The charge by North Dakota Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad to “save” the 500-strong Minuteman missile force received unanimous support from the Senate. (DR 09/23/05) Conrad and friends included an amendment in the 2006 defense authorization measure that states: “It is the policy of the United States to continue to deploy a force of 500 intercontinental ballistic missiles,” barring any dramatic and “unanticipated” strategic developments in the future. Conrad feared the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review crowd was casting a budget-cutting eye toward the ICBM force.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
