ago. And then I think we left around 2 o'. Clock. So we were filming for a good six, seven hours. And we had so much fun. We were fangirling. I was there with our, our glorious editor in chief, Brent Share. And he and I were just geeking out over everything, just having a blast. And I can share more details about that. But, you know, we were told constantly that we couldn't be filming this, we couldn't be filming that, or, you know, this building was confidential. And I do want to say, like, we totally respected that. You know, we didn't want to show anything that we weren't supposed to show. And so we were really careful to, you know, delete footage if we got something that we weren't supposed to show. And they actually sent someone around with us, this, this very imposing man with a mustache to make sure that if we film something we weren't supposed to get, we deleted it right away. So they were not messing around.

[John Bickley]

So the information you can reveal, which base was this and what details of the operation are we allowed to know about?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Yes. So we were at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, Knob Noster, Missouri. And this is a very cool base. I think like a lot of military bases, it's very self sufficient and it's very focused on providing a good community for the airmen and women who are serving our country there. So, you know, they've got a bowling alley for families, the commissary, they have activities, entertainment, you know, all these different things to make sure this is a good community for these families. And it's very self sufficient at the end of the day. And what we learned was we got to go to the hangars where the B2s are housed. And it was such a surreal feeling, John, to drive out there and to see this massive stretch, you know, a massive confidential facility and all these hangars Full of some of the most elite planes in the world. And These were the B2 stealth bombers, the planes that flew to Iran and bombed these nuclear facilities. So I was, I had chills standing there. We got to see some of them roll out and drive around the hangar. We also got to see a bunch of other military planes moving around, flying, taking off, some of these pilots walking around. And then we got to interview some of these military leaders. A colonel, a commander. And the whole thing was so cool. It felt like being on the set of Captain America or something like that.

[John Bickley]

It really, it is, honestly, it's very cinematic. You look at it, B2 bombers to me are incredible. I can't believe they actually exist.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Oh, I know.

[John Bickley]

You got to go inside of one. You got to see some parts that were actually weren't allowed to show on camera. Can you speak to some of that? Like what you, what you had access to in terms of the B2 bombers?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Yes, absolutely. So when we were there, we were told that I could go across certain red line to look at the B2 bombers and things like that, but our cameras had to stay on the other side of this red line. And this was a big deal because they did not want us filming the belly of the plane, the top of the plane, the back of the plane, because then our adversaries would have access to information that they might not have already and that they might not be supposed to have. So we were very careful about what we showed on camera. But I was able to climb up in there. You can see that in the video. That was so cool. Literally got to look around, sit in the seat where they can sleep if they need to. I even got to see the buttons that they press where they can manually release the bombs, the buttons for the nukes, which is pretty freaking cool. And then just walking around the base and being able to see how they load the bombs onto these planes. And keep in mind these are 30,000 pound bombs and they bring two of them on these, on these missions to drop on Iran's nuclear facilities. So that was very cool to see those bombs, to see how they put that in practice, to meet some of the people who were involved with making sure that mission went so well.

[John Bickley]

And about the mission, like you said, there's places to sleep in these planes, partly because, I mean, this is a super long mission in terms of the total flight. What are the details on it? How long were they in the air?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Yeah, so we titled this video how to Win a war in 37 hours, because that's how long it took. It was a 37 hour mission. And these, these guys were up there for a really long time. And one of the coolest things about our video, I think, is the way our production team made these graphics to show you just how much gasoline is involved in flying these planes. So while they're up there, they're flying so far that they need to refuel six times on this mission. And when I first heard that, I thought that, you know, oh, they gotta refuel six times. It didn't seem like that big of a deal to me until Brent and I, my boss, got in the simulator and we realized just how hard this is. Because what that means is you're flying this massive, very, very, very expensive plane that's got two massive bombs on it. And your wings of your plane are full of fuel because they can hold a ton of fuel. And that's a really cool mechanism they have. But when you run out of fuel, you need to refuel in the air, obviously. And that requires another plane to come above you and to send down like this big arm for a gas protractor type arm that will attach to your plane and then help you to gas up mid air. And it's incredibly hard to do. We got to simulate this in the, in the B2 simulator, which I'm told is very, very similar to the real thing. It's so hard. We couldn't do it. We struggled and we tried several times, but you know, one wrong move and you're far away and you're no longer up close to the other plane. And you know, in a real situation, that could be very dangerous. And that's what Colonel Kenish told me when I was asking him, is this a dangerous situation? And he told me anything could go wrong at any time.

