Sept 13 Air Force Missileers Newsletter

8/9/2019 Sept 13 Air Force Missileers Newsletter

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The Quarterly Newsletter of the Association of Air Force MissileersVolume 21, Number 3 Victors in the Cold War September 2013

Air Force Missileers

The Mission of the Association of Air Force Missileers -

- Preserving the Heritage of Air Force Missiles and the people involved with them - Recognizing Outstanding Missileers - Keeping Missileers Informed

- Encouraging Meetings and Reunions - Providing a Central Point of Contact for Missileers

Special Purpose Vehicles, Part IIPeacekeeper Rail Garrison 1

Thor Transporter Erector 9

Mace Terracruzer 11

Minuteman Snowcat, More on the

Minuteman TE 12

How Did you Become a Missileer? 13

Future Structure of the Air Force 14Job Notices, Minuteman Granite Marker,

706 SMW Plaque 15

Vandenberg Power Supply,

Last Launch, Going Home 16

A Word from the Association, Letters 17

Missileers and Facebook, Missile Models

and Badges, Taps for Missileers 18Donations Pages 19

2014 National Meeting

Registration Back Inside Cover

Reunions Back Cover


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Association of Air Force MissileersMembership Application

Complete and mail to:

AAFM PO Box 5693

Breckenridge, CO 80424

or log on to www.afmissileers.org

Membership Categories

Annual ($20) ____ Active Duty/Student ($5) ____

Three Years ($50) ____ Active Duty/Student ($14) ____

Lifetime ($300) ____ (Payable in up to 12 installments)

Awarded Missile Badge - Yes _____ No _____

Member Number _________________

Name

Address

City State Zip Code ActiveDuty

Rank/Grade Retired

Discharged/

Separated Civilian

Reserve or

Nat Guard

Home Phone

E-mail

Can AAFM release this information-only to members and missile organizations? Yes ____ No ___

Signature

Summary of your missile experience - used in the AAFM database - attach bio if you have one

Missile Systems and Units

Snark ____

702SMW ____

Navaho____

Mace ____

Units______

__________

Matador ____

Units _______________

Jupiter ____

Italy___ Tur-

key ___

Bomarc ___

Units ____

_________

Atlas D___ E___ F___ 548___ 549___

550___ 551___ 556___ 567___ 576___

577___ 578___ 579___ 706/389SMW__

Titan I ___ 568___

569___ 850___ 851___703/451SMW___

Titan II

___ 308___381____ 390

___

Blue Scout ___

Unit ________

Minuteman I____ II/Mod____ III____

Peacekeeper____ 44___ 90___

91/455 ___ 321 ___ 341 ___ 351___

4062 (MM Train)___ Small ICBM__

GLCM __ JCMPO__

38___ 303___ 485___

486___ 487___ 501___ Dug-

way__ 868TMTS/G___

Space Systems___ Thor___ Atlas___ Titan II___ Titan III___ Titan IV ___Delta ___ Nike ___ Vanguard ___ Scout ___ EELV___ Apollo___ Mercury___

Gemini___ MOL___ Agena___ ABRES___ Ranger___ Shuttle___ Skylab___

Sat Control___ SpaceSurv___ BMEWS___ DSP___ DMSP___ DSCS___

GPS___ PavePaws___ Other Space System_________________________

21SW___ 30SW___ 45SW___ 50SW___ Other Space Units_____________

Airlaunch___ AIM___ AIR___ AGM___ SRAM___ALCM___ ACM___ AAMRAM___ RPV/Drone___

Hounddog___ Quail___ Skybolt___

Other Airlaunch Systems_______________________

_____________________________________________

Airlaunch Units _____________________________

Headquarters/Numbered Air Force/Specialized Units (Check only if assigned to the headquarters level)

JCS/DOD/SECAF___ Air Staff___ AFIG___ AFOTEC___

SAC or JSTPS___ AFSPC___ AFGSC___TAC___ ACC___

STRATCOM___ PACAF___ USAFE___ EUCOM___ NATO

or AAFCE___ AFSOUTH___ AU___ AFMPC/AFPC___

DTRA/OSIA____ Other MAJCOM__________________

ALCS___ 2ACCS___4ACCS___

HqATC?AETC___ CTTC___ LTTC___

STTC___ VAFB ATC___ 381TRG___

392TRS___ 532TRS____ 533TRS ____

HqARDC/AFSC___ WDD/BMD/BSD___

BMO___ SAMSO___ SMC___ WTR___

ETR___ 6555___ 6595___ SACSO___

SATAF_____________________

HqAFLC ____ AMC___

Ogden___ SBALC___

SAALC___ SMALC___

AGMC___ SACLO___

Specialties Operations___ Maintenance___ Munitions___ Comm___ Facility Mgr___ Safety___ Civil Eng___ Support___

Research/Devel/Test___ Instrumentation___ Security___ Contractor___ ( )Other _______________________

Missile/Space Competition Participant___ Years____________

Other Information________________________________________________________________________________________

Commander -Sqdn___ Group___ Wing___ Other_____________

Vandenberg Units 1MslDiv___ 1STRAD___

392___ 394___ 395___ 576___ 4315___ 3901___

51MMS ____ Other VAFB Units __________

Division Hq

4___ 12___

Other ____

NAF 2___ 3___ 5__

8___ 14__ 15___

16___ 17___ 20___Other Units ___________________________________

Thor___Units_____

_________

AAFM Special - Free Three Year Electronic Membership for new Active Duty Enlisted Members


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Air Force MissileersThe Quarterly Newsletter of the Association of Air Force Missileers

Volume 21, Number 3 Victors in the Cold War September 2013

Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Test Train and the Test Team Patch

Membership Program for Active Duty Enlisted MissileersThanks to the generosity of a few of our senior noncommissioned ofcer members, we have a special fund set aside

to provide free three year memberships to active duty enlisted missileers. Mike Kenderes and your executive director

signed up a number of new members during the last missile competition, and we will continue to nd ways to get the

word out and increase our active enlisted member base.

If you are an active duty enlisted member and dont belong to AAFM, complete the

form on the facing page and return it to us, or go on line to afmissileers.org and

complete an on-line registration. Just tell us by e-mail or on the form that you are a

new member taking advantage of this special offer.

Peacekeeper Rail Garrison- By Col (ret) Joe Sutter, AAFM Mbr No A0644 Knoxville, TN, (With considerable inpfrom Gary Emmons, AAFM Mbr No A1996, University Place, WA and Al Duff, AAFM Mbr No A2304 Omaha, NE)

Im proud of the work we did at SAC developing Peacekeeper Rail Garrison. Lots of people did a lot of hard work, a

if the world had not changed, Im convinced Rail Garrison would have played a major role in our deterrent posture.

Gen John T. Chain, CINCSAC, 1986-1991

Recent articles in this Newsletter have featured special purpose vehicles used in the ICBM business. Jim Carlton

excellent piece in the June 2013 issue described the unique Small ICBM Hard Mobile Launcher. I was Chief of tAdvanced ICBM Development Division, XPQM (later XRQM), at Headquarters, Strategic Air Command (SAC) when Ji

ran the Small ICBM Branch. The other branch in the Division was focused on Peacekeeper Rail Garrison (RG), the l

attempt to nd an acceptable, survivable basing mode for the Missile-X (M-X)/Peacekeeper (PK).

The Basing Journey Most can recall the lengthy and troubled history of basing for Peacekeeper. Fred Stoss two articles in the Decemb

2006 and March 2007 Newsletter provide an excellent summary. For various reasons including environmental impa

political acceptability, costs, arms control verication concerns, and technical challenges, an acceptable (and survivable

basing mode could not be found. The list was extensive and included buried trench, multiple protective shelters, air launche

closely spaced basing (dense pack), and deep underground, to name a few.

In 1983, The Scowcroft Commission recommended, and Congress eventually approved, a plan for ICB

Special Purpose Vehicles - Part IIMore of the Unique Mobile Equipment Developed for Missiles


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AAFM NewsletterVolume 21, Number 3 September 2013

2

SAC Staff rides with UP in Omaha

L-R: Brig Gen Al Rogers, Col Chris Branch, General

Chain, Brig Gen George Larson, Col Jake Jaques,

Lt Col Joe Sutter, and Maj Al Duff

(More about the nice hats later!)

modernization which included development of a new, small,

single warhead ICBM; deployment of 50 PKs in existing

Minuteman silos (at FE Warren); and continued research on

PK basing. After re-visiting some of the modes listed above,

an idea from the early days of Minuteman of using the rail

system emerged and gained considerable favor.

Early development of Minuteman included a railmobile option as a complement to silo basing. Mobile

Minuteman started in 1959 and included a performance test

named Operation Big Star run out of Ogden, UT, in 1960.

