(Patch images courtesy of USAFPatches.com except the 809th Communications Squadron (1963-1972) which was unofficial and created by Jerry Mohn)
Warren Air Force Base (actually Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, or F. E. Warren Air Force Base) initially had 200 Minuteman I missiles by mid 1963. These were all replaced by Minuteman IIIs by January 26 1975, and 50 of them (flights P through T) were converted between 1986 and December 30 1988 to the only deployment of Peacekeeper missiles. Peacekeepers were retired between October 2002 and September 2005. This leaves Warren with 150 Minuteman III missiles.
All of Warren's Minuteman III missiles were reduced from three warheads to a single warhead. This task was completed on August 6, 2001.
Other resources:
(Patch images courtesy of
USAFPatches.com except the 809th
Communications Squadron (1963-1972) which was unofficial and created by
Jerry Mohn)
The people: Not well known is the 809th Civil Engineering Squadron which spanned the time from the end of the Atlas era into the beginnning of the Minuteman era (1963-1972). When the 809th was inactivated, the personnel were transfered into the 90th. Jerry Mohn has started a blog for the 809th Communications Squadron at http://809thcomm.blogspot.com and is planning a reunion in Cheyenne on June 26, 2010. A very sparse official history is at http://www.afhra.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=14770.
Today it is the 90th Space Wing (activated July 1 1963), comprised in part of the 90th Operations Group, 90th Logistics Group, the 90th Support Group, and 90th Medical Group. On June 6, 2008, it was announced that all three active ICBM Space Wings will be renamed Missile Wings. Other resources:
Each squadron is responsible for 5 flights of 10 missiles each, or 50 missiles. Sites are designated by flight, using one letter of the alphabet, followed by a number. The first site in each flight is #1 and designates the Missile Alert Facility (MAF) which consists of an above-ground structure plus an underground Launch Control Center (LCC) staffed by two officers. The Launch Facilities (LFs, i.e. missile silos) are numbered 2 through 11 and are connected to the MAF/LCC by the Hardened Intersite Cable System (HICS) which also interconnects flights.
For humor, I also include the nicknames given in Nuclear Heartland.
Warren also has two on-base training silos: U-01 for Minuteman III, and U-02 for Peacekeeper (status unknown now that Peacekeeper is retired) as well as LCC crew training facilities.
A news item here stated Warren has been certified to replace Minuteman III warheads with ones from the retired Peacekeepers (but now, Warren's web site no longer includes this news item). However, I kept the text of the article: missile/warren-new-warheads-new-primary-hatches.html.
Warren sites you can see from Interstate 80 and Interstate 25: OK, you're in a hurry and you don't want to detour but you want to say "I've seen a missile site!" There are a small number that can be seen but not necessarily clearly. K-11 is probably the best.
An interesting change in LF site appearance, beginning in perhaps 2000, is the use of new and much darker gravel. In the past, gravel tended to be a light color, and uniform, making aerial photographs pretty bland. I thought perhaps this was intentional, to make sites harder to recognize. The new treatment makes them much more apparent.
| Photo | Coordinates | ID | |
Terraserver | 41-19-45 104-15-56 30 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (11 miles N Egbert Wyoming) | A-1 "Doomsday" | |
Terraserver | 41-25-04 104-11-42 36 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (5 miles W Albin Wyoming) | A-2 "Life's End" | |
Terraserver | 41-23-18 104-04-43 40 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (2 miles SE Albin Wyoming) | A-3 "Political Objective" | |
Terraserver | 41-19-04 104-10-30 34 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (11 miles NW Pine Bluffs Wyoming) | A-4 "Vengeful Aim" | |
Terraserver | 41-18-11 104-04-46 38 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (8.5 miles N Pine Bluffs Wyoming) | A-5 "Sequence of Events" | |
| This theodolite post is .2 miles NW of the launch facility. I received the following detailed explanation via email: The posts ... were used in targeting and alignment of the guidance set on the missile. There are two posts at each site situated in a northerly direction from the site. There was a metal plate on top of each post during the alignment procedure, a target was placed on each plate and a theodolite was situated on the site near the personnel access hatch. Readings were taken on the targets and on Polaris and then transferred down into the launch tube thru a one foot (approximately) diameter tube to a mirror on a collimator bench attached to the east wall of the first level equipment room and then into the guidance set thru a window in the side of the guidance enclosure. The procedure was done at night so the heat waves wouldn't affect the readings. After the guidance sets were changed to an inertial guidance system, metal plates were welded over the ends of the tubes and I think the tubes were filled with concrete. The posts are no longer used but the Air Force has determined numerous times that it would not be cost effective to have them removed. | |||
Terraserver | 41-14-34 104-15-08 29 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (5 miles N Egbert Wyoming) | A-6 "Moral Disorientation" | |
| The color photo was taken a bit north of A-6. I've thought of two possible captions, "Close enough for government work," and "I know they're underground, but..." On May 23, 2008, a small fire broke out causing about $1,000,000 worth of damage. A bad battery charger caused a hydrogen gas buildup, which ignited, which in turn burned a shotgun and it's ammunition. See http://www.afmissileers.org/newsletters/NL2008/Dec08.pdf page 11. Press reports at the time suggested the charger was installed improperly due to confusing technical orders and that other facilities needed to be checked. The fire burned itself out, and went undetected for five days because it did not trigger any alarms. See also http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=6150135. There was also a discussion on the missile_talk web site. | |||
