90th Missile Wing | |
|---|---|
 Display of missiles operated by the wing | |
| Active | 1951–60; 1963–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Strategic missile |
| Size | 3361 military and 964 civilians as of May 2016[1] |
| Part of | Air Force Global Strike Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Francis E. Warren Air Force Base |
| Nickname | Mighty Ninety[1] |
| Mottos | "Impavide" (Latin) ”Undauntedly”[2] |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award[note 1] |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Col. Terrence J. Holmes |
| Vice commander | Col. Richard K. Harrop |
| Command Chief | CCM Cherise L. Mosley |
| Insignia | |
| 90th Missile Wing emblem(Approved 9 December 1993)[3] |  |
| 90th Strategic Missile Wing emblem(Approved 29 September 1964[2] |  |
| Patch with 90th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing emblem | .gif) |
The90th Missile Wing is a component ofTwentieth Air Force, stationed atFrancis E. Warren Air Force Base and equipped withLGM-30G Minuteman III Missiles. It has served at Warren as a component ofStrategic Air Command,Air Combat Command,Air Force Space Command andAir Force Global Strike Command since 1963.
Thewing was first organized atFairchild Air Force Base, Washington as the90th Bombardment Wing, aBoeing B-29 Superfortress unit. After moving toForbes Air Force Base, Kansas, it served as a training unit forStrategic Air Command units andaircrews in the B-29. In 1953 it converted to thestrategic reconnaissance mission, upgrading to theBoeing RB-47 Stratojet in 1954. After 1958 it trained reconnaissance crews with the B-47 and continued that mission until it was inactivated in 1960.
Thewing operates 150LGM-30G Minuteman IIIintercontinental ballistic missiles on fullalert 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.[1] Its missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to underground missile alert facilities through a system of hardened cables.[4]
The 90th Missile Wing is made up of a wing staff and five groups:
The90th Operations Group is composed of three missile squadrons, an operations support squadron and a standardization and evaluation element. Each missile squadron is responsible for five missile alert facilities and 50 Minuteman III ICBMs. Its units include the319th,320th and321st Missile Squadrons and the 90th Operations Support Squadron.[4]
The 90th Maintenance Group maintains 150 missiles and associated launch facilities, as well as 15 launch control facilities spread between a three-state, 9,600 square-mile complex. It is composed of the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron and the 90th Maintenance Operations Squadron and a Maintenance Quality Assurance Section.[4]
The 90th Mission Support Group provides civil engineering, transportation and logistics, communications, contracting, and personnel and services support to the wing and tenant units. The units of the 90th Mission Support Group include the 90th Civil Engineer Squadron, 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron, 90th Communications Squadron, 90th Contracting Squadron, and the 90th Force Support Squadron.[4]
The 90th Security Forces Group is composed of five squadrons. The 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron provides security for convoys and missile maintenance operations. The 90th Ground Combat Training Squadron is located atCamp Guernsey inGuernsey, Wyoming,[5] and provides security, pre-deployment, and antiterrorism/force protection training for USAF personnel. The 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron provides security for 15 missile alert facilities and 150 launch facilities. The 90th Security Forces Squadron provides installation and weapons storage area security; police services; pass and registration functions; and reports and analysis duties. The 90th Security Support Squadron provides command and control for the missile field and access control for all missile field forces as well as all security forces training and equipment support.[4]
The 90th Medical Group is responsible for medical and dental care for more than 17,000 beneficiaries throughout Wyoming, Nebraska and northern Colorado. The group's mission is to maximize personnel health, fitness and readiness through emphasizing health promotion and preventive medicine. The units of the 90th Medical Group include the 90th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron and the 90th Healthcare Operations Squadron.[4]
The wing was first organized atFairchild Air Force Base, Washington in January 1951 as the90th Bombardment Wing and equipped with theBoeing B-29 Superfortress. While organizing, it was attached to the92d Bombardment Wing, whose commander also served as the commander of the 90th Wing.[6] In February, as part of a reorganization ofStrategic Air Command wings, the 90th Wing's90th Bombardment Group was reduced to paper status and its squadrons were attached to the wing for operational control. In June 1952, this organization, which was designed to permit the wing commander to focus on the wing's combat units and the maintenance necessary to support combat aircraft, was formalized as the Dual Deputy Organization and thegroup was inactivated and its squadrons were assigned to the wing.[7]
In March 1951, the wing moved toForbes Air Force Base, where it served primarily as a training unit. In May, it began serving as an Operational Training Unit for B-29aircrews and mechanics of newly-activating units. The376th Bombardment Wing was the first new Superfortress wing trained by the 90th, activating on 1 June 1951. In October, it was combat ready and moved toBarksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, its permanent base.[8] The day the 376th Wing departed, the308th Bombardment Wing was activated and began its training, which lasted until it moved toHunter Air Force Base, Georgia in April 1952.[9] The310th Bombardment Wing was the last B-29 unit trained at Forbes. With its departure forSchilling Air Force Base, Kansas in September 1952, the B-29 operational training mission ended.[3][10]
