Mighty Ninety leads fearlessly

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. John Duda
  • 319th Missile Squadron operations officer
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, WYO. --  Last month, the Mighty Ninety and 625th Strategic Operations Squadron launched a Minuteman III to a target in the Pacific Ocean, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The launch took seconds, and was the perfect culmination of a Herculean effort on the part of many organizations.

As I reflected on the successful launch and reviewed our score, I thought about how I would characterize this event. I would say the theme for this test launch was, "Fearlessly, We Lead." This theme is a combination of two Latin mottoes. First "Impavide," Fearless or Intrepid, the motto of the Mighty Ninety, and "Ducimus," l Lead or Command, the motto of the 576th Flight Test Squadron, our partners in this mission. A perfect theme when considering the amount and quality of teamwork, tenacity and mission focus required to place a sortie on alert, configure and test it, then launch it. Many hours of collaboration and dedication were well-spent with the result being a successful launch.

First, the Mighty Ninety leaders sent the best personnel available to accomplish the tasks required to prepare and launch the sortie. The maintenance leaders included Capt. Jim Gutierrez, 90th Maintenance Group, and Master Sgt. Jesse Rubalcaba, 90th Maintenance Operations Squadron. The 90th Operations Group was led by Capt. James "Jay" Warren, 320th Missile Squadron.

"I'm very proud of our crews on this launch" he said, "They provided the same diligence and skillful execution they bring every day on alert but in a test environment with many different rules. The test squadron counterparts said we were the most engaged task force they've seen in quite a while."

The maintenance quality assurance representative, Staff Sgt. Brent Zembas, 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron, performed critical task review and evaluation with the same dedication he demonstrates at F.E. Warren every day. There is no way to emplace, prepare and start the sortie without their task oversight, on-site leadership and dedication to their team.

These warriors helped the team stay on target, even when faced with adversity. It all started with the missile handling team, led by Staff Sgt. Ricardo Hollingsworth. Fearlessly, these professionals worked side-by-side with the 576th partners to roll the missile, prepare the transporter-erector and emplace the booster. I say fearlessly, because there are many tasks unique to a test environment. These warriors accomplished them with enthusiasm and confidence.

A missile launch from Vandenberg serves many purposes: First, it assures allies the United States remains a credible protector of liberty for all. Second, it deters aggression from potential adversaries by demonstrating weapon system and US military capability by placing a bomb on target on time. Finally, a successful test permits civilian and military leaders to access critical data allowing them to make budgeting decisions for all aspects of operations and maintenance of the Minuteman III weapon system.

"The successful launch will hopefully allow for additional funding to help future [weapon system] upgrades and it validates the maintenance we do every day," Staff Sgt. Steven Nelson, 90th MMXS, said. Once the booster was emplaced, the Missile Maintenance Team (MMT) took over and collaborated with the 576th professionals.

The F.E. Warren team accomplished all tasks without cutting corners or making errors. Fearlessly, they led ... establishing the conditions for success to transition to the Electro-Mechanical Team led by Staff Sgt. Ian Johnston, 90th MMXS.

Sergeant Johnston and his team performed a tape-load startup of the missile and collaborated with the operators to bring the sortie on alert. Their professionalism and task expertise enabled the crew to quickly perform all the tests which informed the team all the work thus far, would need to be repeated.

The Warren team, with partners from the 576th, said they noticed an anomally with the original booster and replaced it with one supplied from the 341st Missile Wing, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. The work was accomplished by members of the 90th MW, 341st MW and the 576th FLTS.

"We are deterring aggression and ensuring peace and I will work every weekend and holiday if it means that one more life is protected or saved." Senior Airman Errick Wernecke, 90 MMXS, said about working through the Memorial Day Weekend.

There was a tremendous sense of accomplishment when Capt. Allan Fonseca and 1st Lt Owen Brazell successfully accomplished all post-maintenance tests required to classify the sortie on alert.

The operators took advantage of every opportunity to stay engaged and observed as many maintenance activities as practical. "Jim Gutierrez and his maintenance team brought 'quiet professionals' to a whole new level," Captain Warren said. "With the challenges and additional work that were essential to making this launch a success, they soldiered through with dedication, patience, and a healthy sense of humor. It was a great experience working with them," he added. 1st Lt. Marion "Major" Carter and 1st Lt. Ryan Glasgow ran the first confidence check, performed key mission dress rehearsals and range checks. As a result of their key insights, the coordination and training of operations crews took a positive leap to improve.

The dedication of the Warren team with 39 days of work allowed them to demonstrate the United States' ability to place a bomb on target, on time.