We do have one small bed and an airplane-style bathroom in our trailer-sized capsule. At least one crew member is awake at all times once the blast-door is closed and we are sealed inside. At this point, we meet the off-going team members as they eagerly await their chance to get some fresh air.Īfter the off-going crew leaves, the oncoming team begins the 24-hour shift. Once on site, we meet with the security forces guarding the site to conduct mini mission planning and work with the facility manager to ensure the facilities are functioning properly.įollowing our meetings topside, we begin our descent roughly 40 to 60 feet down a freight elevator to arrive at the LCC, or capsule, as we call it, and say goodbye to the daylight for a time. Crews may travel as little as 45 minutes to their designated LCCs or up to three hours in some cases.
After the planning, crews depart for the missile field. This gives crews the opportunity to plan for the day’s activities, maintenance, and weather and eliminate as much risk as possible. When going on alert, we start our days by attending a daily mission planning meeting. I graduated in May 2012 and by early 2013, I was on alert. Contrary to popular belief, we do not sit in the silo with the missiles. From the LCC, the missileers monitor the status of up to 50 missiles at any given point. The LCCs are manned at all times by two officers frequently known as missileers. On a day-to-day basis, the missiles sit in their individual silos and are connected with miles of cable to underground launch control centers (LCCs).
Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. Today, there are hundreds ICBMs spread out across the fields surrounding Francis E. Little did I know that by the time I was going through initial training in 2012, the career fields would split, and I would be part of a missile combat crew, or missileer, for the Minuteman III missiles.įirst deployed in 1970, the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) have provided nonstop nuclear deterrence. I certainly had no clue that I would be operating some of the most powerful weapons ever developed.ĭuring my senior year with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, I put in my dream sheet hoping to get 13S, which at the time was known as Space and Missiles. Air ForceĮntering my freshman year in 2008, I never imagined what the future might hold.
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