ASSOCIATION OF AIR FORCE MISSILEERS
Silent Auction
supporting the AAFM Scholarship fund
AAFM is auctioning off these hand crafted wooden replicas by Eamonn Needler as he brings an end to his Minuteman production and on-line store. The panels, built to actual dimensions, have moving parts and are mounted on stands. The SAS container is a wall plaque with rear slots for mounting and to install your crew lock!
AAFM will be auctioning off two A/M LCPs, two Deuce LCPs, 4 LEPs, and 4 SAS container replicas. Bid sheets will be available in the Hospitality Room at our National Meeting. If you can’t join us in Buellton and still want to bid on these items, please send an email with your bid to Director@AFMissileers.org All bids will close at 1600 PT on Saturday, 26 October 2024.
Sentinel Bridge Plans in Montana:
Eleven bridges in the Lewistown area will be replaced as part of the Sentinel Missile Project based on a formalized agreement with the Montana Department of Transportation and Department of Defense, the Governor’s Office announced.
The Malmstrom Air Force Base work includes construction on- and off- the Great Falls base such as establishing new utility corridors.
“Montana plays a key role in the national security of the United States,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement. “The announcement will allow the MDT to move forward replacing 11 aging bridges that serve the Lewistown community and will support the Sentinel Missile program.
Source: Bridging the Gaps
Cheyenne Wyoming Chamber of Commerce Nuclear Update:
The United States military is undergoing a “momentous undertaking” of nuclear weapon modernization, said Maj. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser, 20th AF Commander. Major General Huser was invited to speak at the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee Luncheon where she spoke about the role of F.E. Warren Air Force Base in updating its nuclear technology.
“The current international environment presents continued risks that demonstrate, now more than ever, the need for a strong U.S. nuclear deterrent,” Huser said at the luncheon. “And we’ve been tasked by the nation to modernize our nuclear delivery platforms. ”The modernization of nuclear technology is dependent on the work of hundreds of thousands of people around the country, Huser added, especially in places such as Savannah, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; Los Alamos, New Mexico; Great Falls, Montana; and Cheyenne, among several others.
Source: Nuclear Technology
US nuclear Forces Prepare for the Future
Every facet of Air Force Global Strike Command and the ballistic nuclear force of the United States Navy are being modernized, the Lt. Gen. Lutton, Deputy Commander of Global Strike Command told attendees at the North Dakota Nuclear Triad Symposium held in Minot. “There are consequences to that, and we have to deliver for the nation, and that’s going to require a team sport,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Lutton, keynote speaker at the symposium. Lutton said that team sport includes industry, academia, communities, allies and partners, and military. “We absolutely have to deliver for this nation. Given the backdrop of what is happening in this world, we absolutely have to deliver for them,” he said. “Our Long-Range Standoff missile will replace the air-launched cruise missile – the ALCM. That is also a major defense acquisition program”
The National Airborne Operations Center or NAOC will be replaced by the Strategic Airborne Operation Center or SAOC, Lutton said. He added that is still early in its acquisition process, but all of the nuclear command, control and communications are in one way, shape or another being recapitalized or modernized within the United States Navy and United States Space Force.
Source: Nuclear Symposium
Through the Ages...Famous Quotes from Previous Nuclear Leaders:
“Let us not be deceived: we are today in the midst of a cold war. Our enemies are to be found abroad and at home. Let us never forget this. Our unrest is the heart of their success.”
Dean Acheson, Former United States Secretary of State, 1947
“I think there are many times when it would be most efficient to use nuclear weapons. However, the public opinion in this country and throughout the world would throw up their hands in horror when you mention nuclear weapons, just because of the propaganda that's been fed to them.”
Lemay on Nuclear Weapon Use
General Curtis E Lemay, CINCSAC
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge, and more.”John F. Kennedy,
US president, at his inauguration in January 1961
“Sometime in the future--25, 50, 75 years hence--what will the situation be like then? By that time the Chinese will have the capability of delivery too. That's the reason some schools of thinking don't rule out a destruction of the Chinese military potential before the situation grows worse than it is today. It's bad enough now.”
Mission with Lemay (1965)
“The military balance which permitted us to maintain the peace is now threatened. If steps are not taken to modernize our defense, the United States will progressively lose the ability to deter the Soviet Union from employing force or threats of force against us and against our allies.”
President Reagan Address on Nuclear Weapons (1982)
President Ronald Reagan
“ICBMs and SSBNs together have allowed the bombers and tankers to be released for use by military commanders with great effect in a wide variety of conventional missions. This has raised the importance of ICBMs as a mainstay of deterrence, as a hedge against unforeseen technical problems or geopolitical events.”
General C. Robert Kehler, former Commander, US Strategic Command
“What the ICBM force gives to the president is the ability to respond promptly. I think that’s still a valuable component of the range of alternatives that we could offer to the president.”
The US Needs a New ICBM Now
General C. Robert Kehler, former Commander, US Strategic Command, 2019.
Not So Famous Quotes:
“I am deeply disappointed by the decision to continue this wasteful and unnecessary endeavor.”
Source: "Top Democrat on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness"
Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA-08) Press release on Sentinel, July 9, 2024.
Russian media outlets reported the American Minuteman III failure was notable. Military expert Alexei Leonkov told RIA Novosti the U.S. is "launching old missiles that have already exceeded their planned service life." The Telegram account Russian Engineer posted, "very serious news about the state of US nuclear forces." Another failure like the one this week "could call into question the entire Minuteman silo missile."