The program was cancelled in 1961. (In fact, mounting

artillery on rail cars can be traced back to the Civil War, and

was used by the Germans in World War II.)

Enter Rail Garrison The main concerns with continuous deployment

ICBMs on the rail network were public interface and safety.

The thought of nuclear trains roaming the rails daily was not

a popular one. And accidents do happen. The possibilityof a missile train de-railing or becoming involved in some

other accident was pretty much a show stopper. But someone

suggested I think it was then Col John Douglass of the

National Security Council (NSC) staff that the PK trains

could be kept on military bases (in garrison) in peacetime,

and only deployed on the rails in time of crisis. The public

would be more likely to accept this in the event of a nuclear

confrontation with the Soviets. RG was born.

Across the USAF, the ICBM team began to esh out

this idea. Many people were involved over the life of RG, but

the ones I worked with primarily were Lt Col Tom Maxwell

in the Acquisition Division (AF/RD-M & SAF/AQQM) in

the Pentagon, Col John Douglass at the NSC, and Col Glenn

Vogel was the point of contact at the Ballistic Missile Ofce

(BMO) at Norton AFB, CA, working the hardware and

technical issues. Quentin Thomas and Frank McDermott

were the SAC Liaisons at BMO, and later we worked

with Jim Wills as SAC-LO. SAC/XPQM was responsible

for the system requirements, including the operational and

employment concepts, and this article is written mainly from

that perspective. Other ofces in SACs Building 500 were

also actively engaged, including missile tactics, the missile

team in the Air Room, ICBM maintainers in LGBM andoperators in DOMM and security police. All in all a total

team effort in Omaha and beyond.

Lt Col Gary Garrison Emmons was nishing

his tour as commander of the 742 SMS at Minot, and was

assigned to head the RG Branch in June 1987. Gary not

only brought his missile background, but was also quite

knowledgeable about railroad operations having worked as

a telegraph operator and train dispatcher for the Northern

Pacic Railway for nearly ten years prior to entering the Air

Force. In short - a perfect match for the job.

The Development of Rail Garrison We needed to quickly learn more about how the r

system in the US operates to see if the RG idea was inde

feasible. With the exception of Gary, none of us had hand

on experience in rail operations, much less spoke the ling

Who knew that a rail fan was a person, and not a piece

hardware. And hump yards? Well...

We were fortunate to not only have Gary leading t

effort, but Union Pacic (UP) Railroad was headquarteredOmaha. UP had its main maintenance yard in Omaha the

and their people were very open to help us. We spent a

of time at UP talking about train maintenance, and at t

newly constructed Harriman Dispatch Center learning ho

they controlled trafc over more than 32,000 route mile

We were naturally concerned about the ability to hid

the trains, so we learned what trains they could see on the

Centralized Trafc Control (CTC) display panels (main li

and some sidings) and those they couldnt (dark, non CT

controlled track and many miles of spurs and sidings).

turned out there was a lot of dark track for our potential u

They also gave us a rst-hand view of rail operatioriding a special train from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. U

set up the trip and had several high level ofcers aboard

explain everything from train control, signals, switchin

track capacities, safety, repairs, accident response, etc. W

later visited train control centers from other railroads an

learned how they monitored and controlled movements.

The CINCSAC, Gen Jack Chain, became somewh

of a train expert himself and made several visits with us

UP. On one trip, they had two locomotives and three busine

cars for the SAC staff and we went from the old UP depot

Omaha out to Valley, NE, wyed the train and headed back

Omaha. UP sent several senior VPs along to talk with G

Chain. On the way out, we rode in the business cars a

they briefed Gen Chain on how railroads operated, and o


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3

SAC Team with Burlington Northern Hi-rail Vehicles

between Grand Forks and Minot. Winter 1987. (Or it

could have been Spring - it was North Dakota)

the way back, Gen Chain and Al Duff rode in the locomotive

cab and got to see things from that perspective.

When he retired in 1991, Gen Chain was hired as

Executive Vice President - Operations of the BurlingtonNorthern Railroad, with headquarters in Fort Worth, TX, and

held that position for more than ve years.

Several of the RG team took a trip from Grand

Forks to Minot with Burlington Northern on two hi-rail

(highway-rail) cars. Hi-rail cars are routinely used by the

railroads for inspection and track maintenance. They are

typical road vehicles that have special mounted railroad

anged wheels that can be lowered to allow the vehicles to

travel on the rails.

We met with top leadership of all seven major Class I

railroads, including Norfolk Southern, Burlington Northern,

Santa Fe, Conrail, CSX, AMTRAK, and Southern Pacic.

We also met with the operations personnel of regional and

short line railroads to include the Mid-South and the Lewis

and Clark Railway. In addition, the Rail Garrison cadre met

with the major rail unions to include the Brotherhood of

Locomotive Engineers (BLE) and the United Transportation

Union (UTU).

Other organizations provided valuable help ,

including the Association of American Railroads (AAR),

and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), part of the

Department of Transportation. The FRA assigned Dr Jim

Boone as our interface. Jim went above and beyond to helpus. (Gary Emmons still maintains contact with Jim today).

A few words are necessary here on the importance

of the tremendous cooperation of the entire railroad industry

(the leadership and rank-and-le of the railroads and the

unions, and the FRA and AAR) in the early stages of PK RG.

They had little to gain nancially or otherwise from PK RG.

In my opinion, they did it because they believed this program

was important for our country, and their approach in dealing

with the myriad of challenges was simply they would make

it work. Without their support, PK RG would have quickly

gone the way of other basing modes.

The initial work with the railroads and other agenci

indicated that PK RG could indeed interface with the man

non-government rail companies in the US. There we

challenges, and much more had to be done to come up wi

a viable ops concept and the design of the train, especial

the missile car.

The PK Transporter - The Missile Car

BMO began some of the technical designs of tmissile car. Recall the PK is a hefty missile, about 71 fe

long and 190,000 pounds, and was cold-launched fro

a canister. The rail car had to accommodate not only t

missile and canister, but also support electronics, a syste

to erect the missile/canister, and a mechanism to stabili

the car during the launch sequence. Size and weight quick

became issues.

The car was to be 87 feet long and over 17feet hig

roughly the size of a high cube (AARplate F)box car,

a 3-tier auto hauler. While the dimensions were in line w

typical rolling stock, the weight was not. A loaded freight c

weighs in the 200,000 lb range some more, some less. TPK rail car tipped the scales around 550,000 pounds. Th

meant that instead of the usual four axles on a box car, th

PK would require eight, and not all track in the US is stro

enough to take the load, even with the extra bogies. Th

would limit the speed of the train and the track available

the event the RG had to deploy off base.

Locomotives SAC selected General Motors Electro Moti

Division (EMD) GP-40-2 diesel electric locomotives as t

primary motive power for the train sets. Each train set wou

have two GP-40s. These four-axle tried and true work-horshad a proven track record of sustainability and reliabilit

SAC/BMO, through the Boeing Company, purchased tw

locomotives, numbered TBCX 4900 and TBCX 490

which were specially equipped and EMP (electro magnet

pulse) hardened for the prototype train set that was test

at the AARs Transportation Technology Center (TTC) ne

Pueblo, CO, in 1989. These two locomotives are report

to still be in use today at the US Armys Military Oce

Terminal (MOTSU), Sunny Point, NC.

Other Cars Given the size of the launch car, the decision w

to limit the number of missiles per train to two. The P

train would have other cars to house necessary equipme

and personnel, including the launch crew, communicatio

equipment, power/ECS, maintenance, and two cars f

security forces. A fuel car was considered as well to provi

additional range, and extended electrical power. Boein

provided the fuel car, which had special ttings to allow t

locomotives to be refueled while the train was out on t

rails, and also refuel the generators in the rest of the trai

Most trains use power from the locomotive, but that pow


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4

was too dirty (uctuating) for the electronics on the PK

RG train.

The cars would have armor and radiation shielding,

adding to their weight. The cops wanted NATO round

shielding in the locomotive, but it was too expensive, so

.22 caliber protection was provided instead. The HQ SAC/

SP, Col Steve Heppell, was not happy, but when he saw the

savings he agreed.

The launch control car for the combat crew was

estimated to weigh more than 400,000 pounds and BMOproposed that all cars be similar to the missile car in overall

size, and have the same wheel conguration. A single

locomotive could easily handle a train of 10 -12 cars and

while locomotives are very reliable, it was decided to add a

second one for redundancy.

The PK RG Train The result was something relatively uncommon

on the rails - quite short in overall length, and the extreme

weight precluded normal freight train speeds. As we were

beginning to understand rail operations, we also learned

that there are huge numbers of rail fans or train buffsin the US that love spotting, tracking, and photographing all

types of rolling stock. Something unusual like the highly-

specialized PK train would quickly catch their fancy. From

a survivability standpoint, this would create operational

challenges as a key aspect of the RG concept is to be able to

disperse onto the rail network and essentially fade into the

system. Friendly forces could give away the position, and

a very short train would be easier to identify from Soviet

overhead systems.

