The Command Structure of The United States Air Force Strategic Command, The 20th Air Force, and The 90th Missile Wing

This post details the structure of the various military commands that control Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in the United States.  These weapons are very dangerous: one missile could destroy an entire city, and kill millions of people.  It is therefore of the greatest importance that we all feel confident that the wonderful people of the United States Air Force are doing their jobs with the greatest possible care.  We wouldn't want any of these dangerous weapons to fall in to the hands of terrorists, after all!

Here is the command structure:

The United States Air Force

The Strategic Command

The 20th Air Force / Strategic Command Task Force 214

Various Missile Wings, including:

The 90th Missile Wing, based at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base near Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Within the 90th Missile Wing, there are 3 squadrons:

The 319th Missile Squadron

The 320th Missile Squadron

The 321th Missile Squadron

Concerns About The 90th Missile Wing

Here are some concerns that I have about the security of the missiles that are controlled by the United States Air Force Strategic Command, the 20th Air Force, the 90th Missile Wing, and the 319th, 320th and 321st Missile Squadrons.

A major concern that I have is an unprecedented communications failure that took place in the early morning hours of Saturday, October 23, 2010.  The 319th Missile Squadron lost communications with all 50 of its ICBMs for 46 minutes, which had never happened before.

I also worry about a pattern of lax oversight and failed inspections, although things seem to have improved a great deal in the last two years.

Here's an interesting article about daily life for the people who stand post inside of those missile silos, for anybody who is interested.

Who Might Pose a Threat to The ICBMs of The 90th Missile Wing?

In a word, terrorists.  While the United States Air Force Strategic Command, the 20th Air Force and the 90th Missile Wing have been doing a fine job of updating various security protocols in the last few years, I, as a mere clueless civilian, worry about the possibility that these frightening weapons could be hijacked by terrorists.  When you think about it, there are lots of different groups that might want to use Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles to take out cities in other parts of the world.  They might even try to blame the United States for having launched a nuclear strike.

Here are some terrorist groups and organizations that might have a motive to attack cities overseas using hijacked American ICBMs:

Name of Organization	Cities that Might Be Attacked	Motive
Al Qaeda	New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Madrid	To traumatize the civilian population in the U.S. and abroad by means of a nuclear jihad.
M*ssad (Israeli intelligence)	Mecca, Medina, Najaf, Karbalah, Tehran	To eliminate Muslim holy cities while blaming the United States; I think that Muslims would still blame the M*ssad, though.
National S*cialist Movement (N*zis)	Mecca, Medina, Najaf, Karbalah, Tehran	To eliminate Muslim holy cities, although in the process they would be helping Israel.  Is there such a thing as a Zionist N*zi?
FARC (Drug Dealing Columbian Rebels)	Washington, DC; San Jose, Columbia; Lima, Peru	To eliminate the opposition of various governments that oppose drug dealing in South America.
Irish Republican Army (IRA)	London, Manchester	There is a peace agreement in place in Northern Ireland, which seems to be working, but you never know.
Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)	New York, Chicago, Los Angeles	Admittedly, nobody has heard from the SLA for a while, but look at what they did to poor Patty Hearst!
Tamil Tigers	New Delhi, Mumbai	To force India to recognize Sri Lanka as an independent nation.

I am sure that I am worrying about nothing, though.  The brave folks at the 90th Missile Wing would never allow terrorists to hijack their ICBMs and use them to murder millions of innocent people.

Command of the 90th Missile Wing

This is Colonel Greg Tims, the outgoing commander of the 90th Missile Wing.  This patriotic gentleman has dedicated his life to the United States Air Force since he joined in 1986.

Here is a bit of his official biography:

Colonel Gregory S. Tims is the Commander of the 90th Missile Wing, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo. He provides strategic nuclear deterrence through the operation, maintenance, security and support by military, civilian and contractor personnel operating 15 missile alert facilities and 150 Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles constantly ready to launch at the direction of the President of the United States.

Colonel Tims graduated from Arizona State University in 1985 and entered active duty in 1986 through Officer Training School and was first assigned to the 742nd Strategic Missile Squadron at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. He has been qualified in the Delta II/III and Minuteman III weapon systems. He has served in a variety of operations and maintenance positions both in missiles and space. He served as the officership curriculum manager and a Flight Commander at the Air Force Squadron Officer School and later as the Executive Officer to the Commandant of SOS. Later, he served as the national security policy affairs officer for the Department of State. He then became the Commander of the 91st Operations Group at Minot AFB, N.D., followed by serving as the Vice Commander of the 91st Space Wing. In his previous assignment, Colonel Tims was handpicked to serve as the executive officer to the Commander of Air Force Space Command.

Colonel Tims is assisted in his command duties by his Vice Commander, Colonel Scott Fox, and Chief Master Sergeant Marty Anderson.

It is very lucky for all of us that we have such dedicated people controlling and protecting our Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles!

Update: After a long and prestigious career, Colonel Greg Tims is retiring from the Air Force.  He is planning to spend more time with his wife, Julie, and his sons, Brian and Kevin.  We wish you all the best, Colonel Tims!

We will post information soon about the new commander of the 90th Missile Wing.  We hope that the new commander knows that he has some big shoes to fill!

90th Missile Wing Subordinate Commands

The 90th Missile Wing has three main subordinate commands, each of which controls 50 ICBMs:

The 319th Missile Squadron (which had a communications failure in Oct of 2010)


          Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel David J. Martinson

The 320th Missile Squadron


          Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Eric D. Brown

The 321st Missile Squadron


          Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Mark "Leno" Schuler