Fellow Missileers:
Torchlight Initiative Presentation: Last month, leaders from the Torchlight Initiative presented at the American Occupational Health Conference (AOHC) in Chicago, bringing the story of ICBM-related cancers to the occupational and environmental medicine community. The goal was clear: ensure the missile community is part of the broader military occupational health conversation—alongside communities like special operations forces and pilots—and engage the experts who can help move this forward.
The session, Hidden Hazards Underground: What the ICBM Missileer Community Teaches Us About Occupational Health, framed the missile community as a real-world case study. For decades, service members operated in confined underground facilities with exposures to PCBs, asbestos, radon, diesel exhaust, and cryptographic material burn-off—often with limited monitoring and inconsistent documentation. Today, more than 800 self-reported cancer cases, many diagnosed decades earlier than expected, have raised serious concerns.
At its core, the presentation highlighted several key lessons for occupational health:
- Early signals matter—patterns of illness often emerge before definitive data and should be treated as indicators, not dismissed as anecdote
- Invisible, long-term exposures are easy to miss—especially in confined environments with mixed hazards and long latency periods
- Without exposure documentation, risks can’t be managed—and downstream care, research, and VA decisions become significantly harder
- Study and protection must happen at the same time—waiting for certainty can mean continued exposure
- Communication is part of safety—clear, honest communication gives workers the ability to understand and mitigate risk
- Workers are often the first signal—peer-to-peer recognition of patterns is frequently how occupational health issues first surface
- These problems require collaboration—across occupational medicine, epidemiology, academia, and the institutions responsible for the workforce
A key takeaway is how this issue should be framed going forward. This is not an acute, short-term problem—it is a chronic, long-term occupational health challenge that requires sustained study, understanding, and risk mitigation over time.
We cannot wait for perfect or complete data before acting. In occupational health, credible signals matter—even when they are incomplete. For example, knowing multiple individuals with the same rare cancer diagnosed decades earlier than expected is a data point that should be taken seriously, not set aside because it doesn’t fit neatly into a larger dataset.
Uncertainty in this environment should not slow action—it should accelerate protection.
Just as important, this highlighted a gap in communication that must be addressed. The Air Force must communicate more clearly and consistently with the Airmen it places in these environments. That means listening to their experiences, inviting their input, and taking their exposure concerns seriously. Worker narratives are not noise—they are often the earliest and most important signal.
The missile community’s experience underscores the challenges occupational health professionals face when exposures are unique, records are incomplete, and traditional data systems fall short. It also reinforces the importance of turning worker testimony into credible analysis—and analysis into action.
This session brought together experts across disciplines to examine how to responsibly evaluate incomplete data, communicate uncertainty, and build pathways toward better care, research, and policy. It emphasized that occupational health is not just about proving causation—it’s about recognizing credible signals early and acting to reduce risk.
The lessons extend well beyond the missile fields. They apply to any workforce operating in complex, poorly documented environments. As AOHC highlighted, occupational medicine must listen, synthesize, and act—ensuring that worker experiences are not dismissed, but used to drive prevention, accountability, and long-term care.
Colorado Spring Missile Community Muster: The annual Missile Muster will occur on 9 May 2026 at 1000 at the Pikes Peak National Cemetery at Section 6 near site 193 (Major Mark Holmes’ gravesite) as we have done in past years to recognize our fallen. This muster is for the entire ICBM community—officers, enlisted, operators, maintainers, security forces, support personnel, and families. Afterward, we’ll meet at the Gunslinger Brewing Company (missileer owned) to share a drink and tell stories about the teammates we have lost.
Sentinel Lessons Learned from How Minuteman Was Deployed in the 1950's and 1960's
As Sentinel continues to move forward, some of us have been cogitating on the way ahead to get Sentinel deployed. To get the job done, the AF has introduced the following key program changes:
1. Management Shift: The Army Corps of Engineers will now manage a significant portion of the ground infrastructure construction; moving away from an expensive contractor-led model. This emphasizes the AF decision to dig entirely new silos instead of refurbishing the old LFs. After all the Army Corps of Engineers knows how to "dig big, beautiful holes" better than anybody in the world and dug the holes for Titan and Minuteman.
The Commander of the Site Activation Task Force, Lowry AFB, Colorado, congratulates the general manager of American Machine and Foundry Company's Titan Field Operations Division, on the activation of the first Titan I squadron in April '62.
Missile Trivia Question: Who was the famous missileer who selected the MM base locations? Answer is somewhere in the dispatch.
This management shift may also avoid unpredictable costs and technical risks of introducing advanced technology. This shift was also used by the AF in the 50's and 60's. With a start date of March 16, 1961, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pushed the completion and turned over the first MM LF to the AF on December 15, 1961 for finishing and missile installation.
2. Phased Acquisition: Using a "crawl, walk, run" methodology, the program is prioritizing earlier component testing to identify technical risks before full-scale production.
The “crawl, walk, run” framework is a structured approach to adopting new technologies. It emphasizes starting small with manageable projects before gradually scaling up to more complex and transformative initiatives. This phased strategy allows organizations to build foundational capabilities, learn from early projects, and align their efforts with broader business goals.