Source: Minuteman Missile Failure Draws Russian Mockery of US Nuclear Arsenal
“No, don’t scratch your butt Though it feels good, I know Makes you feel cheerier to touch your posterior But there’s no pro and con — it’s open and shut. Don’t scratch your butt.”
Source: Don't Scratch Your Butt
Garrison Keillor, A Prairie Home Companion
OLD MISSILEER MYSTERY QUESTIONS
At MINOT: Why was the government issued toilet paper in the LCC grey?
At MINOT: What ever happened to the Henry 22 caliber US Survival Rifles kept under the LCC floor?
AT FE WARREN: Why is there an old canon next to the flagpole and metal stars on the tops of some of the buildings?
AT ELLSWORTH: Why was the missile in front of the Pride Hangar taken down and where did it go?
At FE WARREN: Why can’t stakes be put into the ground on the Parade Field?
What is the highest mileage on a crew vehicle used in the field?
On the LCC blast doors, why is there a high pressure and low-pressure hand pump?
Who developed WD40 and what was its military application?
Send your answers to: aggie1974@msn.com
We'll review the results at our National Meeting and in the next newsletter.
Sincerely,
Jim
James F. Warner
Executive Director
Fellow Missileers:
Can you believe it’s Labor Day weekend. Our children are back in school, football season in in full swing and the northern states are getting their snow removal equipment tuned up and ready to go! I’m anxiously waiting the arrival of the Minuteman Art Book which I spent two years gathering pictures and data for—it’s at the printer now and should be available for delivery by the end of the month. We created a web site to give you more information on what the book looks like including sample pages, how to order it and more. This is a book produced by missileers for missileers. Please check our site at www.afmissileersbook.com . The book is only about Minuteman Art. I know—where is the book on Atlas or Titan? That can be a project for someone in the future—we concentrated on Minuteman before all the below ground art was destroyed. While I wait for the book, I’m tying up loose ends for the National Meeting in Buellton, CA which includes the inaugural Hall of Fame Banquet. There are a few days left to register at www.afmissileers.org
Arlington Ceremony: Col Jim Roggero, 351st SWM/CC (Whiteman AFB) and 310th Training and Test Wing/CC (Vandenberg AFB) will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, Sept 6th at 11 am. The family will also have a meet and greet on Thursday evening, Sept 5th at the Double Tree Hotel in Crystal City (time TBD). Col Roggero is a hero of the Cold War and will be greatly missed!
44th SMW Reunion: Former members of the 44SMW are meeting from Sept 4th through Sept 8th at Hart Ranch, Rapid City, South Dakota. The 44th SMW can trace it’s lineage to the 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) that was activated on 15-January-1942 and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group was nicknamed as the Flying Eight Balls. In all the 44th flew 343 missions in 8009 sorties and dropped 18,980 tons of bombs. The Group lost 153 aircraft and 2000 airmen MIA. After WW II, the 44th continued with different aircraft and missions until the Missile Wing was activated on January 1st, 1962.
BELLE FOURCHE, S.D.—1993, LA Times: The warheads were long gone. The doomsday keys had been removed to the safety of an Air Force vault. Racks of classified electronic communications panels that once spewed out coded messages from hidden war rooms had been carted off as salvage.
Source: Harvesting the Silos of South Dakota
Peacekeeper History: Do you have a good understanding of peacekeeper development and deployment? If so, historian and author David Stumpf would love to talk with you. If you would like to help David with either of the two questions below, please email him at dkarlstumpf@gmail.com .
How thick was the forward section of the deployed Peacekeeper canister? My copy of the dash 1 gives 1 inch for the center and aft sections but no value for the forward section thickness.
The original canisters used in the Canister Assembly Launch Test Program were graphite epoxy composite. Part way through the Minuteman Upper Silo Simulation test program at the Nevada Test Site, the canisters were changed to steel. Why was the change to steel made? Cost?
SAC Titan Crews Were Required to Finish All Paperwork:
A SSgt at McConnell, wandered into the officers latrine and took all the toilet paper. He was just outside, when some LTC went in. He screamed where is the toilet paper”? The SSgt screamed back “sir I will go and get some”! He always wondered who that LTC was, and I bet the LtCol is still wondering who he was. Or...maybe he is still sitting there? Moral: Always check before you sit!
Have you checked out the AAFM YouTube site? We have a total of 761 videos available and always adding more when we find them. Recently added is a SAC 1981 Missile Combat Competition video—there is no sound but the pictures are great and feature notables such as Maj Gen Jack Watkins as the 1 STRAD commander, Maj Gen Ralph Spraker then Col Spraker as the 3901 SMES commander, Col Norm Miner as the 351 SMW/CC and of course the Whitman Stump! Spoiler alert, the 1981 Blanchard trophy went to the team at Whiteman AFB. Check out the video at https://youtu.be/cGF4BlURmzM and the rest of the Missile videos at www.youtube.com/@associationofairforcemissi4328
Wyoming's Q01 Museum
Col (ret) Mike Vaughn wrote recently to say he had the opportunity to visit Q-01 outside of F. E. Warren AFB. Mike says: "The Wyoming Parks team have done a good job restoring the site and the staff is well educated. A glaring problem is with the (L)MISP. It is missing the bank of lights for Q-10 and Q11." Mike is positive one of you might have a spare bank of lights that you are willing to donate to the museum. If you have the asset and are willing to donate, please contact me at Director@AFMissileer.org.
