150 Minuteman III Now Comply With START I (Aug. 14)
WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo.---Missile maintainers from the 90th Space Wing have completed the field reconfiguration of the wing's Minuteman III missiles to adhere to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I four months early.
The Air Force's portion of the START I treaty called for F. E. Warren to reconfigure 150 Minuteman III missiles that contained three multiple re-entry vehicles to a single re-entry vehicle per missile by Dec. 5. The fieldwork was completed Aug. 6.
The re-entry vehicle is the portion of the missile that houses the nuclear warhead.
"It's not every day that you go to work knowing you completed an international treaty," said Airman 1st Class David Glass, MMIII missile maintenance technician from the 90th Maintenance Squadron.
"Placing the final SRV into the last silo was a momentous occasion in U.S. history," said Col. Thomas Shearer, 90th Space Wing commander. "The fact that it happened months in advance of the deadline date is due to the dedication and expertise of all the maintainers at both the weapon storage area -- where they reconfigured all the missiles from a MRV to a SRV -- and to the missile maintainers, who placed the SRVs back into the silos. Their hardworking efforts, along with supporting security forces teams, missile crew members and medical personnel, brought every missile back to full operational capability with minimal delay."
The treaty mandates that the United States reduce its intercontinental ballistic missile force to 6,000 warheads and that Russia will do the same, said Rex Ellis, 90th Space Wing treaty compliance specialist.
"The SRV program is only one piece of the START I treaty puzzle, but it's a very important piece," Ellis said. "(F.E.) Warren's portion of the treaty was to decommission 300 RVs. Reductions are also being made to the bomber fleet and the sea launch ballistic missile structure."
The reduction will not detract from the deterrence of the force, Air Force Space Command officials said.
"The deterrence is sound," said Maj. Gen. Howard Mitchell, AFSPC director of operations at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. "The triad is still sound with bombers, land-based missiles and sea-based forces. We have adequate RVs to protect the nation, as we see the need, in today's environment."
F.E. Warren will not be considered treaty compliant until the 150 multiple re-entry vehicle bulkheads, the portion of the missile that connects the RVs to the rest of the missile, are destroyed and a formal paperwork process is completed, Ellis said. That process is expected to be completed near the original Dec. 5 deadline.
The method of destruction to demolish the bulkheads is a sledgehammer and a lot of muscle. Senior Airman Daika Dewolfe, munitions technician from the maintenance squadron, said she looks forward to the bulkhead destruction phase of the treaty compliance.
"It relieves stress," she said.
F.E. Warren began the reconfiguration process Nov. 23, 1998, and each re-entry system took four to six days to reconfigure.
"It basically took sweat and bones to comply with START I, and we put in extra hours when we needed to," said Staff Sgt. Todd Burnham, munitions team chief.
But, it is worth it, he said, knowing that they were able to complete this process four months early.
"During the nearly three years of the download program, we had five on-site inspections by Russian delegations," Ellis said. These inspections would normally add time to the overall process but the maintainers kept up with the set time schedule.
"Compounded with the fact that the silos are located in desolate areas in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska that are often besieged with erratic weather changes, it was difficult to stay on course," Ellis said. "Sometimes, maintainers literally had to dig their way through snow just to start working, and they normally worked 12- to 16-hour days to get the job done. They are truly phenomenal workers."
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Missile Maintainers Finish Treaty Requirement Early