3. Earth, Stone, Steel, Concrete and PEOPLE: In the 50's and 60's the Army Corps of Engineers was building and completing three U.S. based ICBM systems... Atlas, Titan and Minuteman. To accomplish this, in August 1960 the Army established the Corps of Engineers Ballistic Missile Construction Office (CEBMCO) to supervise site construction reporting directly to the Chief of Engineers. To further improve coordination between the Corps and the AF, the two services put CEBMCO under the operational control of the AF.
When established CEBMCO had a staff of 27, but within 6 years grew to 3,000 people managing 22 ICBM projects in 17 states. CEBMCO’s responsibilities encompassed the entire construction effort. The Corps of Engineers did not design the launch facilities, it reviewed the plans, solicited and evaluated proposals, and awarded the contracts. CEBMCO then supervised construction, and after the launch facilities were completed, CEBMCOstayed on the job as a member of the Air Force site activation task force, tasked with turning the empty silos into operational LF's and MAF's.
Building the missile launch sites and support facilities was one of the largest military construction projects ever undertaken by the Corps. By 1962 construction costs were already in excess of $2 billion, (@ $23 billion in 2026 dollars) and in the next 5 years CEBMCO spent billions more completing the Minuteman program. By 1961 Army contractors had already moved 26 million cubic yards of earth and stone, used 764,000 tons of steel and poured more than 3 million cubic yards of concrete. Another indication of the size and importance of the program was the labor force devoted to it: in early 1961, more than 21,000 construction workers were laboring around the clock to build ICBM silos. SIDE NOTE: All this was being done from 1959 to 1972 while the Corp of Engineers also played a vital role in the Vietnam war by constructing a massive infrastructure—ports, airfields, and base camps—and providing combat support at the same time!
Want to know more see: Corps of Engineers Built ICBM Silos
What could be ahead in 2026/27 for Sentinel?
- Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). In the summer of 2025, the Air Force began preparing a draft SEIS that addresses design refinements and facility siting updates that have occurred since completion of the March 2023 EIS. Draft documents are expected in 2026.
- Looking ahead: from digital design to concrete reality
Sentinel program momentum will become even more visible in the coming years as digital designs are translated into concrete and steel.
Teams will break ground on a prototype launch silo at Northrop Grumman’s Promontory, Utah, site. This crucial effort will allow engineers to test and refine modern construction techniques, validating the new silo design before work begins in the missile fields.
This summer, prototyping activities at F.E. Warren AFB will validate innovative utility corridor construction methods, which are key to streamlining the installation of thousands of miles of secure infrastructure and fielding the system faster.
Foundational construction on permanent facilities is already well underway. The first of three new Wing Command Centers is taking shape at F.E. Warren AFB, and critical test facilities are being erected at Vandenberg SFB to support the future flight test campaign.
This methodical progress paves the way for the program’s next major operational milestone: the first missile pad launch, planned for 2027.
Famous Missileers: Gen. Sammy Phillips--Director of Minuteman Deployment: Phillips often expressed confidence in the reliability of the fleet, noting that older ICBMs like the Minuteman III "still work with a high degree of reliability" even decades after deployment".
2026 National Meeting – Minot ND 5-9 August 2026
Just a reminder that early bird registration closes out on 3 Jun and final registration for all events is 3 Jul 2026. We have a great group of honorees set for induction into the Air Force Missileers Hall of Fame at the banquet on Saturday night, 8 August. For registration and other information, please see visit our website at www.afmissileers.org Guest speakers include:
- Wednesday welcome reception – Mayor Mark Jantzer
- Thursday dinner – incoming 91 MW/CC Col George Chapman
- Friday dinner – incoming 20 AF/CC Major General Colin Connor
- Saturday AAFM Meeting – Col Richard Speakman, USAFSAMS/CC, Col Erich Schroeder, AFGSC/SG, Alex Ruiz, Torchlight Initiative, and Steve Kravitsky, Sentinel Program
- Hall of Fame banquet – US Senator John Hoeven (invited)
485 TMW reunion: I received a couple of requests for information on the June 2026 reunion in Tucson—our website site has information on the hotel but nothing on the reunion registration. Sadly, I can’t find the email with who asked me to post this information. If you are the reunion POC, please contact me at Director@AFMissilers.org
Titan II reunion: The 308th and 381st Strategic Missile Wings will be holding a combined reunion recognizing the 39 and 40 years since their wing deactivations. The event will be held at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel, 25-26 Sept 2026. Please indicate your intent to attend NLT 15 March to your wing POCs: 308th : Linda Aldrich, lsaletters@comcast.net or Jeff Allen, jeffallen2017@yahoo.com and 381st: 381smwreunion@gmail.com
Titan II reunion Part Deux: The 390 SMW will hold a reunion in Tucson, AZ October 21-24 2026. For information, go to www.390smw.org or email reunion@390smw.org
455th/91st Maintenance Reunion: The 91st Missile Maintenance reunion will be held 6-8 August 2026 in Minot, ND. For more details, contact Chuck Emery at cemery@srt.com
Sincerely,
Jim
James F. Warner
Executive Director