Terraserver | 41-10-25 104-18-05 25 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (3 miles ESE Burns Wyoming) (2 miles W Egbert Wyoming)) | A-7 "Outright Insanity" | |
Terraserver | 41-12-55 104-23-21 21 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (1 mile NW Burns Wyoming) | A-8 "Burns" | |
Terraserver | 41-17-24 104-20-52 25 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (6.9 miles N Burns Wyoming) | A-9 "Annihilation" | |
| On the morning the photo was taken, there was a vehicle parked inside the enclosure. Also other objects/vehicles outside. | |||
Terraserver | 41-21-36 104-21-01 27 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (11.7 miles N Burns Wyoming) | A-10 "Heartbreak" | |
Terraserver | 41-25-11 104-17-04 32 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (9.5 miles W Albin Wyoming) | A-11 "Pestilence" | |
Terraserver | 41-30-42 103-59-41 48 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (8.6 miles NE Albin Wyoming) (actually in Nebraska) | B-1 "White Tornado" |
Terraserver | 41-38-21 103-56-43 55 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (11 miles E La Grange Wyoming) (actually in Nebraska) | B-2 "Long Canyon" |
Terraserver | 41-38-21 103-50-35 60 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (8 miles NW Harrisburg Nebraska) | B-3 "Purple Sage" |
Terraserver | 41-32-09 103-54-25 53 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (8.5 miles W Harrisburg Nebraska) | B-4 "Vogt" |
Terraserver | 41-28-22 103-53-17 52 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (11.5 miles ENE Albin Wyoming) (actually in Nebraska) | B-5 "Crooked View" |
Terraserver | 41-25-17 103-58-38 52 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (11.5 miles ENE Albin Wyoming) (actually in Nebraska) | B-6 "Lightning Strike" |
| October 2002, B-6 and other nearby sites were receiving new light poles. B-6 has a new one and the old pole was lying outside waiting to be taken away. | ||
Terraserver | 41-26-22 104-05-27 42 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (1.7 miles NNE Albin Wyoming) | B-7 "Measured Response" |
Terraserver | 41-30-12 104-07-35 42 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (6 miles NNW Albin Wyoming) | B-8 "Bushnell Creek" |
Terraserver | 41-39-34 104-14-32 45 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (4.3 miles WNW La Grange Wyoming) | B-9 "Bear Mountain" |
Terraserver | 41-37-46 104-07-55 48 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (1.8 miles ESE La Grange Wyoming) | B-10 "Hide the Sun" |
Terraserver | 41-38-19 104-03-16 51 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (5.7 miles E La Grange Wyoming) (barely in Nebraska) | B-11 "Worldwide Winter" |
Terraserver | 41-34-49 103-40-26 65 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (3.7 miles NE Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-1 "Pumpkin" |
Terraserver | 41-40-59 103-40-31 68 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (9.4 miles NNE Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-2 "Wildcat Hills" |
Terraserver | 41-38-48 103-31-13 74 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (13 miles NE Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-3 "Prairie Dog" |
Terraserver | 41-34-56 103-33-12 71 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (10 miles NNE Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-4 "Springs Canyon" |
| Note the unusual entrance. This site is at the top of a hill. It looks like the entrance was originally to the north (the gate is still there, by direct observation) and later the county or state re-graded the road to chop down the hill. This left the old driveway hanging over a steep drop, or would have, so the new entrance was constructed to join the highway a little farther down the hill. | ||
Terraserver 
| 41-30-43 103-29-40 72 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (13 miles ESE Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-5 "Kirk" |
| The color photo(s) are just nice shots looking north at a typical Minuteman site, October 2002. Also a good view of the Improved Minuteman Physical Security System (IMPSS), the tall white "spike". | ||
Terraserver | 41-27-55 103-25-38 74 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (17 miles SE Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-6 "Lawrence" |
Terraserver | 41-28-57 103-34-54 67 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (9.5 miles SE Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-7 "Indian" |
Terraserver | 41-31-00 103-39-23 64 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (5 miles SE Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-8 "Jack Rabbit" |
Terraserver | 41-29-11 103-47-29 57 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (5.5 miles SW Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-9 "Badger" |
Terraserver | 41-34-52 103-48-10 59 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (3.8 miles NW Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-10 "Willow Creek" |
| At the time the original photo was taken, it looks like there were some trailers parked in the enclosure. Now the Terraserver image is newer but I will leave the original here for comparison. | ||
Terraserver | 41-38-22 103-45-05 64 miles NE Cheyenne Wyoming (5.8 miles N Harrisburg Nebraska) | C-11 "Full Moon" |
Terraserver | 41-21-42 103-47-39 54 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (11 miles NW Kimball Nebraska) | D-1 "Lucifer's" |
Terraserver | 41-25-24 103-46-17 56 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (9.3 miles S Harrisburg Nebraska) | D-2 "Rocky Hollow" |
Terraserver | 41-26-15 103-39-40 62 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (9 miles SSE Harrisburg Nebraska) | D-3 "Snyder" |
