Members of the 91st Space Wing at Minot AFB, N.D., reached a 99.82 percent alert rate—the highest ever for a Minuteman ICBM force, say Air Force Space Command officials. The ICBM alert rate is a function of the percentage of missiles on alert and ready to launch. For the Minot airmen, the 2005 alert rate marked the fourth straight year that the North Dakota has been the command’s top unit.
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.