Four key items for you to consider:
Building dedication at Warren for Col Trevor Flint 6 September 2024:
On behalf of Col Johnny Galbert, Commander, 90th Missile Wing, and the entire Maintenance Group at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, we would like to cordially invite you to join us as we dedicate the 90 MXG ICBM Maintenance Building to Col Trevor W. Flint in a ceremony to take place on the sixth of September 2024, at 1000L, Building 1235, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, WY. Reception to follow.
For those who cannot attend in person, we will be live streaming the event, link to follow. Formal invitation link: Colonel Flint ICBM Maintenance Building Dedication (afit.edu)
For any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Major Rachel Lovelady at 307-631-1749, MSgt Zachary Schwendiman at 307-773-6770, SSgt Michael Mateyunas at 307-773-3991, or the 90th Missile Wing Protocol Office.
AFA Missile Gathering 17 September 2024:
The Air & Space Forces Association General Gabriel Chapter #433 will be holding a Missileer Gathering at AFA ASC Conference on 17 Sep 2024 from 1930 to 2200. We will also recognize the Air Force General Thomas Power Missile Crew of the Year. We will have the event in larger venue in the Gaylord, like we did in 2021.
The Missileer Gathering Registration is now open. We are asking that all attendees, active duty, Reserve, Guard, retired, veterans, spouses, and friends please register at this website so we can get an accurate head count for food and beverages:
2024 Missileer Gathering Registration
We are selling specially minted 2024 Missileer Gathering Coins (and some left over 2023 Missileer Gathering Coins) as fund raiser.
The Last Thirty Seconds by David Stumpf
Military historian David Stumpf has done it again! His latest book "The Last Thirty Seconds: A Brief History of the Evolution of Hit-to-Kill Technology is now available through the University of Arkansas Press. More in the upcoming newsletter.
Minuteman Art book Pre-sale:
The Silent Sentinel: Minuteman Artwork Reveled is now available for pre-sale on our website. For over 60 years, the Minuteman InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) system has quietly and inconspicuously stood on alert as part of our nation’s nuclear triad across America’s Great Plains from Missouri to Montana. The Silent Sentinels: Minuteman Artwork Revealed provides insight into the daily lives of those who serve this important mission and highlights artwork created over the years, including those pieces hidden below ground in areas rarely seen or visited by the American public. Click here to order. Deliveries start in late September.
Dear Fellow Missileers
Happy Independence Day! Still to this day I have a strong memory of coming off alert on July 4th, 1976 at Ellsworth AFB and enjoying our Nation's Bicentennial celebration--a day full of flags, fireworks, and BBQs as we celebrated 200 years of independence from the British empire!
In the next few weeks, we will be sending our new book The Silent Sentinels: Minuteman Artwork Revealed to the printers. In this 324 page book, Missileers reveal the intricate details of the mission, the events, and the people through morale patches, schoolhouse painted ceiling tiles, underground mural walls of the launch control centers, and finally music. Copies will be available for purchase later this year.
Rock Star Missileers:
The Air and Space Forces Association recognized the 321st Missile Squadron with the 2024 Gen. Thomas S. Power Outstanding Missile Crew Award.
The award recognizes 1st Lt. Alex Tarbet and 1st Lt. Patrick Finan, 321 MS combat crew, as the best missile combat crew in the Air Force. “It is a humbling experience,” Finan said. “We couldn’t have done it without our peers’ and leaderships’ support. In the end, it's just confirmation that we were surrounding ourselves with a network of amazing people and improving ourselves along the way.”
AFA recognizes the best missile combat crew in Air Force Global Strike Command annually with this award. General Power was commander-in-chief of Strategic Air Command from 1957 to 1964. He was the father of SAC's intercontinental ballistic missile force and was directly involved in the planning and deployment of the Atlas, Titan and Minuteman ICBMs.
In the last year, Finan and Tarbet distinguished themselves through their dedication to the mission leading to the development and implementation of a new flight deployment construct and missile procedures training schedule, their leadership while completing five nuclear communications tests over four platforms, winning the Linhard trophy for Best Operations Crew and the McMahon Trophy for Best Weapon System Crew.
Memorable Moments from the Field!
Place: Vandenberg AFB in the Missile Procedures Trainer.
Instructor: In a simulated LCC fire scenario, states “You smell smoke”!
New DMCCC in training: Yes sir, I know, but I am trying to give it up and my wife doesn’t like the way it smells either!
Place: Minot on the way to an A2 alert in 1975:
As the A2 shift was driving to Lima; the sun was setting, and a glorious sunset was emblazoning itself across the sky. The crew commander commented how beautiful it was.
His new Deputy replied...
“If you kind-of squint a little bit it looks like a “25 Megatoner” detonating in Lima Flight!”
Place: Malmstrom AFB at the crew vehicle barn:
As the Crew Commander was just pulling out, she looked out the side rear-view mirror and saw a muddy dark liquid running down the back side window. She looked at the Deputy and asked, “where’s our coffee”?
The Deputy replied, “I put both cups and the box of donuts on the roof on your side!”
Place: 44 SMW, K01, 1968, on a very windy, cold, winter day.
Crew Commander: “Did you get all the used code pages destroyed in the burn barrel?”
Deputy: “Well...sort of”...
Commander: “What do you mean sort of?“
Deputy: ‘When I opened the barrel to put more pages in, some of them blew away!”
Commander: “Did you pick them up?”
Deputy: “They blew away over the fence”
Commander: “Let’s go get them!” .Note: a couple of half burned pages were found during the
spring thaw.
Place: 91st Missile Wing O01, 1975. The A1crew was turning in their Smith and Wesson 38
Handguns after a daytime alert.