We knew we couldnt fool true rail fans (like Tim

McMahon and Wayne Hansen!), but it was important to low

the visibility with the general public. So the car designe

Westinghouse and Rockwell, fabricated coverings for t

cars that made them look like high cube box cars, includin

fake doors, standard roof patterns, and other trappings.

hide the heat signatures, the generators were mounted low

the cars and vented the exhausts down.

The biggest issue was how to operate the train

the national rail networks. The major railroads were willi

to let us on their systems, and even give us priority, but th

were very reluctant to have a very heavy train operating o

their net without their people on board.

Available Track Routes Among BMOs major efforts was a tra

characterization study to compile a digitized data base

main lines, sidings, rail yards, and even abandoned rail lin

that might be suitable for patrol and parking of the PK train

It would be necessary to update the data base in near-rea

time, to include maintenance, repairs, areas out of servic

etc. so RG train crews would know where they could opera

and areas to avoid. We spent a lot of time determining how much ar

uncertainty we could generate in a given time of deployme

and probably gave our adversaries credit for capability th

didnt have. We learned through some of the exercis

described below that locating (and continually pinpointin

a train is difcult. The toughest part was making sure th

didnt nd us through the dispatch/control systems. O

trains were special and would have generated a lot of buzz

the dispatch centers.

The Operational Concept

Basing With two missiles per train, the need was to

suitable basing for 25 trains - a total of 50 PKs. The

were three fundamental criteria in looking at possible ho

bases: availability of enough land to site the garris

(approximately 600 acres); limiting impact on the existin

planned missions at the base; and reasonable access to t

main line - rail network with multiple options/routes in t

event of dispersal.

FE Warren AFB in Cheyenne, WY, was t

obvious choice for the main operating base for RG giv

the established PK infrastructure for silo basing in the 4

SMS. Warren had sufcient land to site the garrison a

good access to the rail network adjacent to the base. Oth

bases considered were Fairchild AFB, WA; Barksdale AF

LA; Blytheville and Little Rock AFBs, AR; Dyess AFB, T

Wurtsmith AFB, MI; and the Minuteman bases at Min

Grand Forks, Malmstrom, and Whiteman. The plan was

have three to four trains per base.

The Garrison The garrison would ideally be sited on a remote ar

of the base and secured similar to a bomber alert facility

A Missile Car

Two of the missile cars were eventually built. While no

missiles were red from the cars, there was a test at a

facility in Colorado that cold launched (ejected) a weighted

slug from the canister to verify the stability and erection

system, and the capability of the track/rail bed to withstand

launch. The one remaining missile car (above) is on display

at the National Museum of the USAF at Wright-PattersonAFB in Dayton, OH


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Titan II RV Truck with RV Covered for Convoy

weapon storage area. Each train would have its own earth-

bermedshelter primarily to provide additional security and

environmental protection, and only limited hardening against

a blast. The shelter would be about a quarter mile longto

house the entire PK RG train.A rail spur would connect the

garrison to the main line.

A test shelter at Vandenberg was built and a test

loop track of about a mile in length was laid. A funny

(sad) story about the track. The contractor was someone

who really didnt know how to build a rail line, and instead

of using crushed granite as ballast (track bed), they used pea

gravel. The result was like building the track on a pile of

marbles and the entire line had to be ripped up and rebuilt.

Alert in Garrison The missiles would be on alert in the cars in

the shelters and monitored by launch crews in a separate

facility within the garrison, and not in the launch control c

This facility would also house garrison security equipme

and personnel. The bermed shelters would be designed

allow launch in place, with the missile/canister and erecti

mechanism sufciently strong to break thru the roof of t

shelter, and the typical PK launch sequence to begin.

Dispersal/Egress In the event of a crisis/higher state of readine

the trains would be prepared, manned and disperse onto t

rail network, similar to bombers going airborne, or ushi

to dispersal bases. The plan was to have approximately 3

personnel on the train:

Train Commander 1 Ops Crew (s) 4

Security 15 Communications 2

Maintenance 3-4 Train Crew 4

Security concerns heightened as the trains left t

The Peacekeepr Communications System


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6

garrison, and the trains could be vulnerable to attack at choke

points along the off-base spur, or until the trains could gain

access to the expanse of the main lines. Hi-rail cars would

be used by security to sweep the spurs and help escort the

train during egress.

We wanted to do something railroads just dont do,

that is take a cold train and get it out and running within a veryshort time (15 minutes was the goal). So we worked with

the operators and maintainers and regulators and attacked

the issues one by one. For instance, the diesels had to be

warmed up before going on the rails, so the plan was to use

pre-heaters, something those of us who were assigned to the

northern tier are familiar with for cars. The brakes had to

be aired up (pressurized), so portable umbilical connections

that could quickly be disconnected were designed. The

entire train had to be inspected for safety before moving, so

we established routine, daily inspections by the duty crew so

the required safety inspection would be current enough if thetrain needed to deploy quickly.

Patrol The trains would have pre-designated patrol

areas in which to operate, somewhat similar to a ballistic

missile submarine. The train woulduse a move-park-move

strategy to create as much uncertainty as possible as to its

location. There was an extensive threat analysis that looked

at how to protect the location of the train, including limiting

electronic emissions, tactics and pre-arranged procedur

to communicate with rail control centers to coordina

movements without divulging the mission, mitigation

overhead threats, countering special forces/sabotage, e

Much of the strategy to preserve location uncertainty w

classied.

With the help of the FRA and Dr Jim Boone, t

nations railroads agreed in principle to use the AMTRA

crewing model of having Air Force engineers and conducto

qualied (certied) to operate over large areas of the nation

rail network. In the event that our Air Force crews need

assistance, the railroads agreed to provide pilots ( railro

crew members familiar with the track routes) to help. On

deployed, PK RG trains could remain on the nations ra

system for weeks relying on food and supplies carried on t

train, and then resupplying if needed from facilities in loc

communities.

The advanced inertial reference sphere (AIR

guidance system of the PK was designed for mob

operations and would continuously navigate and update

position to allow for prompt launch if needed. Navigatitests were run using a PK guidance system housed in a va

and transported on a rail car. One test covered some 8

miles from El Paso, TX, to Santa Ana, CA, on the Southe

Pacic mainline.

To maintain desired accuracy, the train wou

periodically stop at one of thousands of pre-surveyed ben

marks (PBMs) that were to be added specically for PK R

The train commander would have classied procedures f

Peacekeper Physical Security Concept Diagram


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7

locating the PBMs to update the PKs inertial guidance set

based on the PBMs longitude and latitude coordinates, and

altitude/elevation. Accuracy would degrade slightly with

the length of time from the last PBM update.

SAC initially desired to have the autonomous

capability (with on board personnel and equipment) to

change the guidance system if needed while on patrol. Thisproved to be too expensive to have 25 extra guidance sets

and the associated equipment. Instead, the plan was to have

several convoys available up to meet up with the train to

do the guidance change out. While this did create some

possibility of giving away the trains location, we know now

that we probably gave the adversary a lot of capability that

today seems questionable.

Launch In the event that the missiles were ordered to be

launched, the train wouldpark on a suitable stretch of track

or siding. The complete train would stay together (coupled)for launch. The launch sequence would be similar to other

PK mobile basing systems (with the addition of a stabilizing

mechanism for the missile car), erection of the canister/

missile assembly, cold-launch ejection of the missile, and

rst stage ignition

For the planned ight tests (which were never

conducted), the launch crew wouldnt be in the launch control

car, but located remotely for safety reasons. BMO ran tests

to make sure the pads (which weighed up to 40 pounds each)

that kept the missile centered in the tube wouldnt penetrate

the roof of the rest of the train if caught in the exhaust blast.

In actual deployment, if there was a malfunction duringlaunch, well...it was war.

Testing the Ops Concept SAC worked closely with the nations major

railroads, the FRA, AAR, the operating unions and the three

primary contractors, Boeing, Westinghouse and Rockwell

International, to rene and test the operations concept.

SAC conducted four major exercises - three on the rails and

one habitability study in a controlled environment - before

the program was canceled. The rst exercise occurred in

February 1988 with the UP in and around Cheyenne, WY

and included a video, SAC is on TRACK, that is availablein the AAFM DVD collection.

