This squadron also performed periodic maintenance at the sites. The FMMS maintained hydraulic and pneumatic systems, site support equipment, and test equipment. The Field Missile Maintenance Squadrons (FMMS) and the Organizational Missile Maintenance Squadrons (OMMS) were responsible for the actual maintenance of the Minuteman missiles and support equipment. Air Force maintenance included four divisions and two squadrons. Maintenance SquadronsĮach Minuteman wing included a deputy commander for maintenance who operated the base maintenance complex and was responsible for planning, scheduling, and directing all maintenance of LCF and LFs in their wing. The rank of the maintenance crew varied depending on the experience and responsibilities of the team, and could range from Airman up to Captain. The maintenance force was responsible for ensuring that all systems were operable and on ready status by following precise technical orders written by Air Force engineers. Numerous aboveground Air Force command posts, often well signed and designated by combinations of letters and numbers, can also be seen in northeastern and north central North Dakota.A Missile Maintainer works on a Minuteman at a Launch FacilityĪlthough maintenance crews did not serve regular alert tours at the Launch Control Facilities, they routinely entered the control centers and silo sites to perform inspections, conduct routine upgrades, or make necessary repairs. All the single-warhead Minuteman II installations have been decommissioned, but Minuteman III missile fields, capable of delivering three warheads to widely scattered targets, are still operating in North Dakota, based out of Minot Air Force Base. An aboveground concrete blast door remains in place. With the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), the missile at this site was removed and the silo filled in. An interesting display of artistic creations by missile control crews remains in place as part of the interpretation that is occasionally given by former missileers. The underground launch facility (November-33) consists of steel-reinforced, shielded launch control stations for ten missiles. Two-person security teams, a flight security controller, a facility manager, and a chef rounded out the essential crew at each site on a rotational basis. Each LCC housed a two-person crew of missileers, working twenty-four-hour shifts, monitoring the missiles and awaiting orders 24/7/365. The MAF consists of an aboveground Launch Control Support Building that housed an eight-person security and maintenance team and provided access to underground launch control centers (LCCs). This is the best-preserved and well-interpreted missile site accessible to visitors. For thirty years, Cold War defense strategy kept crews in place for solid-fuel Minuteman missile installations based in Montana, Missouri, Wyoming, and the Dakotas to counter a similar program by the former Soviet Union. The historic site covers two locations, the Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility (MAF) and the November-33 Launch Facility. The Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site preserves and interprets the Cold War strategy of nuclear deterrence, and the lives of people who staffed isolated sites like this one.
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