Warren: Best damn missile wing in the Air Force

  • Published
  • By Mike Byrd
  • 90th Missile Wing Historian
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  Some may liken our good inspector folks to Ebenezer Scrooge, the character of Saturday's wing party skit, but that is old Scrooge thinking. You see, the IG are people just like you and me. 

They have families. They have friends. They miss their families and their families miss them. They are quite simply good military folks here to do their job. That job is to check up on how the Mighty Ninety is doing, recommend changes if any there are any and then they can go home to their families. 

Plus, the good IG folks are our guests. They should feel welcomed; they should feel at ease. If they have a need, as a good host we should gladly respond. 

They should sense an openness and our desire to prove that we are the 'Best Damn Missile Wing' in the Air Force ... which we are. We simply can't help it, it's in our blood, it's what we do everyday and its part of our legacy. 

A legacy that we should remind the IG in our conduct, our diligence and our faithfulness to the most important mission in the Air Force: nuclear deterrence. 

We are 'the big stick' in the United States arsenal, and like our 90th Bomb Group forefathers, we are not afraid of a challenge, a crisis or an inspection. Like them, and our Atlas fathers, we are proud of the day to day grind and sweat that we put into our mission and our base because foremost we are proud Americans. We are proud to call this our base of choice and our home. 

Secondary, we are warriors of the most intense kind. For we know what intense stress is. 

Every day, our maintainers go out and work on the most powerful weapon known to mankind. Every day our operators review checklists and are ready to turn keys if our president deems it so. 

Every day our mission support personnel plan, hustle and give to make the base and missile fields ready for war. 

Every day our medics stand ready to patch us up, give us some advice or save a life. 

Every day our security forces safeguard our people, our children and our way of life by safeguarding it with their lives. 

We are not just any Airmen, we are missile wing specialists. We've been trained, groomed and tested everyday how to make ready and safe guard not just any weapon system, but the one weapon system that really strikes fear in the hearts of America's enemies. The IG know this, but they've not been shown how the best missile wing does it. 

Today, and everyday through this inspection period, we have the opportunity to show not only the inspectors but the American people just how professional and responsible an Air Force they have. They, our families and our legacy deserve our best.