In 1990, we ran a very detailed test in Texas. SAC/

DOM provided most of the test team and Al Duff was the

test director. As Al recalls it:

We ushed a short train from near Carswell AFB

and played hide and seek with a virtual army of FBI, OSI,

and other agents who were chasing us and trying to nd the

train. SAC even launched a B-52 to try to nd us. We could

see the B-52 ying by, but he didnt see us. We successfully

hid for three days, but then they narrowed down where we

were and were chasing us at 80 miles an hour on a rain

night so we stopped the exercise. When we briefed t

results back at SAC, we showed a picture of the B-52 tak

from the train. We had superimposed a cross-hairs on

One general somewhat impolitely told us that picture wou

never be shown again.

There was an endurance exercise at BMO at Nort

AFB, CA, to see how the crews would fare in the train. A

entire crew was locked up in a full scale mockup of the ca

and kept there for 30 days. The test lead was Maj Les Coop

from SAC/DOMM, a perfect choice. We could see th

video feed from the remotely controlled camera they us

to see out, since there werent any windows. The test ca

were in a parking lot at BMO, and every time a particular

attractive worker went by, the camera would follow her ve

carefully. Those on the outside found this very entertainin

The exercise proved the crew could survive and operate, an

also conrmed they would probably not enjoy it very muc

Challenges Each exercise described above validated and help

rene SACs operations concept, but there were somoperational challenges facing PK RG:

1. Working with multiple railroads. The USA

would need agreements/MOAs with a minimum of the sev

Class I railroads and eventually another dozen or so region

and shortline railroads. If there were to be covert plans

protect the trains and movement tactics, these procedur

would have to be shared with numerous railroad personn

who did not have security clearances.

2. Locomotives. Diesel-electric locomotives a

designed to run, and run for extended periods, and not

idle. Most of the work-arounds described above addressthis concern.

3. Train crews/prociency. The USAF train cre

personnel would need to be certied. We worked a plan

have the FRA certify them (using a rail industry approv

AMTRAK model) rather than certifying with each individu

railroad. They would require extensive practice to

procient. Commercial train crews are highly experienc

and often run the same stretch of track for many years an

know every curve, grade, and safety hazard.

SAC envisioned having twotraining trains th

would rotate among the bases. This would allow crews

deploy without actual missiles/warheads and provide a echeck for complete train crews. There were also plans f

stationary training capabilities (an MPT of sorts), and t

engineers and conductors would have additional trainin

from the railroads and the FRA.

4. Tactics to maintain location uncertainty. Wh

much of this was classied, some simple concepts we

explored included decoys, use of tunnels, undergrou

storage facilities, etc. All of these were examined, but t

bottom line seemed to be that the best option was to simp

keep moving.


10/24


8

We will probably never know if the deployment

PK in silos and the development of rail garrison and the sm

ICBM helped the Soviets decide enough is enough. Bu

do believe that the commitment and vigilance of SAC, an

the entire ICBM community, have rightly earned missilee

the tag line used by this Association - Victors in the Co

War.

(A special thanks to a couple of friends who help

with this article. Gary Emmons, and Al Duff providsignicant details, photos, and other comments.)

5. Security. Anytime a nuclear weapon is out of a

protected area, security is naturally a concern. The PK RG

train was not typical in terms of appearance, speed, length

etc., and some railroad experts thought the train could be

easily sabotaged. Its unusual design would simplify visual

detection, the train located by intercepting communications

with railroad control centers, targeted at choke points,and the train could be tagged with a tracking device or

attacked on egress from known locations at the operating

bases. As expected, the nuclear security community was not

thrilled with RG. Very aggressive delay denial capability

was planned for the launch cars, and they seemed to give

little credit for on board security forces.

Operarions Concept Briengs Ofcial visitors to HQ SAC almost always got a

brieng on RG, including the system description and ops

concept outlined above. Everyone in the RG Branch could

give the brieng, including Gary Emmons, Al Duff, DennyLyons, Paul Burnett, Wayne Andrews and Tom Resha. But

Ken Van Sickle and Steve Garcia were the go to guys and

gave more PK RG presentations than anyone. Steve even

had a RR outt, complete with an oil can, that he wore for

visitors who would appreciate the humor.

Boeing made an HO scale model of the train and

track that was used for the briengs in 2A8. The launch

tubes even came up from the cars. The Congressmen and

Senators especially seemed to love it.

For one of the early VIPs (it may have been Secretary

of State George Shultz), Gen Chain came up with the idea

of giving him a railroad engineers hat with the SAC patchon it. Those were not off the shelf items, so my wife Geri

found several hats in downtown Omaha, got some patches

at the base clothing sales store, and red up the sewing

machine at home. Following that visit, SAC Protocol was

on the hook to arrange for the hats.

The End of the Cold War The ops concept continued to evolve and become

more complete in 1989-1990, and extensive hardware

development and testing continued. While PK RG had its

challenges and critics (there was no perfect mobile basing

mode for PK), the testing and research clearly indicated itwas a workable concept.

But as the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War

ended, President George H. W. Bush announced sweeping

changes in US nuclear force posture, including cancelling

the development of mobile basing for the PK. We were

just a few months from the rst train launch at Vandenberg.

Ironically, after years of battling with Congress over PK

basing modes, the nal mobile system was cancelled by the

President.

The First Rail Garrison Locomotive.

This locomotive was a rebuilt GM EMD GP-40-2, sin

the Air Force didnt want to spring for a new one, and t

locomotive shop at Hill AFB assured that the rebuilt wou

be just ne. Al Duff signed for delivery, and since it w

now ours, we did what all operators do - took it for a rid

Al said, We were on a long siding, and we would back

up to the end, and gun it and race to the other end a mile

more away. It was so much fun - we repeated it a numbof times. Then the System Command guys came and to

our toy away from us.

A True Collectors Item. Courtesy of Gary Emmons


11/24


9

The Thor Transporter Erector

Launcher - by John Boyes. AAFM Mbr No SA070, Kent,United Kingdom

From 1959 to 1963 the Royal Air Force (RAF)

elded 60 Douglas SM-75 Thor missiles at 20 sites in

eastern England. The deployment was codenamed Project

Emily at the whim of the US Air Force colonel in charge

of the United Kingdom (UK) end of things who admired a

calendar which showed a young girl called Emily wearing

rather less than might have been considered decorous. Thejoint operation between the USAF and the RAF presented a

complex logistic challenge to transport the various pieces of

equipment to the sites from the USAF bases in England to

where the components were airlifted. The greatest problem

was the transport of the 60 foot long missiles. Brought in

directly from Santa Monica, CA, in C-124s and later C-133s,

that was, in many ways, the easy part of their journey.

The highways and byways of the English countryside

wherein the launch sites were located were accessed by

roads far removed from the spacious highways of America.

The UKs rst relatively short section of the M1 motorway

was not to open until late 1959. The routes to take themissiles from their arrival airelds to their nal destinations

were carefully reconnoitred. Duplicates of the sharper

corners were laid out with oil drums and trafc cones on the

runway at the US air base at RAF Lakenheath to see if the

transporters could negotiate them. The Ministry of Works

had to extend the radius of some of the tighter curves and

due attention had to be paid to rail crossings to ensure the

trailer would not ground.

Construction of the Transporter Erector Launche

(TELs) was given to the Food Machinery and Chemic

Corporation in California, and to ease the negotiation

the tighter bends, independently steered rear axles weincluded. This involved two extra drivers just forwa

of the rear bogeys. This improved the maneuverability

the trailers but was not popular with the drivers allocat

to these positions, as there was little protection from t

weather other than the hard hats they wore and the rather le

than waterproof issued kit. Initial testing of the TEL w

discreetly undertaken at Moffett Naval Air Station. Furth

testing in the UK was undertaken by the Motor Vehicle a

Engineering Establishment (MVEE) at Chertsey in Surre

The rst trailer to arrive in the UK was used to pro

the routes. To minimize public speculation the US M2

tractor unit, which was the prime mover, was painted RAblue and given spurious RAF markings. Home grow

RAF Leyland Hippo tractors were brought into use late

The USAF crews, disguised in civilian clothing, were to

not to speak to anyone as their accent may betray them

They were to leave it to one of the accompanying RAF crew

to allay any concerns. If it was felt that the situation h

been compromised, the cover story was that the America

Thor TEL from Douglas Technical Manual

TEL and Tractor as Tested by British MVEE

Prole of the TEL with US Tractor


12/24


10

were SAC crews undertaking route marking for the bomber

Reex program. The reality, of course, was that the local

population usually knew more about what was happening

than anyone else.

The missile mounted on the TEL was too big to

be carried in the MATS transport aircraft, and the missiles

were therefore own across the Atlantic supported on a

two-part trolley. On extraction from the aircraft they were

transferred to the TEL for their onward journey. Once the

missiles started arriving it was impossible to hide their

gleaming white carcasses emblazoned with the RAF roundelas they made their way under RAF escort to their eventual

locations amid the English countryside. Contemporary

photographs show that some seem only just to have made it

through narrow village streets as curious locals watched the

proceedings. Later when the missiles presence, purpose and

destinations were common knowledge, the M275 tractors

were seen in their original yellow paintwork disguise no

longer necessary.

