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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
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Summary of your missile experience - used in the AAFM database - attach bio if you have one
Missile Systems and Units
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key ___
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Titan I ___ 568___
569___ 850___ 851___703/451SMW___
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___ 308___381____ 390
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way__ 868TMTS/G___
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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___
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Division Hq
4___ 12___
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NAF 2___ 3___ 5__
8___ 14__ 15___
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Thor___Units_____
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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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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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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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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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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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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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AAFM NewsletterVolume 21, Number 3 September 2013
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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
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AAFM NewsletterVolume 21, Number 3 September 2013
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.
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AAFM NewsletterVolume 21, Number 3 September 2013
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.
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AAFM NewsletterVolume 21, Number 3 September 2013
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.
8/9/2019 Sept 13 Air Force Missileers Newsletter
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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