The Commander and his Deputy went outside in the cold weather to the red clearing barrel.
The Deputy went to the clearing barrel first, put on his cold weather gloves and started to unload his 38. As he opened the cylinder and ejected the rounds into his gloved hand one round fell to the rubber mat under the barrel and bounced to the asphalt. When the round hit the asphalt, it detonated, and the shell casing flew between the Commanders legs and landed around twenty feet away. The 1960’s Vietnam era lead bullet flew around three feet.
SAC approved solution: Move the clearing barrel into the FSC’s office, don’t wear cold weather gloves when unloading weapons and, of course, retrain the crew on handling weapons.
Nuclear Hell on Wheels: Examining the Need for a Mobile ICBM
In 2015, Lt Col Matthew Dillow, a student at the Air Force Center for Unconventional Weapons Studies wrote a Trinity Site Paper revisiting the need for a mobile land-based ICBM. Lt Col Dillow’s paper contains an older, but well said statement from General Robert Kehler.
“And what the ICBM force gives to the president is the ability to respond promptly. I think that’s still a valuable component of the range of alternatives that we could offer to the president. ... I think there’s a big difference between a force that you can use promptly and one that you must use promptly. And I no longer see us in a scenario where we must use the ICBMs promptly.
General Robert Kehler, former Commander, U.S. Strategic Command
Given the fact that the USAF and DoD Sentinel Program is undergoing a Nunn-McCurdy cost review, the original concept of installing Sentinel in 60-year-old silos is uncovering some MM silo infrastructure and supply line issues that are adding to the program costs. Regardless, the Sentinel ICBM is needed in the Triad and there are ways to lower costs to get the missile deployed faster with less expense. Lt Col Dillow’s paper addresses a wide range of deployment alternatives regarding the existing strategic environment in 2015. Since 2015, the strategic nuclear environment and technology has changed, and some of his ideas in the paper are relevant again today and should be revisited. Both Russia and China have developed operational mobile ICBM’s. In addition, China is building hundreds of silo-based ICBMs with the possible ability to survive a counterforce strike. For more information see Russia's Nuclear Weapons and China's Mobile ICBM's .
Want to know more? Trinity Site Paper
Final Quote: “The entire world will be in nuclear war, and only the Swiss will be going, “Vhats that noise?”
-- Robin Williams
I hope you all received the AAFM Dispatch at the end of last week inviting you to join the Public Town Hall regarding the Missile Cancer Study this Friday. It will be shared via Zoom. Join early as the link is open to first 500 dial-ins. AFGSC will be recording the meeting and we will over the recording on our website as soon as we get it.
Have you signed up for our National Meeting yet? We are only about halfway to our goal so there are still plenty of seats available. We have some great speakers, tours, and discussion lined up and of course it will include our inaugural Hall of Fame banquet.
The first draft of our book on Minuteman Art has was delivered to the Air Force for review this week. We hope to go to print before our national meeting. For a look at a draft of the cover, click here. More information on ordering in future emails.
Grandpa, What Did You Do in the “Big War”?
The heritage of our three remaining Minuteman ICBM wings is long and goes back to WWII. The predecessors to our ICBM wings served with distinction and honor. In observance of Memorial Day, below is a quick summary of their service history.
91st WW II Service: Constituted as 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Trained with B-17's then moved to England and assigned to Eighth AF. Entered combat in Nov 1942 and concentrated its attacks on submarine pens, ship-building yards, harbors, and dock facilities until mid-1943. Also struck airdromes, factories, and communication nodes. Attacked the Nazi navy yard at Wilhelmshaven on 27 Jan 1943 when heavy bombers of Eighth AF first penetrated Germany. Of 64 planes participating in the raid, 53 reached their target and managed to shoot down 22 German planes. Three planes were lost.
341st WW ll Service: The 341st Missile Wing has its origins in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater of World War II, being activated as the 341st Bombardment Group (Medium) in India on 15 September 1942. The unit was one of the first bomber units in the CBI equipped with B-25 Mitchell bombers shipped from the United States to Karachi. Entered combat early in 1943 and operated against enemy transportation in central Burma until 1944. Bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma. Moved to China in Jan 1944. Engaged primarily in sea sweeps and attacks against inland shipping. Also bombed the Canton-Hong Kong area of China. Received a DUC for developing and using a special GLIP Bombing technique against enemy bridges in French Indochina.
90th WW II Service: The 90th Missile Wing traces its lineage to the establishment of the 90th Bombardment Group (Heavy), on 28 January 1942. The 90th BG was a U.S. Army Air Forces, Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber unit that served in the Pacific Theater. The Group attacked enemy troop concentrations, airfield installations and shipping in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Palau and the Southern Philippines. The group was awarded a DUC for operations in Papua through January 1943 The unit participated in the Battle of Bismarck Sea in March 1943, and earned another citation for strikes on enemy airfields at Wewak, New Guinea in September 1943 despite heavy flak and fighter opposition.
Sentinel and Nunn-McCurdy...Oh boy! Another Report Opportunity
Lawmakers are taking several steps toward increased oversight of the Sentinel ICBM program. The Air Force announced earlier this year that Sentinel had breached Nunn-McCurdy critical costs and schedule overruns. However, there is no movement to cancel or curb the program.
If Sentinel is certified to continue, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) introduced an NDAA amendment—approved by the committee—that would require Pentagon acquisition boss William LaPlante to submit a report on the “total system architecture, and opportunities for competition throughout the lifecycle of the program.” The report would include government control of design review entrance and exit criteria, the ability to certify completion of all subsystems and the “total system architecture, and opportunities for competition throughout the lifecycle of the program”.