| Since the original USGS photo was taken in 1993, highway 71 has been expanded to a 4-lane divided highway. As a result, the LF entrance was relocated to the county road just south of the site and the original junction eliminated. The image on Terraserver was updated to 1999, so you can compare the original one, here, with the later one. | ||
Terraserver | 41-21-47 103-39-39 60 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (9 miles N Kimball Nebraska) | D-4 "Dracula's" |
| Since the original USGS photo was taken, highway 71 has been expanded to a 4-lane divided highway. As a result, the LF entrance was relocated to the county road just north of the site and the original junction eliminated. The image on Terraserver was updated to 1999, so you can compare the original one, here, with the later one. | ||
Terraserver | 41-17-42 103-39-41 60 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4 miles N Kimball Nebraska) | D-5 "Kimball's Folly" |
| Since the original USGS photo was taken, highway 71 has been expanded to a 4-lane divided highway. As a result, the LF entrance was relocated to the county road just south of the site and the original junction eliminated. The image on Terraserver was updated to 1999, so you can compare the original one, here, with the later one. | ||
Terraserver | 41-16-00 103-46-35 53 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (6.6 miles NW Kimball Nebraska) | D-6 "Ball" |
Terraserver | 41-15-28 103-53-38 47 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (1.8 miles N Bushell Nebraska) | D-7 "Tomich" |
Terraserver | 41-16-43 103-58-40 43 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (5.5 miles NW Bushnell Nebraska) | D-8 "Jeff's" |
Terraserver | 41-19-23 103-53-39 48 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (6 miles N Bushnell Nebraska) | D-9 "Star" |
Terraserver | 41-20-35 103-59-11 44 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (9 miles NW Bushnell Nebraska) | D-10 "Elmo Hunter's" |
Terraserver | 41-23-20 103-53-38 49 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (11 miles N Bushnell Nebraska) | D-11 "Alderson's Sorrow" |
| On the morning this Terraserver photo was taken, there were several vehicles inside the enclosure. Now, Terraserver includes a newer USGS photo but I'll keep the older one here so you can compare. | ||
Terraserver | 41-06-10 103-59-00 42 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (10 miles SSW Bushnell Nebraska) | E-1 "Famine" |
| Terraserver has updated its photo but I think the older one, here, is more distinct. | ||
Terraserver | 41-10-31 103-55-57 45 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4.5 miles SW Bushnell Nebraska) | E-2 "Starving Children" |
Terraserver | 41-10-34 103-50-23 49 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4.5 miles NW Bushnell Nebraska) | E-3 "Fateful Question" |
Terraserver | 41-06-15 103-53-38 47 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (8.8 miles S Bushnell Nebraska) | E-4 "Killer" |
| On the morning the original USGS photo was taken, several vehicles were parked inside the enclosure. Although Terraserver now has a more recent USGS photo, I will keep the older one here for comparison. | ||
Terraserver | 41-04-09 103-48-54 51 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (12 miles SSE Bushnell Nebraska) | E-5 "Imperialist" |
Terraserver | 41-02-19 103-53-43 47 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (13 miles S Bushnell Nebraska) | E-6 "Sam's" |
Terraserver | 41-02-02 103-59-14 42 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (14.5 miles SSW Bushnell Nebraska) | E-7 "Strangelove" |
Terraserver | 41-00-13 104-03-55 39 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (12 miles S Pine Bluffs Wyoming) | E-8 "Tri-State" |
| East and just a bit south is the official survey marker for the borders of Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska. You can put your hand on the brass disk and it will be in three states at once. I visited 4/5/2002 and my Garmin emap claimed the proper coordinates were actually 181 feet to the east (with an accuracy that varied between 20 and 35 feet). But the marker was placed in the mid-1800s, and at the time longitude was measured relative to Washington DC, so it's no big deal! If you choose to visit, and have a low-riding car, do be careful; it's not a paved road to get to the marker. | ||
Terraserver | 41-04-13 104-04-06 38 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (7.5 miles S Pine Bluffs Wyoming) | E-9 "Nixon's" |
| There is an old survey marker and witness post just east, on the northwest corner (see picture). I could not find the actual benchmark due to overgrowth. The sign predates introduction of zip codes, which puts it before what, 1963? | ||
Terraserver | 41-05-11 104-11-02 32 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (9 miles SW Pine Bluffs Wyoming) | E-10 "Muddy Creek" |
Terraserver | 41-08-15 104-03-41 38 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (3 miles S Pine Bluffs Wyoming) | E-11 "Pine Bluffs" |
Terraserver | 41-21-50 103-29-20 69 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (9 miles N Dix Nebraska) | F-1 "Hardened Criminal" |
| I heard a story that at one time there was a sign here that said "Fort Dix" (because it's north of Dix Nebraska, though the real Fort Dix is in New Jersey). This MAF fits in well with the busy farming in the area, it almost looks like it belongs there. In September 2001 small weapons were stolen from F-1 including one M-16, one M-16/203 (an M-16 fitted as a grenade launcher), an M-60, and ammunition. See http://hilltop.standard.net/story.asp?edition=19&storyid=284 which has since disappeared (the Hilltop Times was the newspaper for Hill AFB, which was terminated in July 2007; it was taken over by Ogden Publishing and now published as an advertising supplement of their newspaper the Standard Examiner, see http://www.standard.net/hilltop. The old Times was not archived by archive.org, the new one has no visible archives, and the Hill AFB news arcive does not go nearly far back enough). Shortly after, an airman and a civilian were arrested attempting to enter Mexico with the stolen items and more, see http://www.yorknewstimes.com/stories/110201/nat_1102010023.shtml but that link died, try http://web.archive.org/web/20020728120314/http://www.yorknewstimes.com/stories/110201/nat_1102010023.shtml). An update in late 2002 is at http://public.afosi.amc.af.mil/global/nov_dec_02/stolen_weapons.asp (gone, but try http://web.archive.org/web/20060510234049/http://public.afosi.amc.af.mil/global/nov_dec_02/stolen_weapons.asp). The May 7, 2004, issue of the Warren Sentinel, http://www.warren.af.mil/news/2004Sentinel/7May04Sentinel.pdf (page 22, which is page 13 of the .pdf file), states the airman pleaded guilty (but the article has disappeared, try http://web.archive.org/web/20051215041105/http://www.warren.af.mil/news/2004Sentinel/7May04Sentinel.pdf). | ||