The TEL was 65 feet long with the twin steerable

dollies at the rear. The 60 foot long missile was held by

a large circumferential clamp at the forward end and twosteadying supports at the rear. But arriving at the launch

pad was not the end of the story. On arrival the TEL was

carefully reversed onto the pad so that the missile could be

mated with the erecting launching mount. After that the

missile lay horizontal in its protective shelter. On being

called to duty the erector raised the missile through 9

degrees to its launch position and once the missile was rm

in place on the launcher, the TEL was retracted. Havi

reached 45 degrees in this operation, it activated the Sa

to Fire switch. The whole launch operation took fteminutes between start and engine ignition.

The TELs were still occasionally seen on t

roads as they took missiles destined for training launch

at Vandenberg AFB back to the airheads for onward igh

to the US. However, by 1962 with the advent of Atlas a

Titan missiles in the US arsenal, Thors job was essential

done and the missiles were needed for the burgeoning USA

satellite program. From October 1962 until August 196

the TELs progressively demounted the Thors, now wi

their RAF markings painted out. Then, retracing their step

they took them on the rst stage of their journey back to t

United States where they were refurbished for subsequeuse on a variety of other projects.

At least two TELs still exist. One is at Vandenberg

National Historic Landmark at Space Launch Complex-

and the other is at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.

Thor Convoy Negotiates the Narrow Streets of Rothwell near RAF Harrington

TEL Delivers a Thor to RAF Feltwell

Prole of the TEL with UK Tractor


13/24


11

The Mace Terracruzer - by Frank Roales,Vincennes, IN

It was 24 December 1959 and I was fresh out of basic

at Lackland AFB. I reported to my rst duty assignment at

the 4504th Support Squadron (SS), Orlando AFB, FL. During

basic, I had taken a bypass specialty test and was given a

47132 (Apprentice Special Vehicle Repairman) AFSC withno USAF schooling and had no idea of just what I would be

working on. Since I reported on a Thursday and the next day

was Christmas, I was given a barracks assignment and told

to report to the orderly room at 0800 hrs. on Monday. That

was one the worst days of my life. I was 19 and a stranger

in a new location who knew absolutely no one, and it was

Christmas.

On Monday I was at the orderly room to start my

checking in process. I was given a sheet with a base map

and a list of places where I was to check in. They told me

to check in at security rst, since I was to work inside the

compound. From base security I could see the fenced-offcompound and a whole bunch of large weird looking trucks

and trailers, along with two different kinds of missiles.

Little did I know just then that these were to be my Air

Force charges. I checked in to all of the locations except

for the 4504 SS maintenance hangar, where I was to work.

Since it was inside the security compound and my clearance

had not yet been completed, the only way I could enter the

compound was with an escort, but security was shorthanded,

so I just had to wait till the clearance was completed, which,

thank goodness, wasnt too delayed by the holidays, and I

was able to report for work on 2 January.

Entering the compound for the rst time, I was

shown where the special vehicle maintenance hangar was

and made my way to it. I reported to the NCOIC and was

given a stall assignment, tool box and a bunch of TOs, and

told the one I really need to become familiar with was TO

36A12-24-2-4, Flatbed truck MM1. There were others, of

course, covering the transport, launching trailers and other

items but the MM1 was the elephant in the room. At that

time we were supporting both TM76C Matador and TM76A

Mace crew training programs, so there was quite a mix of

special equipment.

My main responsibility turned out to be the MM1

was made by FWD (The Four-Wheeled Drive Corporatio

which became FWD Corporation in 1958) and was an eig

wheeled all-terrain atbed vehicle made mainly of aluminu

powered by an eight cylinder horizontally opposed

cooled aircraft Continental engine with a four speed torq

converter and low pressure terra tires. Four of these, alo

with a translauncher, were required for the launch of t

Mace TM76A.

Since we were a training base, our equipment w

subjected to rather hard use by persons unfamiliar with t

equipment. This resulted in considerably more than norm

usage and damage so all of the support equipment for th

missiles required constant maintenance. As with all thin

mechanical, there is always a lemon in the bunch. I rememb

well that the Terracruzer 57L2021 was our Queen of t

shop. I also remember that the most broken part on t

MM1 was the 20 foot long remote throttle that went fro

the left side at the rear of the truck to the engine. It was us

to control engine speed when the engine was being used apower unit for various parts of the launch preparation. Y

were supposed to push the button in the center of the throt

knob to unlock the hold function before pushing the throt

back but students would just slam the knob back and dama

it. I bet I replaced one of these every week, at least. Anoth

quirk of the MM1 was that the large Terra tires tend

to lose air when they sat for a while, and the truck wou

lean over like a wounded dragon. The solution was a 8

8 wood block cut to the proper length and placed under th

pivot point of the bogie. Since the MM1 had a system whe

tire pressure was able to be adjusted from the cab and t

tires could be aired up as soon as the engine was started, th

was not considered an issue that needed to be addressed b

maintenance.

Most of us who served had things we vivid

remember. During the Matador training, crews did a Li

launch at Cape Canaveral sometimes as part of the

training. There would always be some Support Squadr

personnel with them to take care of any problems, other th

with the missile should they arise. It was at one of these

May 1961 where I witnessed Alan Shepard become the ve

Terracruzer, Trnnslauncder and a Mace Missile

Mace with Translauncher Erected


14/24


1

rst American to go into space. We were at the pad 21/22

complex, and he was launched from pad 5, which was just

over a mile south, if I remember right. I remember saying

at the time that I could tell my grandchildren, I was there

when an American rst went into space, now God willing, I

might even get to tell my great grandchildren.

The other tie-in to my missile support service at

the time came 50+ years later when, as a member of the

TAC Missileers and a volunteer for the Indiana Military

Museum in my hometown of Vincennes, IN, I was to lead

the restoration of a Mace TM76B (CGM13B) that the

museum was acquiring, with the help of the TAC Missileers

and Association of Air Force Missileers. After arriving

from Florida, the Mace was disassembled for cleaning and

repair prior to restoration. During this time, we located the

manufacturers ID plate with the serial number, and sent

it to the Air Force for the records on this bird. Imagine

my surprise when I learned that this very missile was theproperty of the 4504SS from 1959 to 1963. During that time

while I was with the 4504 SS, many times we were called

to replace a malfunctioning translauncher. To do this we

would have to take the bird off the launcher, swap in another

launcher and reset the bird. This missile was one that with

all probability I handled all those years ago.

The Minuteman Snowcat - by G; WayneHardy, AAFM Mbr No A2804, Dibolo, TX

Back in about 19 ought 65 I had the misfortune to

actually use one of these miserable snow machines at Great

Falls. My deputy and I had just nished a training tour to

become the rst and only (and youngest and most junior) alllieutenant crew in the Minuteman program. Make that crew

R-134 of the 341st Strategic Missile Wing at Malmstrom

AFB, MT, with a 1st and 2nd Lt as the launch crew.

The training tour was over and we were due to

return to base (only about 130 miles away) from either Mike

or November LCC (not sure which), and my deputy was

really anxious to get home as his wife was very much in an

"expecting" sort of way. Of course, when we came up it was

snowing, and the recommendation was to not drive home,

especially in the two wheel drive Plymouth station wago

we used for crew cars.

My deputy was getting crazy, so the base said if w

could get to Lewistown by 1600 hours, we could catch th

C-47 maintenance transport plane headed back to base.

When I say it was snowing, I mean it was serious

snowing, and we had about a 30 mile drive to Lewistow

so the site facility manager said we should use the sno

machine and he would give us one of the off duty Air Poli

to drive it for us. I had lots of feelings for my deputy with t

pregnant wife. One more comment, my deputy was nam

Yuri Randma. He must have had a hard time getting h

security clearance back in those days.

Anyhow, the snow machine was an awful devic

based on the Ford Falcon Econoline truck chassis, engin

tranny and rear axle, with a plywood and berglass box bu

over this chassis.

The treads were made of wooden snow fen

materials (really they were, complete with red wooden slat

and everything else mechanical was pretty much stock Fo

parts. The boogie wheels were 13 inch rubber-tired Falcwheels.

What a poor excuse for a vehicle. First, the fum

from the engine/heater (inside) were almost enough to cau

carbon monoxide poisoning in the short ride we had, ev

with a window open. The buggy couldn't be steered hard

either direction because the treads would come off; and

they stayed on, the rear axle (remember this was from a Fo

Falcon not a snow mobile maker)would fail. Standard c

rear ends are not made for the normal "skid steer" operati

of a treaded vehicle, so they were good for only a couple

sharp changes of direction.

