by Valerie Mullett
341st Space Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- The first Minuteman III WS-133B intercontinental ballistic missile was removed from Sierra-38 launch facility near Brady, Mont., July 12 as a result of the order to begin missile deactivation activities.
This order was given by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley June 29.
Malmstrom AFB currently operates, maintains, secures and supports two types of Minuteman III Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting (REACT) weapons systems: the REACT-A and the REACT-B systems. The 564th MS is the only squadron operating the REACT-B system in the Air Force.
Two teams of missile maintainers and handlers executed the seven-and-a-half-hour mission to complete the third phase of the missile removal. Phases one and two had been completed in earlier missions.
"During the normal maintenance cycles, the re-entry system and guidance systems, the top portions of the missile, had already been removed and were being worked on for current sustainment programs when the order to deactivate was received," said Master Sgt. Les Moore, NCO in charge of the missile handling section. "It only made sense to remove the downstage at S-38 as the first pull."
In a statement to the media July 2, Col. Sandy Finan, 341st Space Wing commander, said the deactivation would continue at a rate of about one missile per week to meet the one-year deadline for deactivation.
The decision to deactivate 50 missiles was made by the nation's defense leaders and is in accordance with the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, which stated, "to achieve the characteristics of the future joint force and build upon progress to date, the Department of Defense will reduce the number of deployed Minuteman III ballistic missiles from 500 to 450 beginning in FY07."
"Many of the missile components removed during deactivation will return to weapon system's flight test and operations programs, extending the entire intercontinental ballistic missile program's viable service life beyond 2018," Colonel Finan said.