Terraserver | 41-24-07 103-23-10 75 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (13 miles NNW Potter Nebraska) | F-2 "Greed" |
Terraserver | 41-20-14 103-20-24 76 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (8 miles N Potter Nebraska) | F-3 "George Schultz's" |
| George Schultz was Secretary of State under President Reagan. | ||
Terraserver | 41-19-19 103-14-34 81 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (8 miles NE Potter Nebraska) | F-4 "Perversity" |
| The road is paved to the west, dirt to the east. | ||
Terraserver | 41-15-08 103-15-43 80 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (3.7 miles NE Potter Nebraska) | F-5 "Buffalo" |
Terraserver | 41-16-49 103-23-42 73 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (5.5 miles NE DIx Nebraska) | F-6 "Killing Fields" |
Terraserver | 41-11-42 103-19-20 76 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (1.6 miles SSW Potter Nebraska) | F-7 "Obscenity" |
Terraserver | 41-17-29 103-28-46 69 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4 miles N Dix Nebraska) | F-8 "Secret Fallout" |
| It looks like a vehicle was inside the enclosure. | ||
Terraserver | 41-15-48 103-35-14 63 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4.3 miles NE Kimball Nebraska) | F-9 "Bennett" |
Terraserver | 41-19-54 103-35-05 64 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (8 miles NE Kimball Nebraska) | F-10 "Rose" |
Terraserver | 41-24-25 103-34-21 66 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (13 miles NNE Kimball Nebraska) | F-11 "Ostgren" |
| Ostgren looks like it might be nothing more than a benchmark about 600 yards SE of the silo. October 12 2002 I visited but could not get close to Ostgren; the view from road suggests it's a fallen-down shed. There is also a reference to nearby Ostgren Ranch which is perhaps where the point got its name, or maybe the ranch started here and was later moved. | ||
Terraserver | 41-12-31 103-05-48 85 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (1.7 miles NE Brownson Nebraska) | G-1 "Western Nebraska Community College" |
| The only launch control facility on a college campus (according to Nuclear Heartland, though in fact it appears to be merely near it). Formerly the Sioux Ordnance Depot (see G-2, next). | ||
Terraserver | 41-17-18 103-04-59 89 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (7 miles N Brownson Nebraska) | G-2 "Ordville" |
| Ordville is a township in Cheyenne County, and my 1993 Nebraska road map shows a town by that name north of Brownson. Unusual curved, long driveway. The photo (zoom out) suggests the county road was relocated. Right next to (or within) the abandoned Sioux Ordnance Depot (topo maps simply say abandoned ammunition depot) (look southeast) which might explain the name Ordville (Ordnance-ville). The Sioux Ordnance Depot, or Sioux Army Depot, was constructed in 1942 and retired around 1967. | ||
Terraserver | 41-21-13 103-02-22 92 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4 miles NW Gurley Nebraska) | G-3 "Kriesel" |
| On the morning the original USGS photo was taken, there were several vehicles inside the enclosure. Now, Terraserver has a newer photo but I will leave the original here for comparison. Not sure why they called this one "Kriesel". There is a Kriesel seed company in Nebraska ... | ||
Terraserver | 41-17-30 102-59-50 94 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (2.3 miles SW Gurley Nebraska) | G-4 "Discovery" |
| It looks like the road used to cut the corner then was turned into a sharp right angle, requiring the site driveway to be altered. Like G-2, this could have been caused by the closure of the Sioux Ordnance Depot. | ||
Terraserver | 41-13-26 102-59-40 94 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (6.5 miles N Sidney Nebraska) | G-5 "Hunts Humans" |
| Sort of clever, it's very near Huntsman, so the nickname is Hunts Humans. | ||
Terraserver | 41-10-45 102-54-52 98 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4.3 miles NE Sidney Nebraska) | G-6 "Total War" |
Terraserver | 41-05-37 103-01-51 92 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4 miles SW Sidney Nebraska) | G-7 "Airport" |
Terraserver | 41-08-52 103-06-33 87 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (2.7 miles S Brownson nebraska) | G-8 "Contaminated Forevermore" |
Terraserver | 41-10-39 103-13-16 82 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (5.5 miles W Brownson Nebraska) | G-9 "Earl" |
Terraserver | 41-16-42 103-10-06 85 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (7 miles NNW Brownson Nebraska) | G-10 "Water Hole" |
Terraserver | 41-21-11 103-07-43 87 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (8 miles WNW Gurley Nebraska) | G-11 "Maas" |
Terraserver | 41-19-31 102-49-46 103 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (7.6 miles E Gurley Nebraska) | H-1 "Oil Tank" |
Terraserver | 41-21-56 102-45-06 107 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (12 miles ENE Gurley Nebraska) | H-2 "Nowhere" |
Terraserver | 41-18-38 102-41-17 110 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (15 miles E Gurley Nebraska) | H-3 "Dorman" |
Terraserver | 41-14-08 102-40-08 111 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (6 miles NNW Lodgepole Nebraska) | H-4 "Rush" |