Want To Know More? Another Report!
Back to the Future...Some Thoughts of Those Who Have Gone Before Us
For years the Air Force ICBM community has proposed different basing schemes for land-based ICBMs. The Air Force Sentinel decision was to place the new missiles in existing, refurbished silos. Although it is the correct decision, existing MM silos, cabling systems and technology need major Civil Engineering and electronic updates to support Sentinel for its approximate 50-year life cycle. The actual missile itself is progressing successfully, but will the ground support system be ready to accept it and are there other ways to get Sentinel on alert faster?
So what does the US do to maintain an effective TRIAD? In 1975, RAND produced a then Classified/FRD study outlining Current and Future Options for the ICBM Force. The RAND report has been declassified, and although old and dated, provides some interesting ideas on how to proceed.
Want to Read the 1975 Report? RAND Report
ARE YOU A MISSILEER?
IF YOU SEE THIS ON THE ROAD .................AND REMEMBER THIS
YOU MIGHT BE A MISSILEER
IF YOU SEE THIS IN THE GROCERY STORE ...... AND REMEMBER THIS
IF YOU SEE THIS FROM THE ROAD ........AND REMEMBER THIS
YOU ARE A MISSILEER!
(apologies to Jeff Foxworthy)
As always, reach out if you have any questions, comments, or content to add.
On Saturday, 11 May 2024, @ 0900, there will be a muster ceremony for ICBM missile community members (missileers, maintainers, security forces, facility managers, military family members, etc.), lost to probable service-related cancer and other illnesses. It will be held at Pikes Peak National Cemetery, Colorado Springs, CO, Section 6, near site 193 (Mark Holmes’ gravesite). Mark Holmes was a former 10th Missile Squadron, 3 SOPS and 19 SOPS member. He died on 12 May 2020 after a short battle with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. We will use the anniversary of Mark’s death to remember him and the many others that were lost to similar circumstances, the fallen Airmen of 20 AF. (Note: the ceremony is being held 11 May instead of 12 May to deconflict with Mother’s Day.)
This will be a 10 min ceremony to remember those ICBM community members who have passed. Their names will be read and a roll call answered for them in their absence.
You are welcome to forward the invitation to other missile community members that may want to attend This will not be a formal event, and you can wear business casual or casual attire.
Making It Better!
Imagine you’re driving to your first assignment with your new bride in the middle of winter. You left your home in Florida, went to training in California, got married, and now you’re pulling up to the Minot AFB main gate. Emblazoned across the gate are the words “Only the Best Come North”. As you lower your window to show your ID, the cold wind smacks into your face. The Security Forces guard smiles, and says, I noticed your Florida plates, are you new to Minot?” You reply “yes”, and she directs you to the Welcome Center.
You casually glance at the outside temp gage on your convertible Mustang instrument cluster and it reads minus 21 degrees. Your bride looks at you, and says “don’t worry, I’ll be ok, I just need to buy some warmer clothes”. Warmer clothes are not the only things that families have to buy when moving to a cold weather assignment. How about an engine block heater to keep the car engine warm so your car will start on cold days...and don’t forget that heavy duty extension cord required to plug your car into the parking lot outlets. Other costs for families could include warm boots, gloves, “long johns”, snowsuits, and possibly a humidifier for your home.”
Effective April 1, the Department of the Air Force approved a new incentive pay for Airmen assigned to qualifying bases in the U.S. where the temperature is expected to drop below minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit.Cold Weather Assignment Incentive Pay is a single lump sum payment given to Airmen after signing an agreement to serve a prescribed tour length of at least 12 months, depending on the qualifying location. Currently, locations that meet this threshold include Minot and Grand Forks Air Force Bases and Cavalier Space Force Station in North Dakota, Clear Space Force Station, Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, as well as Malmstrom AFB, Montana.
The AF has recognized there are expenses that Airmen and families incur at some bases that are not reimbursed with travel pay. Cold Weather Assignment Pay helps our Airmen and families. The one-time stipend ensures service members and their families stationed at these critical installations have the support needed to be successful.
Want to know more? See Baby Its Cold Outside
Malmstrom AFB made Montana News
Montana Right Now posted a video highlighting our great people serving in the ICBM fields. You may recognize at least one of the missileers in the news. The video is only 3.5 minutes long, will take you into A01, and is pretty cool!
Want to know more? See This Force is With You!
Nuclear and Missile Operations Promotions:
Selection rates to Major for missileers and information warfare Captains remained steady while all other AF career fields dropped. It’s becoming harder to get promoted to Major, but missileers are faring better than other career fields. In April the Air Force released the promotion stats for the ‘23 promotion boards. In all, 1,995 new majors were selected out of 2,367 captains considered at the 23-selection board. The overall selection rate was about 84 percent. According to data provided by the Air Force Personnel Center, the 2022 promotion board process resulted in 2,177 new majors from a field of 2,531, for a selection rate of 86 percent.
Since 2020, officers are now put into six categories: Air operations and Special Warfare, Combat Support, Force Modernization, Information Warfare, Nuclear and Missile Operations, and Space Operations (see Categories ). Prior to this, missile officers were lumped into a single massive Line of the Air Force group, regardless of specialty. Now officers compete against officers in the same profession. Missile officers compete against Missile officers in their same year group.
