Fellow Missileers:
First, my sincere apologies on the multiple mix-ups on getting the AAFM Board of Directors ballot to you this week but the site is now up and operating. One hundred and eighty members voted in the first twelve hours! If you have trouble with the ballot, please let me know and I can email you a paper ballot! Now on to the news:
Board of Directors Meeting:
The AAFM Board of Directors held a virtual meeting on Saturday, 27 January 2024. Committee chairs reported on the success of the Museum grant program ($4,500 awarded in 2023) and the Scholarship program ($9,000 awarded in 2023). The board needs to continue to work with base leadership teams to reach a wider audience on scholarship opportunities. The Awards Committee reported on the upcoming Hall of Fame class to be announced in our May 2024 newsletter and discussed efforts to design a Hall of Fame medallion (see next item). The Patch Gallery continues to grow with 5000 images on the site. We are planning to re-host the gallery on a new application which will be more responsive and easier to search. Finally, the Executive Director discussed a series of projects that still need to be tackled including or tracked:
- Missile Cancer Study
- Minuteman Art Book
- Establishing wing chapters (see item below)
- Commemorating Vandenberg’s LF04 Minuteman role as it transitions to Sentinel
- National Meeting in October including Hall of Fame Banquet
- ICBM Memorial Park
- Investigate Ellsworth Training LF as a National Historic Site
- Recognizing the missile badge on VA headstones
Hall of Fame Medallion:
The Association of Air Force Missileers (AAFM) solicits design submissions for a medallion to be presented to the Air Force Missileers Hall of Fame selectees. Here are the design criteria:
- The selected design is to be struck in a three-inch diameter size.
- Designs should be for only the front side of a round medallion.
- Submissions should be an electronic image.
- Designs should be made in six inch that will be reduced to the three-inch format by the contractor.
- Designs should be on a 12 x 12-inch panel. The panel may be illustration board, paper, etc. Any media, e.g., ink, markers, oil, watercolor, acrylics, pastel, etc. are acceptable. Four color is preferred.
- Either complete or sketch that needs refinement to finish are acceptable. After the committee makes a selection, a final design should be completed in as near-camera ready form as possible.
Final selected design criteria shall be determined and provided by AAFM. By submitting the design, the designer acknowledges the relinquishing of copyright ownership to AAFM for any and all uses of the design in the future by AAFM. All submissions are subject to alterations at the discretion of AAFM without further notice or permission. Submissions are due by 31 March 2024.
AAFM National Meeting – Buellton, CA:
Registration is open for the AAFM National Meeting, 23-27 October 2024 in Buellton, CA. Events include a tour of the Firestone Winery (limited to 100), a day with the missileers at Vandenberg, and the Inaugural banquet for the Air Force Missileers Hall of Fame (Inductees to be publicly announced in May). Planned Guest speakers include:
- Dr Tory Woodard, Commander, USAF School of Aerospace Medicine (Confirmed)
- Col Charles Clegg, Sentinel Senior Material Leader (Invited)
- Incoming Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David Flosi (Awaiting start of position to invite)
- Maj Gen Stacy Jo Huser, 20 AF/CC (confirmed)
- General Thomas Bussiere, AFGSC/CC (Invited)
You can find more about each day’s events at our website. https://www.afmissileers.org/event-5413018
AAFM Local Chapters:
During the January 2024 Board of Directors meeting, the Board decided to establish AAFM local chapters at each of the ICBM active organization locations. Initial chapters could include Barksdale, Colorado Springs, F. E. Warren, Malmstrom, Minot, Northern Virginia, Offutt, Ogden, San Antonio, and Vandenberg. These local chapters would, as a minimum, help with membership recruitment, meet with local Air Force leadership, and provide data to the general membership on activities in their local area. Later this week I will be sending out an email to members by area. If you are interested in setting up the first meeting of your local chapter, please let me know. IF you don’t receive an email from me regarding your local group, please let me know—it’s probably because your address is wrong in our data base.
Seeking Information:
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is curating an exhibition called Defending America & The Galaxy: Star Wars & SDI. It will cover both Reagan's SDI program and the Star Wars films. The exhibit will run March 15-September 2, 2024. They are still looking for objects related to Reagan's SDI program for the exhibit. IF you worked with SDIO or BMDO and have something you can share, please contact Jennifer Torres contact at jennifer.torres@nara.gov
Alex Gould, from the UK, is writing a thesis on early UK and US basing concepts for ballistic missiles. He is looking specifically for historical information around Thor and Atlas during the development and deployment of the first launch complexes at Vandenberg and operational sites. Specifically, how site design evolved from the early soft sites for Thor and Atlas D, through to the hardened silos designed for Atlas F and Titan I/II. If you can help Alex, please reach out to him at agould@fournet.co.uk
Matthew Conaty is writing a monograph on the 1979 documentary “First Strike” produced by KRON-TV in partnership with the Department of Defense and the RAND Corporation. If you have any information or were involved in the production of this film, please contact Matthew at matthew.conaty@asc.upenn.edu
Ian (no last name) is seeking information on the blast door artist for the former Titan II site 571-1 in Benson, AZ. The artwork, entitled “Cochise Stronghold” appears to have been painted in 1981 and signed by P. O. Andrews. If you pulled alerts at 571-1 or know any information on the artist, please contact Ian at flyingion5711@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Jim
James F. Warner
Executive Director