[John Bickley]

It's always easy for things to go wrong, but I mean, we trained to that. I mean, that's what we do over and over, repetitions, simulators, training hours and everything else.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

So yes, these guys have to be very skilled, very careful. And it just gave me so much more admiration for what they're doing because it looks so seamless when you see videos or when you hear about it. But in practice, incredibly hard.

[John Bickley]

You mentioned that you spoke to a number of people involved in the mission. What about the sense of anticipation, fear, even that something would go wrong in this operation? What did they tell you about that whole sequence of events for them, waiting to find out whether or not this succeeded?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

No, I mean, that was my first thought, John, because you're on this base and you're imagining the planes taking off. You know, we've all seen it in the movies when, let's say Top Gun, Maverick, when they're leaving and everyone's scared and worried. So I asked the commander we were talking to, his name was Colonel Whittler. And I said, were you anxious when they left? And were they anxious when they left? And he was. He was very polite. You know, he's a. He. He's very military man. And I. He kept his cool. But he did say that he. He was very seriously invested in their return and how this mission went. He said that his pilots didn't seem nervous, they seemed very excited. And he said it was a huge relief and very emotional when they returned.

[John Bickley]

I would say the biggest moment for me ever as a commander and really the biggest moment of my career was when I knew they were safe, when I knew they were in safe airspace and they had accomplished the mission. That's when the emotions really started to.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Flow, to be honest. He said that, you know, their families are used to them going out and doing missions. They don't know where they're going, necessarily, especially on a mission like this, which is top secret, confidential. The pilots didn't really even know what they were doing until they were, it's time to go, or they didn't know the nature of the details of what they were doing. Of course they knew how to conduct themselves in this operation, but their families were used to them, you know, leaving for a night or having to go on this mission or that mission. So when they left for this one, according to W, the families thought, oh, okay, you know, dad or mom is off on their mission. And then they heard the reports on television of what was going on, and they put two and two together and they all drove to the base, and they were there when their family members flew back in. And Wittila told us that they did a flyover of the family, so they got to see their. Their loved ones looking really cool up there. And then, you know, of course, they landed and were reunited and appreciated as the heroes that they are. So I thought that was very, very beautiful. And he seemed very proud. So the whole thing was very inspiring. You know, these are amazing men and women, you know, not just the pilots, but the crews, the. The commanders, the colonels, all these people that were so involved in this mission. And it was a mission that was being planned for a long time before this even took place. You know, these. These bombs were created specifically for. For this mission to. To bomb Iran's nuclear sites. So it's been in, in, in practice for a long time. They've been preparing and I think it was very fulfilling for them all to see this through. And that's what they told us.

[John Bickley]

The degree of orchestration really comes through in the special you produced. I mean it's, it's really remarkable. And to see the bunker buster bombs, the 30, 000 pound bombs, like you said, I can't believe you can actually put those on a plane and the plane can fly and then you can drop them into these tiny spaces and all of them hit. Final question, what was your biggest takeaway from this trip there and what you learned being on the ground at the base?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Well, I think, John, it was really inspiring to see these men and women who are devoting their lives to the service of our country. And you know, there's been a lot of anxiety and stress and sadness around our military for a while, concerns about whether we're ready, whether we're prepared. And what we saw in this space was men and women who are not just inspired and ready to go, but they're so excited to serve their country and they've got some pep in their step and they, they seem really fulfilled by the work that they're doing. And to me, that was inspiring to see that and to know that we are guarded and protected by really fearless men and women who are willing to risk everything to protect us. And it was a great reminder. It was very thrilling to be there and I'd love to do more work like this because these are the best that our country has to offer and it was very fun to meet them and to get to run around their playground.

[John Bickley]

Mary Margaret, thank you so much.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Thank you, John.

[John Bickley]

That was Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan and the following are some excerpts from her new special how to win a war in 37 hours. 25020 miles 5,000 loads short time ago.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

The US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime. Very close revolving seven B2 stealth bombers took off loaded with £420,000 of advanced bunker busting bombs and emission. But how did they pull this off? Foreign.

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[Mary Margaret Olihan]

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