F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- The 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron has a very unique mission at F.E. Warren keeping the missiles on-alert and ready to use if called upon.
Staff Sgt. Geoffrey Kirchner is a 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron team chief from Los Alamos, New Mexico who chose to spend his career maintaining the nation’s most powerful weapons.
“The reason I chose to work around nuclear weapons stems from where I grew up,” said Kirchner. “I grew up where most nuclear weapons originate, and I think it is instilled in my culture to work on these weapons.”
Kirchner mentioned that since he arrived at the base in 2004, he has definitely seen a reduction in manning which sometimes makes it difficult to complete his duties in a timely manner. Fortunately, he experiences a high degree of job satisfaction, in spite of the ever-present challenges.
“I still love working in MMXS, and I love the daily challenge of knowing that I have actually fixed something,” said Kirchner. “When we respond to a site and we bring the missile back on-line because of something that we did, I feel like I have accomplished something.”
There are hundreds of career fields in the Air Force and many reasons why people choose to make them a career. The mobile nature of the maintenance career field attracted Kirchner to his current job.
“I have had jobs where I sat behind a desk for the majority of the day,” Kirchner said. “Those jobs are not for me and I think that is why I enjoy being a team chief. I love going to the missile field and seeing the country side.”
The 90th MMXS is a very close knit unit that strives to support mission and their Airmen.
“The people I work with are like family,” said Airman First Class Russell Rhoads, 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron technician. “All the people are very supportive both while at work and off duty. I love being on the same Missile Maintenance team as Staff Sgt. Kirchner.”
When asked about his future goals and career aspirations, Kirchner replied, “I hope to make rank and do my job to the best of my ability.”