By Air Force Airman 1st Class Daniel Brosam 341st Missile
Wing
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont., Sept. 1, 2017 — Fifteen
missile alert facilities lie spread out over 13,800 square-miles in north
central Montana -- structures that house missileers, chefs, facility managers
and security forces airmen who operate, maintain and defend the facilities and
150 of the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Air Force Airman 1st Class Dillan Caceres, a response force
leader with the 341st Missile Security Forces Squadron here, is one of the
airmen whose duty takes him to the MAFs, to live for days at a time, sworn to
protect some of America’s most valuable assets, to deter adversaries and allow
the United States and its allies to sleep peacefully at night.
Caceres said his job is simple -- to be the first line of
defense in the missile complex.
“My job is to deny unauthorized access to missile alert
facilities and launch facilities, and to defend our assets,” he said.
Tour of Duty
Caceres’ first day of his tour in the missile field begins
around 5:45 a.m. at the motor pool here, where he and other security forces
airmen check out vehicles for their drive out to their assigned missile alert
facilities. They inspect all of the vehicles ensuring they are ready to go, and
account for all ammunition and weapons that will go on the journey with them.
The closest alert facility to Malmstrom is approximately 30
minutes away from base, while the furthest is nearly three hours. Today,
Caceres and his team will make the shorter drive.
Once inside the concertina-wire-topped fence surrounding the
facility, the defenders unload their equipment and conduct a changeover with
other security forces airmen. During changeover, the new team receives a
shift-change briefing, relieves the previous team of defenders and begins their
shift.
“During our shift, we will perform perimeter checks along
the fence line to make sure the fence is intact and that the warning signs
around the area are visible,” Caceres said. “We will also respond to alerts at
launch facilities to ensure the locations are safe and secure.”
Launch facilities are the locations where the ICBMs rest in
the ground.
Other duties include checking vegetation around the launch
facilities to prevent false alarms and security concerns and verifying all the
lights and alarms are working properly.
“I like to be busy,” Caceres said. “It makes me feel like I
am contributing and preventing any incidents from occurring.”
The Gatekeeper
Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Taku, a flight security
controller with the 341st MSFS, works as a gatekeeper at the alert facility.
The gatekeeper provides command and control in alarm and duress situations, is
the last line of defense for the missileers and coordinates with other agencies
to ensure the security of the nation’s assets.
Though the duty days sometimes extend to 16 or more hours,
Taku said the time is not wasted.
“We work long hours in rain, hail and snow in the largest
missile complex, and we don’t do this job for the fame or glory,” he said. “We
do this because without our constant presence out here in the missile field, we
leave our families, allies and nation vulnerable.”
“These are troubled and unpredictable times at home and
around the world, but the one thing that is certain is nuclear security remains
as strong as ever,” Taku said.
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