Missileers spend most of their work shifts 60 feet underground, where they do more than simply wait for the balloon to go up, reports SSgt. Jeremy Larlee. Getting to that hole in the ground for missileers assigned to F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., may take more than an hour on the road, followed by about 90 minutes of security checks. Two missile officers serve in each underground capsule, while topside at the missile alert facility, there are numerous support and security forces personnel to provide food, maintenance, and protection for the “biggest deterrent in the world,” says TSgt. Paul Bobenmoyer, MAF facility manager.
The Air Force has finished resurrecting a B-1B Lancer, completing a yearslong process to transform a bomber that had been stored for parts in the Arizona desert into the new flagship of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.