Missile facility managers in need

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Shari Schad
  • Twentieth Air Force
For the past 45 years, missile alert facilities scattered throughout Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Northern Colorado have housed people supporting the ICBM deterrence mission. 

MAFs are manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week by missile operators and security forces members, but it is the facility manager who runs the day-to-day operations as the NCO in charge. 

"If you like to work independently, enjoy self-help projects and don't mind only working 12 to 16 days a month, then being a facility manager may be a great job for you," said Master Sgt. Dan Dial, 90th Operations Group facility manager. 

Sergeant Dial is one of a number of people who are opting to temporarily leave their career fields for the four-year controlled tour, special-duty assignment. 

"It's nice because it gave me stability and an opportunity to work on my education, which is something that would have been hard for me to do in my old career field," Sergeant Dial said. 

A lot of people that have applied for facility manager duty came from career fields with a high deployment rate. Although facility managers don't normally deploy, going to work could be considered a mini-deployment within itself. 

Facility managers sometimes have to commute as far as two to three hours away from base to report to an alert facility. Once there, the facility manager runs the day-to-day operations for three days at a time. 

The job duties encompass a wide variety of tasks that include power production; water treatment; snow removal; equipment and building maintenance; housing arrangements for the missile alert crew, transient maintenance crews and security forces members. 

In addition, they supervise the on-site chef. In short, facility managers have broad and autonomous responsibilities. 

Each MAF is equipped with a mini-gym, kitchen, living room and bedrooms. The facility manager has satellite TV and computer with internet access in their bedroom. 

"The MAFs are set up really well" Sergeant Dial said. "It makes staying out there for several days easy, almost like a home away from home." 

Interested individuals must be either a staff sergeant or technical sergeant with a secret clearance. 

They can request assignment to Warren, Minot Air Force Base, N.D., or Malmstrom AFB, Mont. Information on application procedures is located on EQUAL-Plus, Special Duty Code 8S000.