Commander: Impressed with the men and women of the 90th Missile Wing Published Oct. 16, 2009 By Col. Greg Tims 90th Missile Wing commander F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- Very sad news to report. Staff Sgt. Ben Kolise, 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron, and his wife Elena lost 24 members of their family in Samoa due to the tsunami that recently hit there. A tragedy that hits us close to home. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Ben and Elena. I continue to be impressed with the men and women of the 90th Missile Wing. This is a busy base, providing preeminent combat capability across the spectrum of conflict. We support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while deterring the one here at home, and we have numerous visitors and seemingly back-to-back special events. Yet you are able to accomplish our daily mission without missing a beat, and you still manage to have fun. Last week I grabbed Col. Steve Miller, 90th Security Forces Group commander, and we headed out to Camp Guernsey where I was given a great brief by Capt. Sean Rowsey and Master Sgt. Garrett Langston, 90th Ground Combat Training Squadron. If you haven't been out to Camp Guernsey, let me tell you, the place is huge. The North Range has a total of 44,000 acres and the South Range is 22,000 acres. Numerous small arm ranges are scattered throughout. The air strip is almost finished and will be able to support C-130s and C-17s. Camp Guernsey is a world-class DoD nuclear security training center and Air Force regional training center. Everything from weapons training to security and pre-deployment training takes place there. The training provided by Sean and his team ensures Airmen are prepared to defend personnel and resources at home and abroad. Last fiscal year alone we had 1,620 students graduate from Camp Guernsey. The combat effectiveness of this place is simply immeasurable. Well done Sean to you and your team. We just finished up with a very successful ICBM 50th anniversary celebration. Barry Kistler, 90th Missile Wing, was the wing POC for the event. We had almost 40 active-duty and retired general officers make the trek to Warren to participate. Barb Lutz, 90th Missile Wing protocol office, and her staff, augmented by Air Force Space Command protocol, provided first-rate attention to detail to the event and our distinguished visitors. I'm not sure this base has ever hosted an event of this historical magnitude. A lot of people put in a lot of time for this event. Many of you worked behind the scenes as escort officers, clean-up crews, event POCs, and the list goes on. The club, billeting, communications and multimedia support was top notch. Due to the efforts and professionalism of the Mighty Ninety, the base never looked better, and we were able to showcase our base and community in a first-class event. We are also finishing up Fire Prevention Week. Chief John McDougall, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron, and his team did a great job getting out the message we all need to be fire smart. I stopped by their open house on Saturday for a burger and to shake Sparky's hand. If you haven't been to their open house before, it's open to all personnel and their families. It's a great family event with activities such as fire truck displays, a smoke maze, puppet shows and demonstrations. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not report that we got quite a surprise the other day at our home. The sirens were blaring and the windows were shaking...I couldn't help but think what the heck is going on? Julie and I were on the receiving end of a good ol' fashion roof stomp! Roof stomps are old school. I like old school. Traditionally, a roof stomp is where you greet a new commander or celebrate some sort of special occasion by climbing up on the commander's roof and begin to make a LOT of noise while others are outside banging on the windows and doors. When he or she opens the door, the commander invites the group in for food and drink. I like being on the giving and receiving end of these. Through my career we have done so many I have actually lost count. But I do remember they were all fun. The company grade officers "dropped" in for a cold one, and we had a great time. I would put our CGOs against any other CGOs in any competition. What a superior group of CGOs we indeed have here at FEW. When it was all over I had this e-mail from Chappy in my Blackberry, "I see there is a lot of activity at your house. Is everything OK?" My reply, "Everything was just fine." Go forth and conquer!