Yes, we did make the plane in Lewistown, but t

buggy did break down on the way back to the site, there

ruining the driver's day off, and it had to be retrieved by

rollback type vehicle that took it back to base for repair. I

thinking that it was Thiokol that put this mess together, b

obviously to a very tight dollar gure.

Many of us remember those Snowcats that sat in t

garage at each launch control facility, and I think Wayne

correct on the Thiokol part. I know of one situation whe

they worked pretty well - the Blizzard of 1966 at Gran

Forks dumped several feet of snow on the base and miss

eld over about a ve day period. For the rst few days, tonly vehicles we saw from our snowed-in, powerless ba

houses were a couple of the Snowcats.

An Air Force Snowcat built by Thiokol, Similar to Those

at Minuteman Bases in the 1960s

More About the Minuteman

Transporter Erector The June issue had a story about the early Minutem

Transporter Erector (TE) prompting a couple of our memb

to send in more information about these early vehicles.

Member John Smith tells us that the early models

the TE had a unique engine made of two co-joined Chevro


15/24


1

The Hill Museum TE

How Did You Get into the

Missile Business? Stuart Phelan, AAFM Mbr No A1481, Yuma, AZ,

suggested this new feature, the story of how missileers

got into our business. Some of us volunteered from other

career elds, some came directly into the eld when we

entered the Air Force, and some came involuntarily. Send

us your story for a future issue.

My initial Air Force career was less than spectacular.

I got booted from language school after four months and got

a directed duty assignment to supply. The job was basically

238 cubic inch V-8s. The two blocks were connected together

to basically make up a single V-16 engine and placed behind

the cab in the tractor frame.

Member Wayne Hardy sent more details about

the later early TEs, which had a Detroit Diesel Division

of General Motors V-12, two stroke engine along with an

Allison Transmission. The motor was enclosed in a 6 to 8inches thick berglass blanket to reduce the noise in the cab,

as the motor was about 3 inches off the drivers right elbow.

The large diesel motor had a very unusual exhaust sound for

a truck motor as it red a power stroke every time the piston

hit the up position, rather than every other time as is more

common with the 4 stroke cycle type motors usually found

in trucks. There was a GMC sticker on the front of the cab

below the windscreen.

Everything for the unit was basically handmade. The

trailer had to be temperature controlled to protect the solid

propellant missile, heat from the engine provived warming.

For cooling, a Pontiac air conditioner compressor was

mounted on the engine, and the evaporator, that would be

under the dash in a car, was placed in a welded up aluminum

can. Anti-freeze/water solution ran through the can, and the

heated or cooled uid was then routed via a pumped loop

setup to the trailer, where the hot or cold uid was used to

heat/cool the air in the trailer.

The Hill Aerospace Museum in Roy, UT, has a GMC

V12 powered TEL in place for the world to see.

emptying endless tri-walls from trucks at the centr

receiving warehouse at Vandenberg AFB, CA.

All I wanted out of the Air Force was me. I thoug

I was destined to be an E-2 forever, having been a one strip

for almost a year. I had no idea I had been given a gift.

One afternoon, there was a rumble that resonat

through the building, rattling everything and shaking t

oor. I followed those running to the loading dock thinki

we were enduring an earthquake. Instead, I got there ju

in time to see a Titan IV breaking the horizon from Sou

Vandenberg. It stood on that exhaust plume for minut

while we tracked it downrange. That evening in the cho

hall, I saw some troops wearing white coveralls with t

pocket rocket. I decided I wanted to be one of them.

Minuteman missiles were regularly squirting out

North Vandenberg. They were trickier to see. By the tim

we heard them, they were already staging and the smo

trails were spiraling and twisting and dissipating in the sk

sometimes hidden by Vanden-fog. Still, I ran outside hopi

to see every launch.

I nally got my second stripe, started to meuniform (AF Manual 35-10) standards, shined my boots, g

a haircut, ironed my fatigues, met my soon-to-be wife and

rejoined the Air Force. In late 1973, I went to personnel

see what AFSCs were open for cross-training. The care

counseling NCO gave me a pile of papers and invited m

to look through them. One sheet with 316X0H was stari

back at me. I read the job description and immediate

knew, whatever a Missile Systems Analyst was, this is wh

I wanted.

I took tech school much more seriously. I was th

assigned to 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron to a electr

mechanical team. Later, I moved on to 341st Strateg

Missile Wing as a Team Training Branch instructor. Closi

the circle, I was assigned to the 394th ICBM Test Squadro

where I helped put up several more Minuteman IIs and IIIs

had earned the pocket rocket that I had coveted and it wou

continue to dene my future.

When I got out in 1980, I used my experience

work at Martin Marietta on the MX program, long before

was known as the Peacekeeper. Later, I worked for Gener

Dynamics on all variants of the Tomahawk Cruise missi

the Atlas SLV and the Advanced Cruise missile. That pock

rocket took me from a one striper eventually to ConvDivision Supplier Quality Assurance manager. What a rid

I'm sure there are many more stories out there. It would

nice to hear how others got their pocket rockets.

AAFM in Shreveport

13-17 October 2014

Registration Now Open

See Inside Back Cover


16/24


1

National Commission on the

Structure of the Air Force- by Eric Minton,Chief of Strategic Communications The National Commission on the Structure of

the Air Force was established by Congress this year

to comprehensively study the US Air Force and its

three components -active, reserve, and the Air National

Guard - and determine how the Air Force's structure

should be modied to best ll current and future mission

requirements, including homeland defense, with available

resources. This independent analysis and the Commission's

recommendations are due to the President and Congress on

1 February 2014.

The Commission is an independent entity. It is

working cooperatively with the Air Forces Task Force

(TF2) and has asked TF2 for testimony and data. However,

in addition to gaining an Air Force perspective from enlisted

personnel to leaders, the Commission also is tapping the

expertise of think tanks, associations, academia, industry

and other stakeholders. "We want to attain the widest

possible knowledge base," said Commission Chairman

Dennis McCarthy.

Already the Commission has heard from the

leaders of the active Air Force, National Guard and Air

Force Reserve, the Air Staff, Pentagon budget ofcials, theNational Governors Association, US congressmen and state

legislators, military association leaders, and the Defense

Business Board. They have addressed such topics as the

anticipated decline in overall funding, the need to modernize

aircraft and equipment, the growth in personnel costs, the

difculty of identifying the true cost of active component

versus reserve component personnel, innovations in the

use of associated units (comprised of active and reserve

personnel performing day-to-day missions), and emerging

missions such as cyber, remote piloted vehicles and disaster

response.

The Commission's site visits are illustrative of

broad purview. The Commissioners have decided to g

outside the Beltway to experience the multi-component A

Force in action. "The statute forming the Commission allow

it to hold hearings with less than all members present, so t

plan is to hold a number of hearings at various installatio

around the country," Chairman McCarthy said. "We inten

to visit bases and events where we can see what the Air For

is doing and hear from the people who are doing it."

Sites are selected to maximize exposure in t

limited time available to the panel. That means visitin

locations with a large presence of all three componen

sometimes operating in multi-component association

locations representing the various missions of the Air Forc

from airlift to close air support, from training to spac

and locations representing the variety of installation

from Guard bases to joint bases, from stations to maj

command headquarters. On these visits, the Commissi

also is conducting public hearings, engaging with legislati

delegations, and listening to state government ofcials whhave command and control of the Air National Guard an

can offer input on homeland defense issues.

For example, the Commission scheduled its

two site visits for Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (

MDL) in New Jersey and for the state of Ohio. At JB MD

commissioners met with airmen, NCOs and commanders

active, reserve and Guard units, listened to briengs on th

base's mission as a mobility hub utilizing all three Air For

components in partnership with the Army and Navy, receiv

rst-hand accounts about the multi-component response

Hurricane Sandy, and heard testimony from state and loc

ofcials. In Ohio the Commissioners were scheduled to vi

Wright-Patterson AFB and three Air National Guard base

Springeld, Manseld and Rickenbacker, plus hold a pub

hearing at the State Capitol in Columbus for testimony fro

state leaders.

The Commission also held hearings at the Adjutan

General Association of the United States summer meeti

in Greenville, SC, and plans to attend more conferences

various associations throughout the summer and fall.

The eight commissioners - four appointed by t

President and four by the chair and ranking members of th

Senate and House armed services committees - representwide range of experiences and expertise. Three served in t

Air Force: Janine Davidson, a senior fellow at the Cent

for a New American Security and a former Deputy Assista

Secretary of Defense for Plans, 2009-2012; Raymon

E. Johns Jr., recently retired commander of Air Mobili

Command; and Harry M. "Bud" Wyatt III, recently retir

director of the Air National Guard. The Commission's Vi

Chair, Erin Conaton, served as Undersecretary of the A

Force as well as Undersecretary of Defense for Personn

and Readiness, and F. Whitten Peters was a Secretary of t


17/24


1

Granite Marker in Foreground at Grand Forks Site

Air Force but served in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Margaret

C. Harrell is a senior social scientist at RAND Corporation

where she is Director of the Army Health Program, and R.L.