| Looks like this is the farthest site from Cheyenne, 111 miles. | ||
Terraserver | 41-15-58 102-46-52 105 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (7.8 miles N Sunol Nebraska) | H-5 "Spearow" |
Terraserver | 41-11-09 102-43-25 108 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (3 miles NE Sunol Nebraska) | H-6 "Grandview" |
Terraserver | 41-12-29 102-49-09 103 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4.7 miles NW Sunol Nebraska) | H-7 "Johnson" |
Terraserver | 41-15-03 102-54-50 98 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (8.5 miles NNE Sidney Nebraska) | H-8 "Xenia" |
Terraserver | 41-19-26 102-55-02 98 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (3 miles E Gurley Nebraska) | H-9 "Pope" |
Terraserver | 41-23-39 102-57-42 97 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (1 miles SE Dalton Nebraska) | H-10 "Damned" |
| On January 10 1984 the Air Force parked an armored vehicle on the silo lid because there were indications the missile was about to launch itself but in fact it was a problem in the launch control facility. Almost 4 years passed before a reporter discovered the incident. More details in Nuclear Heartland. The Terraserver photo is newer but I will keep the old one here for comparison. | ||
Terraserver | 41-23-48 102-52-11 102 miles ENE Cheyenne Wyoming (7.6 miles NE Gurley Nebraska) | H-11 "Anderson" |
Terraserver | 40-57-39 103-12-00 84 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4.5 miles W Peetz Colorado) | J-1 "Emotionally Suffocating" |
Terraserver | 41-02-48 103-09-18 85 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4.5 miles W Lorenzo Nebraska) | J-2 "Patriarch's" |
Terraserver | 40-56-36 103-06-51 88 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (1.3 miles S Peetz Colorado) | J-3 "Good Friday" |
Terraserver | 40-52-17 103-06-50 90 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (6 miles S Peetz Colorado) | J-4 "Ellanor's" |
| In the photo, it appears as if the trench for the control cables is still very evident (if that's what it is). | ||
Terraserver | 40-52-40 103-13-40 83 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (8.3 miles SW Peetz Colorado) | J-5 "Killing Us Softly" |
Terraserver | 40-53-32 103-20-33 77 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (13 miles WSW Peetz Colorado) | J-6 "Bob's" |
| This is a Middle of Nowhere site. | ||
Terraserver | 40-56-59 103-17-04 80 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (9 miles W Peetz Colorado) | J-7 "Damned If You Do" |
Terraserver | 40-57-48 103-22-53 74 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (14 miles W Peetz Colorado) | J-8 "Ed's" |
| This is a Middle Of Nowhere site. | ||
Terraserver | 41-01-15 103-16-36 79 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (11 miles W Lorenzo Nebraska) | J-9 "Apocalypse" |
| On the morning the original photo was taken, it looks like there was a lone vehicle parked near the silo lid. Unusual curved driveway, as well as long. Very nice-looking farm complex immediately NE. Terraserver has a more recent image, but I will keep the older one here so you can see the vehicle, and compare with the newer image. | ||
Terraserver | 41-04-44 103-19-00 77 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (9.6 miles S Potter Nebraska) | J-10 "Armageddon" |
| On the morning the photo was taken, there was a vehicle parked inside the enclosure. Terraserver has a more recent image, but I will keep the older one here so you can see the vehicle, and compare with the newer image. | ||
Terraserver | 41-05-26 103-13-42 81 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (10 miles SE Potter Nebraska) | J-11 "Dead End" |
Terraserver | 41-08-14 103-29-19 68 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (6.7 miles S Dix Nebraska) | K-1 "Genocide" | ||||||
Terraserver | 41-10-41 103-24-47 72 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (5.8 miles SW Potter Nebraska) | K-2 "Potter South" | ||||||
Terraserver | 41-06-27 103-23-47 72 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (8.7 miles SW Potter Nebraska) | K-3 "Acid Rain" | ||||||
| 1.1 miles north is a small farmhouse on a plot that looks similar to a launch facility but in fact is somewhat larger. The Terraserver photo is newer but I will keep the old one here for comparison. | ||||||||
Terraserver | 41-02-23 103-24-10 73 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (13 miles SSW Potter Nebraska) | K-4 "Dead Prairie Dog" | ||||||
Terraserver | 41-03-41 103-29-19 68 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (12 miles S Dix Nebraska) | K-5 "Road's End" | ||||||
| The nickname refers to the road being paved north, but dirt south of the site. | ||||||||
Terraserver | 41-04-39 103-35-45 62 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (11 miles SSE Kimball Nebraska) | K-6 "Final Deluge" | ||||||
Terraserver | 41-03-40 103-42-10 57 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (12 miles S Kimball Nebraska) | K-7 "Cold War" | ||||||
| When the original photo was taken, it looks like there were two vehicles parked in the driveway. 1.3 miles east there's something that fooled me at first into thinking it was the ugliest launch facility I'd ever seen, but it turned out not to be K-7. The Terraserver photo is newer but I will keep the old one here for comparison. | ||||||||
Terraserver | 41-07-16 103-39-53 59 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (7.5 miles S Kimball Nebraska) | K-8 "The Generic" | ||||||
Terraserver | 41-08-05 103-45-40 53 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (8.6 miles SW Kimball Nebraska) | K-9 "Hawk" | ||||||
Terraserver | 41-11-27 103-35-07 63 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (4.8 miles SE Kimball Nebraska) | K-10 "Slim Chance" | ||||||
Terraserver 41-13-07 103-29-30 | 68 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (1.1 miles SSW Dix Nebraska) K-11 | "Dix's Folly"
So close to I-80 exit 29 that the driveway apparently had to be
re-aligned, along with the county road that fronts I-80,
when I-80 was constructed.