So, how is it working out for active duty missileers. The answer is better compared to when Missileers were lumped into a massive group. For missileers competing for Major against other missileers, the promotion rate was one of the two career fields that did not drop from the previous year.
Want to know more? See Selection rates fell in 2024 for all captains except those in nuclear and missile operations, and information warfare
Family of Hellhounds--
This is a great story about triplets who went though High School together, joined the Air Force together...But wait there’s more and if you want to read about them, go to the link below.
See their story: Hellhounds
What Does Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), Vandenberg Space Base, AF Nuclear Weapon Center and Sentinel Have in Common?
The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center ( AFIMSC) at JBSA, San Antonio is executing a multi-year design and construction program to provide beddown for the Department of the Air Force nuclear deterrence mission. Under the program, AFIMSC recently spearheaded the award of a $120 million contract to deliver a new Sentinel test infrastructure at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The award is the result of the collaborative partnership between the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, Air Force Global Strike Command, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Vandenberg Space Force Base, AFIMSC’s Detachment 10 and the California District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deliver a 148,444 square-foot, consolidated maintenance facility to support testing and launch operations for the Air Force’s Sentinel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Program. Below is a proposed illustration of the Sentinel Launch Center.
“Be Authentic”—Major General Stacy Huser, Commander 20th Air Force
In May 2023 then Brig. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser was the Principal Assistant Deputy Administrator for Military Application, with the National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. She was the guest speaker at a Tea talk held at White Sands Missile Range where she spoke about her leadership perspective. Many of you may have met her at AAFM’s last meeting in Utah and hopefully we can hear her 20th Air Force perspectives at our October meeting at Vandenberg Space Base.
Want to know more: See Be Authentic
20th AF 80th Anniversary Celebrated:
Maj. Gen. Stacy Huser, Twentieth Air Force commander, and former Alabama state senator Henry Erwin, remove the covering of a stanchion recognizing Erwin's father, Henry "Red" Erwin, during a ceremony at the newly dedicated Erwin Hall Twentieth Air Force headquarters on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, April 4, 2024. Erwin Jr. visited the base as part of the rededication ceremony event renaming the Twentieth Air Force headquarters building to honor his father, the NAF's only Medal of Honor recipient. To honor his memory, 20th Missile Boosters, a separate nonprofit organization, has developed memorial patches, coins, and stickers to raise money for a permanent memorial plaque. The flyers below tell you how to obtain these limited-edition commemoratives.
If you are interested in learning more about the current state of our nuclear triad then I'd encourage you to look at the upcoming Strategic Deterrent Coalition (SDC) Symposium in Las Vegas. We work closely with the SDC to educate the public on the status of our forces and this is a key event for them. Their list of speakers is impressive! Here is more from the SDC:
The Strategic Deterrent Coalition’s Ninth Annual Symposium on May 9, 2024, at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, Las Vegas, NV is fast approaching. Our theme for this conference is Deterrence: Remembering Why It Exists. The events will begin with a Nevada National Security Site Tour the morning of May 8th, followed by our Strategic Deterrence Coalition reception in the evening of May 8, 2024, at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. The Symposium will be held at the hotel all day on 9 May ending with a reception and dinner. The keystone event of our Symposium will be the attendance and participation by both the Chair and Vice Chair of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States.
Go the the SDC site for registration: https://www.sdc-usa.org
Our list of confirmed senior leader speakers/panelists include:
*The Honorable Madelyn Creedon, Chair, Congressional Commission on The Strategic Posture of The United States.
*The Honorable Marshall S. Billingslea, Commissioner, Congressional Commission on The Strategic Posture of The United States.
* Dr. Brad Roberts, Director, Center for Global Security Research.
* General Paul J. Selva (USAF Retired), former Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
* General Robin Rand (USAF Retired), former Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command.
* General Glen D. VanHerck (USAF Retired), former Commander, United States Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command
*Lieutenant General Andrew J. Gebara, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration (HAF/A10).
*Dr. Steven Van Dyk (SES), Chief Engineer, Navy Strategic Systems Programs.
*Dr. Greg Brown, Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
*Dr. Illimar Ploom, Associate Professor, Department of Strategic Studies and Innovation, Estonian Military Academy. (ZOOM)
*Nicholas J. Taylor, Chief, Deterrence Research, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.
*Garrett Harencak (Maj Gen USAF Ret), President and CEO, Mission Support and Test Services, LLC.
*Major General John J. Nichols, Director, Global Operations (J3), United States Strategic Command.
*Major General Jason R. Armagost, Commander, Eighth Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command.
Here's an update on what's going on around the force:
Women’s History Month Puzzler: Who was the first woman to receive a military pension in the American Revolutionary War? (See answer somewhere in the Dispatch)
McDonalds vs Nunn-McCurdy vs Sentinel ICBM
Recently, the cost of a McDonalds Big Mac Meal reached $18.00 in Darien Connecticut. See: (A Critical Breach). In 1993 the cost of a Big Mac Meal was $2.99 which is around a 600% increase to $18 bucks. If the Big Mac Meal were a DOD program, it would be a “Critical” breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Congressional reporting process! Inflation is impacting all parts of the US economy and especially Defense major acquisition programs like Sentinel.