(Les) Brownlee, a retired Army colonel, was both Under

Secretary and Acting Secretary of the Army. Chairman

McCarthy is a retired Marine lieutenant general and former

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.The report they deliver to the President and to

Congress will take in the following considerations:

Current and anticipated requirements of the

combatant commanders

The appropriate balance between the active

component and reserve component and how to take

advantage of the unique strengths of both components

Ensuring both components have sufcient capacity

for homeland defense and disaster assistance

Sufcient numbers in the active Air Force to provide

a base of trained personnel for the reserve component Providing a force structure that can meet the

operational tempo goals of 1:2 for the active component and

1:5 for the reserve component

Maximizing and appropriately balancing

affordability, efciency, effectiveness, capability and

readiness

As the Commission does its work, Chairman

McCarthy said, "Transparency is a key objective. We want

to make sure all stakeholders know what we are doing and

have a chance to provide input. We need to hear from key

stakeholders from a number of perspectives."

For more information visit the website, http://afcommission.whs.mil. Send comments and inputs to Marcia

Moore, Designated Federal Ofcer, by mail at the National

Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, 1950 Defense

Pentagon, Room 3A874, Washington, DC 203011950, by

email at [email protected], by phone at 703-571-

7057, or by fax at 703-692-5625.

Minuteman Granite Markers Member Bill Huey recently asked our members

anyone could tell him - and the rest of us - what the grani

markers outside the fence at Grand Forks AFB, ND, Laun

Control Facilities (LCF) N-0 and O-0. It is one of tho

questions that those of us who served there probably shou

have known - but it took a while to nd the answer.

Member Dave Fields, who lives in Missoula, M

and is not a missileer - but has a deep interest in our miss

systems - had the answer. Bill Huey gave Dave a o

year renewal on his AAFM membership for providing tinformation.

It turns out that these markers were in place at eve

Sylvania System LCF and Launch Facility (LF) at Gran

Forks and the Odd Squad at Malmstrom. Those marke

marked the location of the buried medium frequency (M

radio antenna that was used to send commands to t

Sylvania System LFs and to receive status reports back fro

them. For techies, it was the AS-1660/F Antenna.

Bill says he was puzzled as to why the marker w

made of polished granite. Concrete would certainly ha

been durable enough, but that granite still looks as fre

today as it did almost fty years ago.

Employment Opportunities for

Missileers We occasionally get requests from some of the

Defense Contractors to post job notices on our site. Since

our newsletter is only published quarterly, we post these

notices on our web site on The Warble Tone and notify all

members who have a current e-mail address on our list about

the notices. If you arent on the e-mail list and want to know

about these job notices, e-mail us at [email protected] and we

will ensure you know about these employment opportunities.

Recently, we have listed opportunities from both

Lockheed-Martin and BAE systems, and many of you

responded to these job offers.

Wing Plaque Returned to Warren Two members of the original Atlas missile wing

FE Warren AFB, WY, recently returned a historic plaq

to the wing in a ceremony at the wing headquarters. 90

Missile Wing commander Col Tracey Hayes accepted t

plaque from AAFM members Jim Widlar and Frank Wate

They retrieved the plaque from another 706th Strateg

Missile Wing vet, David Herbert, who had saved it from t

trash when the Atlas wing closed almost 50 years ago.

Col Tracey Hayes Accepts the 706 SMW Plaque


18/24


16

Last Launch, Going HomeI was standing alone on a hill one night,

when I noticed in the sky, a beautiful but strange light.

It was bright and pure white, as a star in the night.

In a long curving arc with what appeared to be

riding at its point, a single star, super bright:

it shot across the sky like a rocket in ight.

I wondered to myself what could this light be,

when I heard a voice out of nowhere saying to me:

be not afraid, not to worry, no need for fright,for you see, I will tell you of this light,

and then shall it always be known,

tis light, you see, is just another missileer going home,

out across the endless sky, to heaven and to glory,

just another missileer going home...

A poem by John Kiereck, AAFM Mbr No A2814, Rochest

NY. He also provided the original idea for our special 50

Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis patch last year.

Vandenberg 220 Power Supply - BySMSgt (Ret) John M. Smith, AAFM Mbr No L459, Cheyenne, WY.

The 220 Power Supply units have many stories,

since we never could understand if the 220 referenced AC

voltage or if it referenced the weight of the unit. As you can

guess, it was very heavy, and it was always to be lowered

downstairs with a 5 ton van hoist. But, individuals being

what they are, there were always people who claim to have

lowered this power supply by hand.

I was on a Minuteman I electromechanical team

(EMT) in 1967, which only had two individuals. One was

a Ballistic Missile Analysis Technician (BMAT) which was

also referred to as Brooms, Mops, And Trash or a 31, the

other individual was a Missile Maintenance Technician,

referred to as a 44. Their goals in life were that the BMAT

worked on everything electronic or electrical, and the MMT

worked on diesel power, and the environmental control

system. Thus, this team worked on everything that wasntthe missile or airborne equipment.

We were at Vandenberg AFB, CA, during a follow-

on operational test (foot) shot from the host wing. A task

force from the wing went to Vandenberg and installed the

missile, and then our wing operations crews launched the

missile. We had installed the missile and started up the site,

which was running ne when it shutdown with a coupler

fault. The faults were reported on the Voice Reporting

Signal Assembly (VRSA). We replaced the coupler drawer,

and performed a coupler test. As wee got ready to dispatch

to the site, our maintenance NCOIC decided to go along

to watch the maintenance task. Our managers had crosstrained into Minuteman I, so they never knew much about

our maintenance, so they dispatched with us to learn.

When we arrived at the site, it had been raining pretty

hard, so everything was wet. We got the 5 ton van backed

up to the Personal Access Hatch (PAH), and lowered the

coupler test set, by hand, which wasnt much of a chore as it

wasnt very heavy. Next, my team chief wanted to lower the

220 Power Supply down the PAH, by hand, on a rope, but he

didnt want the NCOIC to catch him. The NCOIC and I had

gone below to catch equipment, so my team chief now had

the power supply by the J-ladder ready to be lowered. I had already received the coupler test set, and

moved it over on the metal suspended oor, and then sat

down on it waiting for the power supply. My team chief

couldnt get the power supply over onto the J-ladder, so he

yelled for me to get up there to help him. With the power

supply now sitting on the J-ladder, I went back downstairs.

After a few cuss words, I heard a scream from

topside, and assumed my team chief had fallen down the

PAH until his safety belt had stopped his fall. I pictured my

team chief almost broken in half backwards from the safety

belt stopping his fall. I looked up the hole, and my he w

laying backwards down the hole with his feet caught on t

ladder, and his hands against the PAH wall. It was so funn

backed up onto the suspended oor and fell backwards ov

the coupler test set. It knocked the wind out of me, and the

I was laying on my back trying to laugh, but couldnt get m

breath. The NCOIC came over and thought I was hurt, so

was trying to get me up, and all I could do was point to th

PAH shaft and laugh.

I had to get up the ladder, and help the team chief g

straight on the ladder. His safety belt hadnt caught him, b

he caught himself before the belt stopped his fall. We g

him out of the PAH, bruises and all, with paint chips, fro

the PAH wall under his ngernails on both hands. He w

trying to dig the paint out from under his ngernails as t

NCOIC came up the ladder. We complained about the v

not being positioned right for lowering the power supp

which we had moved off the J-ladder, before the NCO

came up the ladder.

We repositioned the van, got the power supp

connected to the hoist, and had the NCOIC go downstato catch the power supply. My poor team chief had gre

trouble getting down the ladder, as he was sore everywhe

It was his last time ever trying to lower that power supp

down the PAH, on a rope.

This story should end here, but one last thing abo

Vandenberg. It seemed we always experienced weird a

unusual problems at Vandenberg that were never seen

our home Base. We put in the new coupler drawer, a

performed the checkout test. The new drawer failed the te

so we put in the old coupler drawer, and tested it. The o

drawer passed the checkout, and we restarted the site. T

site stayed up for our specic soak time, and the miss

launched as scheduled.


19/24


A Word from the Association

Letters to AAFMAddress letters to AAFM, Box 5693, Breckenridge, CO

80424, or send by e-mail to [email protected]. Let-

ters may be edited to t - content/meaning will not be

changed.

