Photo gallery
Missile crew member opens blast door
Briefing of 91st Missile Wing crews
Minuteman crew on alert
A missile combat crew (MCC), is a team of highly trained specialists, often called missilemen, or missileers, staffing Intermediate Range and Intercontinental ballistic missile systems (IRBMs and ICBMs, respectively). [1] In the United States, personnel, officially coded as Nuclear and Missile Operations Officers (AFSC 13NX), of the United States Air Force, operate underground missile systems at launch control centers located throughout the country. [2] There are also a select few missileers that have the chance to become part of a Missile Combat Crew-Airborne (MCC-A) operating the Airborne Launch Control System which provides a survivable launch capability for the Minuteman ICBM force. [3] Crew size varies among the different missile systems, but the number is always greater than one, to abide by USSTRATCOM's two-man rule for positive control of nuclear weapons.
The first missile combat crews were composed of trained aviators (e.g., B-47, B-36), but later generations had no aviation experience and were "grown" to be missileers from the start of their careers.
From the early days of United States missile crew operations until the late 1970s, the career field was closed to female personnel. [4] Changes were implemented to allow for full female crews on both Titan II and Minuteman/Peacekeeper crews. In 1978 the restriction of having women on crew was lifted for the Titan ICBM. Recognizing the limitations in personnel scheduling, Strategic Air Command relieved restrictions on same-sex crew pairings, into "mixed" crews on January 1, 1988. [5]
Combat crew training consisted of three phases, Undergraduate Missile Training (UMT), Unit Qualification Training (or Unit Orientation Training), and recurring training.
UMT was performed by the 4315th Combat Crew Training Squadron/392d Training Squadron at Vandenberg AFB, California and lasted 13 weeks. UQT/UOT was held at the missile base(s) the personnel was assigned to, and conducted by local instructors, lasting three or four weeks. Recurring training happened continually on a monthly basis, and was conducted by local instructors.
Locations of United States missile launch complexes varied by system. Most launch control centers were built in population-sparse locations, such as the Northern Tier (Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota), Midwest (Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, Colorado) and the Southwest (Arizona, Texas, New Mexico). Titan II sites were supported by Little Rock AFB in Arkansas, Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, and McConnell AFB in Kansas. 18 Titan II Missile sites were supported by each base. Each missile complex was organized near a missile support base (MSB). Crews would gather on the base, receive briefings and equipment, and travel out to their alert location by either truck or helicopter.
The missile launch control environment also varied by system. Early missiles such as Thor and Atlas, relied on support facilities above ground, with crews protected in a shelter of some sort. Later systems were buried underground, either with the missiles located nearby (i.e. Titan) or a distance away (Peacekeeper, Minuteman). In the underground environment, crews dealt with artificial lighting, recycled air, loud noises, and intimately close quarters (in Minuteman and Peacekeeper) with equipment racks. The Atlas F was in an underground silo, along with the launch crew quarters, separated by a tunnel.
Peacekeeper and Titan II alerts were usually 24-hour tours, with additional time required for briefings at the MSB, and travel time to and from site. Minuteman crews were on 40 hour alerts with additional time required for briefings at the MSB, and travel time to and from site. An experiment with 72-hour tours was started in 2006 but was ended sometime later for unknown reasons. [6]
OIL CHANGE was a test implemented by SAC to test if two-person 36-hour tour for Minuteman ICBM crews were feasible; before OIL CHANGE, three crew members were needed (MCCC, DMCCC, Alternate MCCC). The test ended in mid-1968, with the OIL CHANGE recommendations implemented 29 November 1968. [7]
Each missile crew had at least two officers on-site operating the equipment: the missile combat crew commander (MCCC) and deputy missile combat crew commander (DMCCC). The earlier systems, such as Atlas, Thor and Titan, required more personnel to monitor increasingly complex systems (as listed below).
The Atlas-F silo-based variant had a crew complement of five members: [8]
Titan II crews numbered four:
Minuteman and Peacekeeper missile crews numbered two: the MCCC and DMCCC. Tasks within the system technical orders were sometimes labeled for each crew position, although the majority of tasks could be accomplished by either member.
The Airborne Launch Control System is operated by an airborne missileer crew aboard Airborne Launch Control Center aircraft. The Missile Combat Crew-Airborne consists of the Missile Combat Crew Command-Airborne (MCCC-A) and the Deputy Missile Combat Crew Commander-Airborne (DMCCC-A).
Very little is publicly known about Soviet/Russian missile crew members. Following Soviet doctrine, launch control functions are entrusted to higher-ranking officers (lieutenant colonel equivalents), in contrast to United States policy of entrusting lower-ranking officers (captains and lieutenants) with day-to-day functions.
Little is publicly known about the French ICBM system, including personnel issues. The land-based deterrent, consisting of Hadès and SSBS S3D missiles was deactivated by President Jacques Chirac in February 1996. [10]
Nothing is publicly known about Chinese ICBM personnel or their activities.
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile components of the United States military's strategic nuclear forces from 1946 to 1992. SAC was also responsible for strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airborne command posts; and most of the USAF's aerial refueling aircraft.
The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. As of 2024, the LGM-30G is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and represents the land leg of the U.S. nuclear triad, along with the Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and nuclear weapons carried by long-range strategic bombers.