Although not as bad as an $18.00 Big Mac, the Sentinel ICBM program critically breached Nunn-McCurdy limits by around 37% and the program is looking at a possible two-year slip. This breach is still being evaluated by the SECDEF. Northrop Grumman, which won the Sentinel contract in 2020, has struggled with inflated supply chain issues, workforce shortages and clearance issues, as identified by the Government Accountability Office. See: (GAO)
Air Force Officials recently have also been faced with the program’s challenges. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall stating there are (Unknown, Unknowns) . For example, The Air Force’s original plan for modernizing its ICBM enterprise included keeping nearly all its existing copper cabling in place to be reused for Sentinel. That’s roughly 7,500 miles’ worth of copper cabling, connecting 400 half-century-old MM III silos scattered through the Great Plains region with launch control centers and other facilities. See: (Copper vs Fiber).
The impact of this possible delay has the “budget vultures” in Washington DC starting to circle. Once again Congressional representatives are asking questions about extending MMIII. For example: “Why does the Air Force continue to publicly state that the Minuteman III is too old and impossible to maintain while knowing that the Minuteman III must be maintained until at least 2037”? Please read the following letter sent to Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Manager and Comptroller from (Rep) John Garamendi and co-signed by Senator Warren.
See: (Garamendi/Warren)
It would be nice for both of them to dispatch with a Comm Team at Minot in the middle of winter to repair a break in 50-year-old copper cable buried 5 to 10 feet in frozen ground.
Meanwhile...China is building three new ICBM fields (FAS Article) and Russia’s new heavy “Satan II” ICBM is now on “combat duty” See (On Alert) . If you can find the time, please mail a handwritten or typed letter with your view on Sentinel to:
Senator Elizabeth Warren
309 Hart Senate Office Building.
Washington, DC 20510-2104
And to
US Representative John Garamendi
2004 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Note: Handwritten or typed letters are always preferred as their staff just can’t hit the email delete button.
Now for Something Entirely Different
Let’s just suppose you are driving out to the AAFM National Meeting in October or heading out for your summer vacation. If you are close to Hill AFB, there is a “labor of Minutemen love” you need to stop and see. Two of our AAFM members (Carlos Rice and Jim Sorenson) built a 99.9% replica of a Minuteman LCC. But wait, there is more...there are MM Reentry Vehicles and for really old former crew members an Emergency Communication System (ERCS) console used to record and load an execution message into a missile.
The ERCS console was also an excellent way to garner a critical error on an evaluation. Once the crew received an execution message and authenticated it, the Crew Commander would use the ERCS console to record the message. If the crew messed up at any time during the recording or launch process and an invalid message was loaded, causing a launch delay...you guessed, it...”Crit City”! This link (LCC) will take you to the Hill Aerospace Museum web page where you can try and find the pink bunny slippers. (Revolutionary War Pension)
March is Women's History Month, an occasion to heighten awareness of the contributions women have made to history and continue the long-standing tradition of excellence in American society. Below are some pictures.
The Wing received its first Grey Wolf helicopter. We have all been watching the process as the Grey Wolf moved through acquisition. Finally...it’s in the field.
Minot AFB: Minot takes home AFGSC Outstanding Team of the Year Award. This is the third consecutive year Team Minot has clinched the award. U.S. Air Force Capt. Allyson Wells, 91st Operational Support Staff flight commander, recalled how three consecutive victories highlighted the consistency of Team Minot’s commitment to excellence. Want to know more? (Three wins)
FE Warren: The 90th Missile Wing missile alert facility feeding operation on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, won the John L. Hennessy Trophy. The Hennessy Award is granted to bases with exceptional food service operations, promoting the importance of keeping personnel fed on base and in the missile field. “I’m so proud of our Chadwell Dining Facility and missile feeding teams,” said Maj. Jennifer Holmstrom, 90th Force Support Squadron commander. If you ever have the opportunity to eat at FE’s dining facility, they make a darn good omelet or tofu stir fry. Burrp...excuse me, but it was really tasty!
20th Air Force: 20th is celebrating its’ 80th Anniversary in April and honoring the only 20th Air Force Medal of Honor winner (then) SSgt Henry ‘Red” Eugene Erwin Sr. During a 1945 bombing mission over Koriyama, Japan, a white phosphorus bomb prematurely ignited in his aircraft and seriously wounded him. As smoke filled the plane, he picked up the burning device and carried it through the aircraft to the cockpit where he tossed it out a window. Although he suffered severe burns, he successfully saved his plane and all crew members aboard by disposing of the incendiary/smoke-generating bomb. To honor his memory, On 4 April 2024, HQ 20 AF, Building 65, will be rededicated as “Erwin Hall”.
To commemorate the occasion and help pay for a metal plaque to be installed, the Missile Booster Association is selling patches, coins, and stickers. To purchase them, see the flyer below.
Reunions and Gatherings:
The 390th Strategic Missile Wing Memorial Association is having a reunion in Tucson for the 40th anniversary of the 390th SMW shutdown September 25-28 2024. Information on the reunion can be found at http://www.390smw.org, or contact Don Boelling at president@390smw.org.
The 2024 Black Hills Bandits 30th Anniversary Reunion will be held 5-8 September at the Hart Ranch RV Resort in Rapid City, SD. You can get more information or register at: https://www.afmissileers.org/event-5603265
AAFM Board of Directors Balloting is CLOSED: Thanks to all of you that took the time to vote online or send me a ballot for our 2024 Board of Directors. Congratulations to returning Board members CMSgt (ret) Shane Finders and CMSgt (ret) John Baker and newly elected members Maj Gen (ret) Fred Stoss and Col (ret) Rich Hutchins. We thank all of those who showed an interest and hope to keep you involved in future activities. Electees will start their six-year term on May 1st.