1

Small ICBM- I was at Det 2, Hq SAC/BMO when we se

the SICBM north to cold soak for a winter. We were sitti

in a staff meeting with Gen Ed Barry, telling him we couldsign off on the unit until it had spent a winter in the cold. H

turned to the program manager, asked "How much? " "

million," was the reply. Barry said do it! Watched h

spend $1 million in less than 30 seconds. There were tw

systems that competed. The second unit had a Caterpill

tractor and a Martin Marietta missile carriage system. It w

a time of milk and money at BMO. Col (Ret) Quentin ThomAAFM Mbr No A1803, Woodstock, GA.

Marshallia Ranch and Brig Gen Fall - I had no idea

Gen Falls roll in building the golf course at Vandenber

but was not surprised with the inventiveness adetermination he brought to the task. Brought back tho

fond(?) remembrances certifying in the MPT in the midd

of the night. I had a great deal of respect for the man an

understood his sense of responsibility to get the best out

his crew members. We worked hard, but no one worked

hard as he did. Occasionally, on a Sunday afternoon, t

Command Post would call me with an invitation to meet C

Fall at the gymnasium for a few games of handball. I usual

tried hard to lose without appearing to do so. Near the e

of my tour, he tried to assign me to Technical Engineerin

but the Military Personnel Center wouldnt buy it as thwanted this navigator to start earning his ying pay in

AC-130 Spectre Gunship at Ubon RTAFB, Thailand. I

not sure how I was given the intervening Boeing Educati

With Industry assignment before Thailand. After that, it w

Armed Forces Staff College and then SAMSO at Norto

While logging some ying time while at Norton we land

to refuel at Warren, I think. I saw Gen. Falls picture on

wall at Base Ops and gave him a call to say hello. We h

a nice exchange, which was the last time I talked to hi

Quite a guy. Col (Ret) Bill Fedor, Mbr No L159, Surprise, AZ.

More Marshallia - Considering the source of the story, Isure you accurately outlined how the Vandenberg golf cour

was actually designed. But, how it was actually built? I

sure the good General said and believed he actually built

himself. There had to be a group of civil engineering NCO

civilians and ofcers that took the dynamic lead of buildi

a team environment that got the effort done right. Exac

who they were? I dont know. Im sure the good Gene

walked the grounds daily with commands and orders as h

personally tried to supervise the entire effort. The truth

2014 National Meeting- We are now one year away from

our next national gathering, this time in Shreveport, LA, 13-

17 October 2014. Your executive director has already made

two visits to the area to select the hotel, set up tours, dinnersand other events and coordinate with the folks at Barksdale

AFB and AF Global Strike Command. We will visit again in

November, nalizing all the arrangements and making sure

all the bases are covered.

The 2014 meeting will be a little different in a couple

of ways. We are, for the rst time, staying in a Casino/Hotel

- a superb facility across the river in Bossier City, LA, not

far from Barksdale. Rooms and all facilities are very nice,

and the casino is handy for those who have asked before for

gambling. We got a very good rate, especially considering

that we get a full buffet breakfast for two each morning. We

did adjust the schedule to accommodate the hotel, startingthis time on Monday and ending on Friday. That lets the

hotel have the weekend available for the big spenders.

We will have some great local and base tours, some

excellent Cajun food and good barbecue, and some superb

speakers, as usual. Registration is now open - see the back

page of this newsletter.

AAFM, You and the Internet - Many of our members

are very involved with the internet, email and social

media, others are not at all. For those of you who are only

occasional, or seldom, users, you need to know that AAFM

is using our web page, email and our Facebook page to postinformation that is too volatile for the quarterly newsletter.

We recently updated and expanded the Warble Tone

section of afmissileers.org, the immediate update portion of

our web page. The Warble Tone now has several sections,

including late news, reunions and meetings, Taps for

missileers, employment openings, member and researcher

requests for information, missile heritage grants, national

meeting updates and information about new items available

for missileers and collectors. We send out email notices

for important information, like the two recent contractor

requests to pass along information about jobs available for

missileers. But, email addresses in our address book arentalways your most current - or the message bounces for some

other reason. We recommend that you take a look at the

Warble Tone every few days, since it is updated every time

we get new information for any of the sections.

Missile Heritage Grants - applications were mailed recently

to 38 museums for our 2013 grants. If you are involved

with one of these museums, make sure they complete the

application. If you are aware of a museum we missed, let us

know and we will send a form.


20/24


Taps for Missileers

18

Col (Ret) Joe Cerny,an AAFM member, served in Titan

as commander of the 390 SMW, Davis Monthan AFB, A

and Minuteman in the 321 SMW, Grand Forks AFB, N

and at 15 AF, March AFB, CA. He lived in Littleton, CO

Former 1st Lt Herbert D. Gordon, an AAFM Memb

served in Atlas in the 389 SMW, Warren AFB, WY, and liv

in Sewickley, PA.

Sir Reginald Edward Wynyard Harland,a retired Roy

Air Force Air Marshall, was one of the rst RAF ofce

in the ballistic missiles program and a member of Gener

Schrievers Old Timers group, serving in Los Angeles withe early WDD/BMO organization.

Maj (Ret) Charles S. Kaczor,an AAFM Member, served

Atlas in the 556 SMS and lived in Waterford, CT.

Maj (Ret) Manuel Mejia, Jr., an AAFM Member, serv

in Minuteman in the 90 SMW/MW, Warren AFB, WY,

space operations and communications, at SAC, AFCC a

EUCOM, and lived in Sterling, VA.

Maj Gen (Ret) Jack L. Watkins was Commander,

STRAD, Vandenberg AFB, CA, and Vice Commander,

AF. March AFB, CA, and lived in Santa Maria, CA.

Minuteman III - Current Colors - Limite

Numbers Available AAFM has a few models of the Minuteman III in t

current real colors available for immediate shipment a

for a reduced price of $175. You can order by mail with

check or go to the Store/Donations area of our web page

afmissileers.org and order online using Paypal and a cred

card. Dont delay - only a few are available.

that Mr Baldock probably made many trips to Vandenberg

and had an excellent relationship with the civil engineering

people who actually managed the entire project. Lt Col (Ret)Chuck Gordon, A1994, Centennial, CO.

As we said in the article, Gen Fall wouldnt give me his

written version of the story of Marshallia, because hedidnt have the names of the civil engineers who were the

real workers on the project - and I assume that $1,000 that

Mr Baldock asked for helped fund his visits. Of course,

back in the days of self-help projects I know that a whole

lot of Vandenberg folks were involved in building this great

golf course.

One More Marshallia - I wanted to tell you how much I

enjoyed the article on old Marshallia Ranch. I didnt know

Gen Fall had a hand in building that course and the pictures

you had in the article brought back great memories. During

the many trips to Vandenberg, I played the course a lot whenwe went there for training and then later when I worked for

TRW and then Northrop Grumman. I actually parred every

hole on the course over the years, but the toughest hole for

me was 16, the long, uphill, into the wind, par 4 with the

sloping green. It was the last hole I parred and I did it with

a long putt in a driving rain that we got caught in but we

just had to nish the round. I have a few sons-in-law and

a grandkids who golf, and I tell them about Vandenberg all

the time. I tell them that it is one of the most beautiful and

toughest Golf Courses anywhere and I promised to take

them there one day. After I show them this article I think

they will really want to come with me. Getty George, Mbr NoL0072, Riverside, CA.

Missile Maintainers. Missileers

and FacebookFor those of you who are into the social media

world, AAFM has a Facebook page at www.facebook.

com/AFMissileers. A number of you have joined us on

our page. Board Member Bob Kelchner has found some

other very good Facebook pages, mostly focusing on ICBM

maintenance. One is the ICBM Missile Maintainers and

the other is Malmstrom AFB, past, present, and future. Youwill nd several other links to other missile-related pages on

these two.

Your Executive Director doesnt spend a lot of time

on the social media pages, even our own Facebook page,

so if there is a member who wants to act as the AAFM

Facebook Expert let us know.

2014 National Meeting Registration

Inside Back Cover

Original Manufacture Missile and Comb

Crew Badges Member Ken Fisher has donated a number of Comb

Crew and Basic Missile Badges that he had made by Be

Emblems, one of the original suppliers for ofcial unifor

items. These badges are in the original packaging we sa

at the Clothing Sales store. The badges are in the origin

nonshiny pewter nish. Go to the AAFM Donations/Sto

area for more information. Each badge is available for

donation of $15.


21/24

Donate to AAFM Missile Heritage and Enlisted Recognition FundsSelect logo and collectors items from below for your donation

Missile Badge and Space Badge lapel pins - silver, inch and quarter

Circle Choices - $5 each or any 6 for $25

Total Amount for Missile Badge and Space Pins $______

AAFM Lapel Pin

$5 each or 6 for $25

Quantity ___Total $____

AAFM Pat

Documents

Sept 13 Air Force Missileers Newsletter