Comment: Do you get questions about Sentinel because people know you worked in missiles? Do news reports sound less than informed?
Just researched this today: I call it the Cliff Notes of what is going on with Sentinel.
It reveals the huge extent of this entire project and why it is a lot to take in at first glance.
Quote:
Project Information
Sentinel is the weapon system proposed to replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system. It represents the modernization of the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad and would extend its capabilities through 2075.
On-Base Construction
Missile Alert Facilities and Launch Facilities
- Demolish all 45 missile alert facilities (MAFs) in the missile fields.
- Construct a communication support building at each MAF location.
- Construct a launch center within the property boundaries of at least 24 of the MAFs.
- Renovate all 450 existing launch facilities in the missile fields to like-new condition.
Utility Corridors
- Establish approximately 3,100 miles of new utility corridors.
- Acquire 100 feet of temporary construction easements.
- Acquire 16 feet of permanent easements to install and maintain utilities.
- Place no aboveground permanent infrastructure within the easements.
- Conduct activities within the 4,900 miles of existing utility corridors and easements.
- Acquire temporary easements to supplement the existing easements during construction.
Communication Towers
- Acquire property rights to construct 62 communication towers within the three missile fields: 18 at F.E. Warren AFB, 31 at Malmstrom AFB, and 13 at Minot AFB.
- Construct 300-foot towers supported by guy wires.
- Tower sites would be approximately 5 acres in size and generally be located near existing roads and utilities and avoid sensitive resources.
Temporary Workforce Hubs and Centralized Laydown Areas
- Establish temporary workforce hubs for up to 2,500–3,000 employees (during peak construction periods) in the vicinity of Great Falls and Lewistown, MT; Kimball, NE; and Minot, ND.
- Establish temporary construction laydown areas of about 13 acres throughout the missile fields.
- Use workforce hubs and laydown areas for 2–5 years.
MMIII Decommissioning and Disposal
- Remove, decommission, and dispose of the MMIII weapon system and associated facilities at F.E. Warren AFB, Malmstrom AFB, Minot AFB, Hill AFB, UTTR, and Camp Navajo.
Construction will begin on base at F.E. Warren in the summer of 2023. Off-base survey, real estate acquisition, design investigations, and construction will begin during this same time. Work will progress from F.E. Warren AFB to Malmstrom AFB and then conclude at Minot AFB. No activities at Malmstrom or Minot AFBs are scheduled at this time. Please https://www.afgsc.af.mil/Sentinel-GBSD/ to find additional information about the project, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) completed in March 2023, and on work activities scheduled to begin in Summer 2023.
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Comment: Confused about MAFs? See file attached to this posting or use this link:
https://www.afgsc.af.mil/Portals/51/Docs/Sentinel/Sentinel%20FEIS%20-%20Summary%20of%20Final%20EIS%20March%202023.pdf?ver=-4YM2rijKs-XF9ZJeKh8uw%3D%3D
Quote: Source: "SUMMARY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR THE SENTINEL (GBSD) DEPLOYMENT AND MINUTEMAN III DECOMMISSIONING AND DISPOSAL"
From Page S-6
Construction. The Proposed Action includes the demolition, reconstruction, and construction necessary to prepare all 45 MAFs to accommodate the Sentinel weapon system. This would include (1) dismantling and removing all MMIII equipment, supplies, components, and infrastructure at the MAFs not suitable for use with the Sentinel weapon system and (2) reinstalling any of those materials that are usable for the Sentinel program supplemented with the installation of any new materials necessary to fully support the new program. Prior to reconstruction, the Air Force would construct a communication support building (CSB). A launch center (LC) would be constructed at 24 of the existing MAF sites, and the remaining 21 MAF sites would be decommissioned and razed.
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https://www.stratcom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3405660/environmental-analysis-clears-sentinel-missile-infrastructure-construction-for/
Shown is an illustration of the LGM-35A Sentinel launch center. The Sentinel is the Air Force’s newest weapon system known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent. The construction phase of Sentinel, the Air Force’s multi-billion-dollar missile modernization effort, was cleared for takeoff May 19 as Robert Moriarty, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, signed the project’s environmental record of decision. (U.S. Air Force illustration)
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https://www.stratcom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3605296/afgsc-director-of-icbm-modernization-discusses-monumental-sentinel-program-at-j/
Quote:
NEWS | Nov. 28, 2023
AFGSC Director of ICBM Modernization discusses “monumental” Sentinel Program at Joint Engineers Conference
By Senior Airman Breanna Christopher Volkmar 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. –
Brig. Gen. Colin J. Connor, Air Force Global Strike Command Director of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization, recently highlighted the future of the LGM-35A Sentinel during the annual Joint Engineers Conference in Helena, Montana.
The Sentinel, which will modernize 400 missiles, 450 silos and more than 600 facilities across almost 40,000 square miles of U.S. territory over 6 states, 3 operational wings and a test location, is scheduled to replace the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system.
“[61 years ago], the first ever intercontinental ballistic missile went on alert, here in Montana,” said Connor. “It’s been a fantastic weapon system, but now it’s time for our generation to come into the next [one].”
Connor stepped into his role in August of this year and is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the activities of the Air Force in support of the deployment of the Sentinel ICBM weapon system and the retirement of the Minuteman III ICBM weapon system.
As keynote speaker during the conference, he described the significance of the project as monumental for the United States. The weapon system overhaul will occur in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and Nebraska over the next 20 years.
The project includes replacing all land-based Minuteman III missiles deployed in the continental United States, with Sentinel missiles. All components of the previous weapon system will be replaced, including the motors, interstages, propulsion system rocket engine, and missile guidance set. The number, size, configuration, and design of the nuclear warheads provided by the Department of Energy would remain unchanged.
“We’re not digging 150 new holes,” Connor explained of the physical replacement process. “We’re going to pull the [old] missiles out of the silos, figure out what state the silo is in, refurbish them and place the new missile in.”