AAFM is seeking your help: In support of our upcoming book on Minuteman art, we are still seeking pictures, artist names and contacts for crewmembers who did the blast door and tunnel junction artwork at our deactivated wings: Ellsworth, Whiteman, and Grand Forks. While we have received some inputs, we are still missing information on a lot of the artists. Additionally, we are still seeking any artwork done at the following sites: 44th : A, B, C and E; 321st : N; and the 351st : C, D, E, G. The Air Force has already captured all of the artwork at Warren, Minot, and Malmstrom for us and I have asked those units for help in identifying the artists but if you have information, I’ll take it. We’re also seeking any lithographs done related to Minuteman such as the prints by Karen Renninger, Warren Neary, and Joe Andrew—we have those but are seeking others. Negative replies not required. Send all information on these items to me at Director@AFMissileers.org
AAFM National Meeting: Don’t forget to register for the AAFM National Meeting at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott in Buellton, CA scheduled for 23-27 October. Maj Gen Stacy Jo Huser will be our guest speaker on Friday night. At the membership meeting on Saturday we’ll hear from the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine on the cancer study. We’ll also hear a personal perspective from Lt Col Danny Sebeck on his experiences with cancer treatment and his involvement in the Torchlight Initiative. We have invited incoming CMSAF Dave Flosi, a Malmstrom Maintenance group alumnus, to speak on Thursday night and AFGSC/CC Gen Tom Bussiere to speak at the inaugural Hall of Fame banquet on Saturday night. More on speaker confirmation as it happens. The Fess Parker Winery tour on Thursday is limited to the first 100 who sign up.
US Nuclear and Space Commanders Warn America is Being Outpaced by Russia and China at ‘Breathtaking’ Rate
Gen Cotton Testimony before the SENATE COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES, Feb 29, 2024
“The [People’s Republic of China] is surpassing the United States, and its number of fixed intercontinental ballistic missile launchers and projections indicate its nuclear arsenal would encompass approximately 1,000 warheads by 2030,” Cotton testified. “Beyond Russia’s traditional strategic triad, it is expanding and modernizing nuclear options that are not covered by international arms treaties. Last Friday, President [Vladimir] Putin stated that 95% of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces have been modernized.”
“In short, our competitors are improving their position against the United States and its allies in multiple domains at rates that are far exceeding the pace we’ve seen just a few years ago,” Cotton testified.
Want to Know More: Armed Services Committee Testimony
Russia’s Satan II Missile is Operational
Russia says its newest nuclear weapons system, the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, is now operational. "The Sarmat strategic complex has been put on combat duty," Yury Borisov, the director general of the state space corporation Roscosmos, said in a media appearance. It had been due to go on combat duty at the end of 2022.
The Sarmat will replace Soviet-era Voevoda missiles, known by the NATO designation SS-18 "Satan," in Russia's strategic arsenal. As the SS-18's successor, the Sarmat has been nicknamed "Satan II" in the West.
Putin said that the "invulnerable" silo-based weapon has been in development since 2001, following President George W. Bush's decision to pull out of a 1972 U.S.-Soviet anti-ballistic missile treaty. Revealing the weapon, Putin addressed the U.S. and said he had warned Bush not to withdraw from the treaty. "You didn't listen to our country then," he said, "Listen to us now."
Russia's newest weapon is the RS-28 Sarmat "Satan-2" missile, with 10 heavy reentry vehicles, each with enough payload to wipe out an area the size of Texas or France. It also features hypersonic glide vehicles to make it less detectable by U.S. or space-based sensor systems and could be immune to American missile defense systems.
Want to Know More: Satan II Combat Duty
ACA published an article (March 1st),on the Sentinel cost overrun. The article included the following opinionated statement with no factual support:
In 2016, former Defense Secretary William Perry wrote in The New York Times “that the United States can safely phase out” its land-based ICBM force. He argued that although the ICBM force is too costly and dangerous, submarine and bomber forces are highly accurate and thus are “sufficient to deter our enemies and will be for the foreseeable future.” AAFM members can advocate support for the Sentinel program by writing their congressional representatives. Our active duty Missileers need your support.
Want to Know More: ACA Sentinel Article
Sentinel Testing:
On Jan. 11, a second static fire test of the solid rocket motor design was successfully completed. In Feb, Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully completed tests of several Sentinel crucial elements including a shroud fly off: marking significant progress for the program in its engineering, manufacturing, and development phase.
Forward and aft sections of a Sentinel ICBM missile are evaluated through a rigorous test campaign at the company’s Strategic Missile Test and Production Complex in Promontory, Utah. The tests lower risk for the program with important data about the missile’s inflight structural dynamics.
Want to Know More: Sentinel Testing Moves Forward
Sentinel Impact:
Hill AFB’s Sentinel Systems Directorate reportedly has grown to a combined government and contractor workforce of more than 1,400, while Northrop Grumman’s Sentinel workforce now encompasses more than 3,300 professionals.
An estimated 10,000 people from across the country are expected to participate in the design, manufacturing, construction, and eventual deployment of the Sentinel ICBM system over the next decade and a half.
Source: Impact
On a Colder Note—Russian Elections:
Authorities in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk on January 19 announced a state of emergency after another heating pipe burst -- the third such accident in the last 24 hours and the fourth this week. The latest pipe rupture left more than 100 residential buildings without heating while outside temperatures fell to minus 20 degrees Celsius. Since January 1, accidents at heating and electricity supply systems have been registered in at least 43 regions in Russia. The issue comes as President Vladimir Putin tries to show living standards are good as he runs for reelection in March 24.
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:
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:
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:
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
Mailing address:
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Monument, CO 80132
Contact
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