In June, the wing added duty as a Replacement Training Unit, primarily providing individual training for aircrew being assigned to existingFar East Air Forces B-29 units during theKorean War.[11][note 3] In November 1952 it also began training replacement crews for the RB-29reconnaissance model of the Superfortress andSHORAN personnel forStrategic Air Command (SAC). These training activities continued through November 1953.[3]
The wing began to fly strategic reconnaissance missions in September 1953.[3] The following year, it replaced its RB-29s with the jetBoeing RB-47 Stratojet, with the first B-47E arriving on 25 June, although crews had begun training in March.[12] One year later, the wing deployed as a unit toEielson Air Force Base, Alaska from 5 May until 31 August 1955, where it performed the final mapping of Alaska.[3][13] With the assignment of the90th Air Refueling Squadron in 1955, the wing began to flyair refueling missions as well as reconnaissance flights. In May 1958, the wing returned to the training mission serving as a combat crew training wing for RB-47 aircrews until it was inactivated on 20 June 1960.[3] The wing's personnel and equipment were transferred to the40th Bombardment Wing, which moved to Forbes on paper fromSchilling Air Force Base, Kansas the same day.[14] The 90th Air Refueling Squadron was reassigned to the 40th Wing upon that wing's arrival at Forbes.[15]
The wing was again organized in July 1963 atFrancis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming as the90th Strategic Missile Wing. TheLGM-30B Minuteman I missiles of the wing would replace theSM-65 Atlas missiles of the inactivating389th Strategic Missile Wing. The replacement Minutemen would be more widely displaced and hardened than the Atlases they replaced.[4][16]
Initially, the wing supervised missile facility construction until July 1964, with its individual squadrons activating between October 1963 and July 1964 as missile launch facilities became operational.[3] The wing was initially equipped with 200LGM-30B Minuteman I, equipped with a single reentry vehicle.[4] Beginning in June 1973, the Minuteman I missiles began to be replaced by LGM-30G Minuteman IIIs, which could carry up to three reentry vehicles, with the400th Strategic Missile Squadron becoming the first Minuteman III squadron in the wing.[4][17] The changeout was completed by October 1974.[3] However, in 2001 and in compliance with theStrategic Arms Reduction Treaty, these missiles were limited to a single reentry vehicle[4]
The wing supervisedLGM-118 Peacekeeper personnel training and facility preparation beginning Jun 1985. The Peacekeeper, which could carry ten independently targeted reentry vehicles,[4] was fully operational with the wing's400th Strategic Missile Squadron on 30 December 1986. The Peacekeeper system continued in operation in addition to the wing's Minuteman missiles until September 2005, when it was retired and the 400th Squadron inactivated.[3][18]
Although it remained a component ofTwentieth Air Force, starting in 1992, the wing was reassigned under three different major commands over the next twenty years. When SAC was inactivated on 1 June 1992, the wing, along with its other combat missile units, became part ofAir Combat Command.[4] On 1 July 1993, after being redesignated as the90th Space Wing, and with the idea to take advantage of the similarities between the missile and other space missions, the wing became part ofAir Force Space Command. On 1 December 2009, the wing and other missile wings were reunited with the global bomber force underAir Force Global Strike Command.[4]
| Award streamer | Award | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1968 – 30 June 1969 | 90th Strategic Missile Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1973 – 30 June 1975 | 90th Strategic Missile Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1982 – 30 June 1984 | 90th Strategic Missile Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 July 1987 – 30 June 1989 | 90th Strategic Missile Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 October 1994 – 30 September 1995 | 90th Space Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 September 1996 – 31 August 1998 | 90th Space Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 October 1999 – 30 September 2000 | 90th Space Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 2001 – 31 December 2001 | 90th Space Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 October 2003 – 30 September 2005 | 90th Space Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 October 2005 – 30 September 2007 | 90th Space Wing[3] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 June 2008 – 31 May 2010 | 90th Space Wing (later 90th Missile Wing)[22] |
| Air Force Outstanding Unit Award | 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2012 | 90th Missile Wing[22] |
The wing won the SAC missile combat competition and theBlanchard Trophy in 1973 and 1984 and in 2010 and 2011 as the best missile wing in Air Force Global Strike Command. It was awarded theOmaha Trophy as the most outstanding wing in SAC in 1983 and in 2007 as the best missile wing inUnited States Strategic Command.[23] The unit won the Col Lowell F. McAdoo trophy for best missile wing operations in SAC and the Lee R. Williams trophy as the most outstanding missile wing in 1988.[3] In 1989, the wing's maintenance complex won the Chadwell Trophy as the best missile maintenance unit in SAC and repeated in 1992 as the best in Air Combat Command.[23] Individual squadrons of the wing have won other command competition awards, including two additional awards of the Blanchard Trophy.[24]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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