Color photo courtesy of Joe Alvores, note the truck on I-80
which shows how close the highway is. Note also the much darker
gravel, recently added (it wasn't there in older Terraserver
photos, and may have been added before 2004);
in some of the earlier Terraserver photos it is moderately
difficult to see missile sites, which might have been intentional,
but the new gravel suggests this is no longer a concern.
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Terraserver | 40-55-18 103-41-30 59 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (22 miles N Stoneham Colorado) | L-1 "Kathy's" | ||||||||||||||||||
Terraserver | 40-59-34 103-41-08 58 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (26.5 miles N Stoneham Colorado) | L-2 "The Real Terror Network" | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nuclear Heartland placed this well south of the Nebraska/Colorado border on its map but in fact it's very close to the border. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Terraserver | 40-59-57 103-35-38 63 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (16 miles S Kimball Nebraska) (25 miles W Peetz Colorado) | L-3 "Colo-Neb" | ||||||||||||||||||
| About .4 miles into Colorado, hence the nickname. The road dead-ends immediately south. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Terraserver | 40-59-38 103-28-14 70 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (18.5 miles W Peetz Colorado) | L-4 "Accidents Happen" | ||||||||||||||||||
| This is a Middle Of Nowhere site. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Terraserver | 40-55-40 103-29-49 69 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (20 miles W Peetz Colorado) | L-5 "Shared Fate" | ||||||||||||||||||
| This is a Middle Of Nowhere site. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Terraserver | 40-53-34 103-34-29 66 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (20 miles NNE Stoneham Colorado) | L-6 "With Malice Aforethought" | ||||||||||||||||||
Terraserver | 40-51-05 103-29-46 70 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (19 miles NE Stoneham Colorado) | L-7 "Maniacal" | ||||||||||||||||||
Terraserver | 40-51-19 103-41-13 60 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (17 miles N Stoneham Colorado) | L-8 "Caspar's" | ||||||||||||||||||
Visited summer 2001, the site
looked rather run down. The outer gate was broken and the wind
direction indicator was lying on the ground.
Caspar Weinberger was Secretary of Defense for President Reagan.
Terraserver 40-47-25 103-41-23 | 62 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (12.8 miles N Stoneham Colorado) L-9 | "Koyaanisqatsi"
Koyaanisqatsi is a Hopi Indian word meaning
"Life Out of Balance."
See also Grand Forks N-36
"Life Out of Balance".
| 
Terraserver 40-55-00 103-47-02 | 55 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (22 miles NNW Stoneham Colorado) L-10 | "Random and Senseless"
| 
Terraserver 40-59-58 103-46-54 | 53 miles E Cheyenne Wyoming (17 miles SSE Bushnell Nebraska) (actually .3 miles into Colorado) L-11 | "Lone Assassin"
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Terraserver | 40-42-16 103-28-35 75 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (12 miles NE Stoneham Colorado) | M-1 "Wild Horse Lake" |
Terraserver | 40-50-48 103-24-10 75 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (13 miles NW Padroni Colorado) | M-2 "Ron's" |
| Go to the Terraserver link and zoom out a bit. You can clearly see the buried cable leaving the south end of the enclosure and proceed to the southwest. The other line, running from northwest to southeast, is a gas pipeline. | ||
Terraserver | 40-46-45 103-22-52 78 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (14 miles NW Sterling Colorado) | M-3 "Nancy's" |
| In late June 2002, there were two trailers in the enclosure. One is clearly labeled as a Minuteman vehicle; the other looks like a mobile home being used for topside work, suggesting whatever was going on wasn't a one-day project. Shortly after I posted the picture I received the following: The house trailer you photographed on M-03 belongs to Rivet MILE. Rivet MILE is the name for an Air Force maintenance program to do upgrades and periodic maintenance to all of the Peacekeeper and Minuteman missiles sites. Rivet is a generic name for an Air Force Materiel Command maintenance program and MILE stands for Minuteman Integrated Life Extension. The program was started in the spring of 1985 and operates on three year cycles. Each site, LF and MAF, is worked on once every cycle to do modifications, upgrades and general maintenance and preventive maintenance. There is an office trailer and a semi trailer parked on site while the crew is working on the site. They are on each LF for about two weeks and each MAF for about four weeks. The crews are all DOD civilians and commute to the site from the base each day. The group is controlled by Hill AFB, Utah with support provided by F. E. Warren. There are also Rivet MILE teams at Minot and Malmstrom. | ||
Terraserver | 40-49-11 103-17-15 81 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (14 miles NNW Sterling Colorado) | M-4 "Dirty War" |
Terraserver | 40-42-12 103-22-40 80 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (10 miles NW Sterling Colorado) | M-5 "Misanthropic" |
Terraserver | 40-36-34 103-30-12 77 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (8.6 miles E Stoneham Colorado) | M-6 "Misbegotten" |
Terraserver | 40-36-34 103-35-40 73 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (3.8 miles E Stoneham Colorado) | M-7 "Miscreant" |
| Summer 2001, contractor trailers, trucks, apparently doing some work so I assume the site is temporarily inactive. Summer 2002 and the site is clear. Early 2005, Terraserver has a newer USGS photo (from 1998!), which happens to show many vehicles in the enclosure. | ||
Terraserver | 40-40-04 103-33-02 72 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (7.4 miles NE Stoneham Colorado) | M-8 "Colossal Misprision" |
|
Misprision - a legal term, defined in one place thus:
In its larger sense, this word is used to signify every
considerable misdemeanor,
which has not a certain name given to it in the law;
and it is said that a misprision
is contained in every treason or felony whatever.
