United States Air Force Francis E. Warren Air Force Base

1 united states air force

1.1 air training command, 1947–1958
1.2 strategic air command, 1958–2005

1.2.1 706th/389th strategic missile wing atlas d , e missiles, 1958–1965
1.2.2 90th missile wing minuteman i, 1963–1974
1.2.3 lgm-118 peacekeeper missiles, 1982–2005


1.3 twentieth air force, 1991–present

united states air force

at end of world war ii, city officials in spokane, washington, had tried acquire joint use of facilities @ geiger field, spokane air training command (atc) had used aviation engineer training center. army air forces opposed sharing facilities civilian authorities, headquarters directed atc transfer training mission geiger field fort warren in wyoming, , training stopped on 15 may 1947.

air training command, 1947–1958

air training command emblem



these student repairmen install terminal box atop telephone pole. example of practical training received in atc installer repairman phase of fixed wire communications course @ francis e. warren afb

on 1 june 1947 air training command assumed jurisdiction of fort warren, 463d air force base unit activated manage support facilities, , 3450th technical training wing activated conducting training. training began on 7 july 1947. in september 1947, fort warren, along other army air force facilities, transferred newly established united states air force.

in march 1949, hq atc directed re-program, part of overall restructuring 48-group air force. statement of trained personnel requirements gave priority radio, radar, armament, , aircraft maintenance training programs. atc needed find additional space these courses. air force announced on 17 january (1949?) aviation engineering courses @ fort warren, exception of powerman , transfer army s engineer school @ fort belvoir, virginia. fixed wire courses @ scott afb went fort warren, scott had room expand radio mechanic school.

on 7 october 1949, fort francis e. warren became francis e. warren afb. result of korean war, air training command had process thousands of volunteer reservists; between late july , end of october 1950, 20,000 reservists brought on active duty, of done @ warren afb.

in 1957, in response budget reductions, air training command formed base utilization board examine facilities, looking @ existing , future training requirements. board concluded 2 bases released —francis e. warren , scott afb, illinois. warren afb had number of strikes against it, including poor weather conditions limiting training 7 months of year, lack of flying field, , many inadequate buildings. in 1958, air training command received permission headquarters usaf phase out training programs @ warren afb.

effective 1 february 1958, base transferred air training command strategic air command. training continued until 24 march 1959, , on 1 may atc discontinued 3450th technical training group.

strategic air command, 1958–2005

the 389th air base group established on 1 february 1958 take control of former atc facilities part of transfer strategic air command (sac). provisional 4320th strategic missile wing established date responsibility 24 atlas missile sites under sac. although not first designated missile wing, warren became first operational icbm base in air force.

706th/389th strategic missile wing atlas d , e missiles, 1958–1965

sm-65e atlas launch site



706th smw insignia



389th smw insignia

the project design above-ground sm-65d atlas icbm launch , control facilities @ site completed mid-may 1958 , construction finished in november 1959. design revisions delayed project several months. construction began @ location 23 miles (37 km) northwest of cheyenne in late 1958 facilities of activated 706th strategic missile wing, control icbms. on 15 september 1959, first atlas d missile deploy away vandenberg afb, california, went 564th strategic missile squadron stationed @ warren complex. month later, warren afb became recipient of first air-transported atlas missile. in presence of general power, commander in chief of sac, first atlas d complex turned on 564th sms , declared operational on 9 august 1960.

as work proceeded @ warren complex, army corps of engineers contracted warren ii 3 sites 3 atlas-d launchers @ each in february 1959. warren ii site ready in summer of 1960. 565th strategic missile squadron, activated on 1 december 1959, operated 9 launchers.

the warren iii site, designed 9 sm-65e atlas missiles scattered on 60-square-mile (160 km) area @ single coffin launch sites. term coffin used because missile laid on side underground coffin roof @ ground level. configuration offered limited protection launcher. on 1 october 1960, 549th strategic missile squadron became last atlas-e sms activated. 549th sms re-designated 566th sms on 1 july 1961. same date parent 706th strategic missile wing stood down. command responsibilities @ warren afb assumed activated 389th strategic missile wing.

in may 1964, 565th , 565th sms atlas-d missiles being phased out, 389th strategic missile wing received sac s last operational readiness inspection system. in september 1964, sac inactivated 564th sms. during march 1965, 566th sms atlas-e s deactivated, completing phaseout of atlas missile @ warren.

