Some of the fliers taking part in the hard-fought air war over Afghanistan unwind after their combat missions in an unusual way.

"They drive home and mow their lawns," said Col. Ned Schoeck, commander of the 509th Bomber Wing based here.

The wing contains the nation's entire fleet of 21 B-2 "Spirit" stealth bombers. Capable of carrying a belly full of small cluster bombs or heavy-duty 5,000-pound "bunker busters," the B-2s have been among the long-range bombers sent against Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorist targets in Afghanistan.

As Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld alluded during a visit to the Whiteman base last week, the B-2s have had particular success striking enemy caves, which are being used as Taliban and Al Qaeda troop and storage bunkers. One strike on a cave set off a long chain of subsequent explosions apparently fueled by ammunition and fuel supplies stored there.

Unlike B-1 and B-52 bombers, which are based at a British airfield on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, the B-2s operate from the middle of the United States. Theirs are the longest aerial combat missions in history.

Controversial because of their extraordinary cost, which Schoeck put at $1.3 billion apiece, the B-2s overcame opposition in Congress to become part of the U.S. bomber fleet and were used in the Yugoslav conflict over Kosovo.

Schoeck said the B-2s have proved themselves worth the cost because of their range, the varied and large (up to 40,000 pounds) bomb loads they carry and their ability to avoid enemy radar and accurately strike targets at night with so-called smart bombs using global positioning satellite and laser beam technology.

"They can carry anything we have in the inventory," Schoeck said.

For the two-person crews, this has meant flying for 40 to 44 hours non-stop. The B-2s fly from Missouri to Afghanistan and then south to Diego Garcia, refueling six times en route. On the ground at Diego Garcia, crews add oil to the B-2's four jet engines--which are kept running--and empty the toilets.

Counting the 30-some hours it takes to fly back to Whiteman from the Indian Ocean, the engines run for about 70 hours non-stop.

The missions to Kosovo took about 30 hours round-trip.

Pilots are at the controls for takeoffs, refuelings, bombing runs and landings, but the rest of the time the bat-shaped, flying-wing B-2 flies itself.

"It's all automated," Schoeck said.

The crews drop off at Diego Garcia, take a break and then pick up another B-2 coming there after a bombing run to fly back to Missouri.

"Our pilots live at home," Schoeck said.

During the flights, one of the two pilots remains in a control seat, monitoring the instruments, leaving the other free to move to the small walkway space behind the cockpit section.

Despite the money lavished on the bomber, no provision was made for sleeping accommodations and pilots had to use the floor.

"That made sleep difficult because of the vibration," Schoeck said.

He said one pilot found the solution to that problem at a local Wal-Mart, where he bought a folding lawn chair for $9.95 and installed it in the walkway behind the cockpit.

It worked beautifully, said Schoeck, and now all 21 B-2s are outfitted with inexpensive lawn chairs.