Vandenberg Space Force Base, previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the Western Range, and also performs missile testing. The United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 30 serves as the host delta for the base. In addition to its military space launch mission, Vandenberg Space Force Base also hosts space launches for civil and commercial space entities, such as NASA and SpaceX.
Minot Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in Ward County, North Dakota, thirteen miles (20 km) north of the city of Minot via U.S. Route 83. In the 2020 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,017, down from 5,521 in 2010. Minot AFB is the home of two major wings: the 5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing, both of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC).
The LGM-118 Peacekeeper, originally known as the MX for "Missile, Experimental", was a MIRV-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) produced and deployed by the United States from 1985 to 2005. The missile could carry up to twelve Mark 21 reentry vehicles, each armed with a 300-kiloton W87 warhead. Initial plans called for building and deploying 100 MX ICBMs, but budgetary concerns limited the final procurement; only 50 entered service. Disarmament treaties signed after the Peacekeeper's development led to its withdrawal from service in 2005.
The Missile Badge is a military decoration of the United States Air Force which was first created on 23 May 1958. The "pocket rocket" badge recognizes those commissioned officers and enlisted personnel of the US Air Force who have qualified as missile personnel that have been trained in the maintenance or launching of land-based and air-launched nuclear weapons under the direction of the National Command Authority. Originally known as the Missileman Badge, the Missile Badge later became known as the Missileer Badge or more informally the Pocket Rocket and is still often referred to by this name.
A launch control center (LCC), in the United States, is the main control facility for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). A launch control center monitors and controls missile launch facilities. From a launch control center, the missile combat crew can monitor the complex, launch the missile, or relax in the living quarters. The LCC is designed to provide maximum protection for the missile combat crew and equipment vital to missile launch. Missile silos are common across the midwestern United States, and over 450 missiles remain in US Air Force (USAF) service.
The 44th Missile Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Twentieth Air Force, being assigned to Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. It was inactivated on 4 July 1994.
The Boeing EC-135 is a retired family of command and control aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter. During the Cold War, the EC-135 was best known for being modified to perform the Looking Glass mission where one EC-135 was always airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command post for the Strategic Air Command in the event of nuclear war. Various other EC-135 aircraft sat on airborne and ground alert throughout the Cold War, with the last EC-135C being retired in 1998. The EC-135N variant served as the tracking aircraft for the Apollo program.
The 625th Strategic Operations Squadron (STOS) is a United States Air Force nuclear missile control & support squadron. The 625th STOS has five flights that play different roles in this mission. The Latin motto of the 625th STOS is Si vis pacem para bellum, which means, "If you wish for peace, prepare for war."
The 68th Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 44th Operations Group, stationed at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota.
The Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) provides a survivable launch capability for the United States Air Force's LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force. The ALCS is operated by airborne missileers from Air Force Global Strike Command's (AFGSC) 625th Strategic Operations Squadron (STOS) and United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). The system is located on board the United States Navy's E-6B Mercury, which serves as USSTRATCOM's "Looking Glass" Airborne Command Post (ABNCP). The ALCS crew is integrated into the ABNCP battle staff and is on alert around the clock.
This is a chronology of the LGM-30 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), acquisition and operational.
Airborne Launch Control Centers provide a survivable launch capability for the United States Air Force's LGM-30 Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) force by utilizing the Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) on board which is operated by an airborne missileer crew. Historically, from 1967–1998, the ALCC mission was performed by United States Air Force Boeing EC-135 command post aircraft. This included EC-135A, EC-135C, EC-135G, and EC-135L aircraft.
A missile launch facility, also known as an underground missile silo, launch facility (LF), or nuclear silo, is a vertical cylindrical structure constructed underground, for the storage and launching of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs). Similar facilities can be used for anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs).
First Strike is a 1979 film created by KRON-TV and Chronicle Publishing Company under the broadcast division name "Chronicle Broadcasting Company" in partnership with the United States Department of Defense and the RAND Corporation. The film discusses the United States Armed Forces strategy for dealing with nuclear warfare and became far better known when various clips were edited into the 1983 TV film The Day After.
The Peacekeeper Rail Garrison was a railcar-launched ICBM that was developed by the United States Air Force during the 1980s as part of a plan to place fifty MGM-118A Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles on the rail network of the United States. The railcars were intended, in case of increased threat of nuclear war, to be deployed onto the nation's rail network to avoid being destroyed by a first strike counterforce attack by the Soviet Union. However, the plan was canceled as part of defense cutbacks following the end of the Cold War, and the Peacekeeper missiles were installed in silo launchers as LGM-118s instead.
Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, shortened as F.E. Warren AFB is a United States Air Force base (AFB) located approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is one of three strategic-missile bases in the U.S. It was named in honor of Francis E. Warren in 1930. Warren AFB is home of the 90th Missile Wing, assigned to the Twentieth Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command. The 90 MW operates the LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM. It is also the home of Twentieth Air Force, which commands all U.S. Air Force ICBMs.
The 90th Missile Wing is a component of Twentieth Air Force, stationed at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base and equipped with LGM-30G Minuteman III Missiles. It has served at Warren as a component of Strategic Air Command, Air Combat Command, Air Force Space Command and Air Force Global Strike Command since 1963.