90th missile wing minuteman i, 1963–1974

90th missile wing emblem

the departure of atlas squadrons did not mark end of f.e. warren s role in icbm program. on 15 october 1962, morrison-knudsen , associates won contract construct 200 lgm-30a minuteman missile silos on 8,300-square-mile (21,000 km) area of wyoming, nebraska, , colorado, located north , east of base. on 1 july 1963, air force activated 90th strategic missile wing. on next year, 4 component strategic missile squadrons activated 400th sms became last minuteman b unit stand on 1 july 1964. in november 1972, sac initiated minuteman integrated improvement program . program entailed silo hardening , upgrading command data buffers in launcher control facilities, allowed quicker missile re-targeting , new version of minuteman missiles. after conversion lgm-30g minuteman iii, last minuteman ib model went off alert status in september 1974.

lgm-118 peacekeeper missiles, 1982–2005

minuteman iii s occupied silos 1974–1986. on 22 november 1982, president ronald reagan stated decision in statement congress, deploy mx missile dubbed peacekeeper (later designated lgm-118 peacekeeper) superhardened silos located @ warren afb. capable of carrying 10 independently targeted nuclear warheads, peacekeeper intended strengthen ground-based strategic policy of u.s. initial plan deploy 100 peacekeepers in silos of 400th , 319th strategic missile squadrons. in july 1984, construction began peacekeeper support facilities @ warren afb. 1986 through 1988, 50 peacekeepers backfitted silos occupied minuteman iii s 1974–1986 of 400th strategic missile squadron. during time contamination documented propose base listed superfund site on 7/14/1989.

in 2002, president george w. bush set plan in motion reduce country s missile forces 6,000 between 1,700 , 2,200. russian president vladimir putin agreed follow similar plan, signing strategic offensive reductions treaty. part of reduction, peacekeeper missiles taken off alert , inactivated beginning in 2002 until 16 september 2005. squadrons inactivated on 19 september 2005.

twentieth air force, 1991–present

the end of cold war , combat during operation desert storm in 1991 resulted in significant changes organizational structure of u.s. air force.

on 1 september 1991, twentieth air force reactivated strategic air command (sac) , became responsible land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles. on 1 june 1992, warren transitioned inactivating sac newly established air combat command, , on 1 july 1993 air force space command. realignment designed take advantage of similarities between missile launch , space launch operations. 90th strategic missile wing renamed 90th missile wing. wing became 90th space wing on 1 october 1997.

with ratification of strategic arms reduction treaty i, u.s. had until december 2001 reduce nuclear arsenal. result, 90th missile wing reduced fleet 3 reentry vehicles permissible single reentry vehicle configuration. on 6 august 2001, 150 minuteman iiis had been converted single reentry vehicle. warren missile fields maintain 150 minuteman iii missiles, split evenly between 319th, 320th, , 321st missile squadrons.

the 2005 base realignment , closure commission (brac) did not recommend making significant change base s current operations.

on 1 july 2008, 90th space wing re-designated 90th missile wing, per order of outgoing air force chief of staff general t. michael moseley way of refocusing unit on nuclear surety mission after 2007 united states air force nuclear weapons incident. 90th missile wing selected first missile base upgrade minuteman iii launch control centers rapid execution , combat targeting modification. existing lcc s had not been upgraded since 1960s. react replaced command , control consoles single, integrated, computer-processing console. improvements in automation allow combat crews more rapidly process message traffic , carry out execution orders.

on december 1, 2009 twentieth air force placed alongside other u.s. icbm , bombers similar missions under single command, air force global strike command, headquartered @ barksdale afb, louisiana.

on october 23, 2010 pandemonium stirs when warren losses communication status, 1 hour, 50 missiles sites due hardware issue.