In its narrower sense it is the concealment of a crime.
Another definition included: Failure to report an offence. The former crime of misprision of felony has now been replaced by the crime of compounding an offence. However, the common-law offence of misprision of treason still exists; this occurs if a person knows or reasonably suspects that someone has committed treason but does not inform the proper authorities within a reasonable time. The punishment for this offence is forfeiture by the offender of all his property during his lifetime.(after which it doesn't matter?) | ||
Terraserver | 40-44-47 103-36-46 67 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (10 miles NNE Stoneham Colorado) | M-9 "Kenneth Calkins" |
Terraserver | 40-48-34 103-36-44 66 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (14 miles N Stoneham Colorado) | M-10 "Ted Olson's" |
| All sites have this small "structure" well short of the main gate. Both metal boxes are locked but sometimes, one of them has a see-through panel that somebody left open and there are two meters registering voltage and amperage. The wooden posts protect it from cattle but are arranged so personnel can walk in easily. There is also a covered hole in the ground nearby, the lid says "control valve." I received the following clarification via email: The fenced in boxes ... are the controls for the site cathodic protection system. They are outside the fence so Civil Engineering personnel can check the system periodically without going on the site. | ||
Terraserver | 40-46-59 103-30-55 71 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (14.5 miles NE Stoneham Colorado) | M-11 "Misappropriated" |
| Terrible photography. | ||
Terraserver | 40-37-53 103-50-14 61 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (1.7 miles N Raymer Colorado) | N-1 "Bill Armstrong's" |
| I'm told that whenever Warren's missiles are retired, N-1 has been pre-designated to be preserved as a museum. This seems unfortunate because it is so far from any major population centers (Denver, Fort Collins, etc.) and might not get many visitors. | ||
Terraserver | 40-42-59 103-46-14 61 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (8.5 miles NE Raymer Colorado) | N-2 "Pat Schroeder's" |
| When I drove by (maybe 2002), Western Flycatchers were nesting in a power pole. Nice rockwork. | ||
Terraserver | 40-43-00 103-41-12 65 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (7.3 miles N Stoneham Colorado) | N-3 "Gary Hart's" |
Terraserver | 40-38-30 103-40-30 69 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (2.6 miles N Stoneham Colorado) | N-4 "Dan Schaefer's" |
Terraserver | 40-36-44 103-45-44 65 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (4.4 miles E Raymer Colorado) | N-5 "Ken Kramer's" |
Terraserver | 40-35-24 103-53-47 60 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (3 miles WSW Raymer Colorado) | N-6 "Tim Wirth's" |
Terraserver | 40-33-43 103-58-23 59 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (4.2 miles S Buckingham Colorado) | N-7 "Dick Lamm's" |
Terraserver | 40-37-26 103-59-35 55 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (.8 miles W Buckingham Colorado) | N-8 "Hank Brown's" |
Terraserver | 40-40-48 104-03-33 50 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (1.8 miles SSE Keota Colorado) | N-9 "Mike Strang's" |
Terraserver | 40-41-46 103-58-23 53 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (5.1 miles N Buckingham Colorado) | N-10 "Steve Slaton's" |
| (June 2002) At first I thought the fence was new but then I saw the silver paint on the ground. They repainted a chain-link fence! Also some very nice rockwork for drainage. A few other sites in the area had the same treatment. A pair of Western Flycatchers has built a nest on a power pole. | ||
Terraserver | 40-41-57 103-51-16 58 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (6.3 miles N Raymer Colorado) | N-11 "Hal Johnson's" |
| A pair of Western Flycatchers built a nest in a power pole. | ||
Terraserver | 40-53-07 104-00-00 45 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (12 miles E Grover Colorado) | O-1 "Hammer of Hell" |
| Constructed at a slight angle compared to north-south, unusual but they're not required to be aligned any particular way. Terraserver has a newer USGS image but the older one (here) seems sharper. | ||
Terraserver | 40-57-39 103-58-28 45 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (15 miles NE Grover Colorado) | O-2 "Crying Children" |
Terraserver | 40-57-54 103-52-29 50 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (19.5 miles ENE Grover Colorado) | O-3 "Starvation" |
| Long driveway. The directions in Nuclear Heartland seem wrong, I think you need to disregard the last 3-mile step. | ||
Terraserver | 40-53-37 103-52-38 51 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (19 miles NNE Buckingham Colorado) | O-4 "Famine" |
| A trivial wierdness, the wind vane is on the northwest corner instead of the southwest corner. | ||
Terraserver | 40-50-30 103-48-19 55 miles ESE Cheyenne Wyoming (16 miles N Raymer Colorado) | O-5 "Lamentation" |
| Lots of very nice trees nearby, probably planted long ago by a local rancher; ranch still looks active. | ||
Terraserver | 40-47-02 103-51-32 55 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (12 miles N Raymer Colorado) | O-6 "Agony" |
| Western Flycatchers nesting in a power pole. | ||
Terraserver | 40-47-16 103-58-20 50 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (11.5 miles N Buckingham Colorado) | O-7 "Calamity" |
| This is a Middle of Nowhere site. | ||
Terraserver | 40-44-39 104-01-39 49 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (8.5 miles NNW Buckingham Colorado) | O-8 "Fire Storm" |
Terraserver | 40-49-20 104-03-02 44 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (10 miles ESE Grover Colorado) | O-9 "Ground Burst" |
Terraserver | 40-52-12 104-06-27 41 miles SE Cheyenne Wyoming (6.3 miles E Grover Colorado) | O-10 "Malediction" |
| A very scenic view from the road just to the east. | ||
Terraserver | 40-55-43 104-03-59 40 miles SSE Cheyenne Wyoming (9.4 miles NE Grover Colorado) | O-11 "Malevolent" |
Terraserver | 41-08-42 104-50-51 0 miles W Cheyenne Wyoming | U-01, U-02 |
| U-01 and U-02 are on Warren AFB and are used for training. U-01 is for Minuteman III training, U-02 for Peacekeeper. So far these are the only two "sites" where the leading zero is included on the sign on the fence (i.e. you see A-1, not A-01, out in the field). I visited these during an open house 7/22/01. We saw the interior of U-02 including the top of a dummy re-entry vehicle (also the security "A-plug"), but did not go into U-01 due to work in progress. In the Terraserver photo, the two sites are in the lower right with U-02 on the west, U-01 immediately adjacent to the east. Note they are aligned north/south as in the field while the rest of the base in this area is not. Visited again 7/21/02. In U-02 the payload was removed; saw U-01 this time. | ||
Terraserver | 41-08-30 104-52-50 0 miles W Cheyenne Wyoming | WSA |
| Weapons Storage Area (WSA). Note the concentric fences, helipad immediately east, and the apparent small unpaved landing strip just southeast. | ||
Terraserver | 41-53-00 105-12-18 55 miles NNW Cheyenne Wyoming 17 miles SW Wheatland Wyoming | AT&T |
|
This was an AT&T long-lines microwave facility that some
people say was constructed for the armed forces, but evidence
suggests it was just a standard part of the AT&T system.
In the 1994 Terraserver photo I think the tower is barely visible, but was removed
later. Around August 2004 I saw it was for sale
on missilebases.com, here is their
description:
"19 fenced acres with panoramic mountain views. Large, 56,000 sq. ft. underground
structure, 2 floors (28,000 sq. ft. each) 16' ceilings. Built in late 1960s to be
nuclear-proof, deactivated mid-1990s. 750 KW diesel generator in place, 200 amp
3 phase elec. in service; previous 3000-amp elec. service disconnected but not
removed. 12 inch steel blast doors, redundant intake and exhaust air handling
systems with air filtration, air-conditioning chiller systems, redundant sewage
ejector systems, large capacity septic tank and leach field, hot water heater and
water softener, men's and women's restrooms on each floor, kitchen and dining area,
emergency lighting system. Above-ground 4 car garage with workshop, large paved
and lighted driveway. Shipping & receiving area with loading dock and 10,000 lb.
trolley crane. 2 water supply wells (30 gpm capacity) with 10,000 gal. underground
water storage tank. Asbestos and other hazardous materials have been removed.
Structure is clean, most equipment is operational. Perfect for a secured storage
operation. Price: $750,000.00"
In December of 2006 I received email from Kevin Roof who used to work in this building and helped decommision the site in 1991. He wrote: "It was actually part of the AT&T longline network and not all that unique as most of these co-ax sites are built in this same manner. Hopefully here are some helpful links http://long-lines.net/places-routes/index.html It was called Platte underground, has 2 floors, 2 ton blast doors opening into the hoist shaft. It has a decom shower and blast doors in the main stairwell. They took out the 750,000 gallon fuel tank that used to fuel the twin giant turbine generators for upwards of 30 days. http://long-lines.net/places-routes/maps/WY76.html AND if you want another picture of one, it has a smaller brother site just west of Muddy Gap, you can see it on top of the hill on the south side if you are driving towards Lander/Riverton." ... "IIRC the one by Wheatland was sold to a firm back east and is used as a storage for records and paperwork." On November 16, 2009, it was noticed to be for sale at http://undergroundfortresses.com with an asking price of $2,500,000. | ||
