Seven missileers from two other bases are operating at Minot AFB, N.D., while their spots are being filled by seven missile operations airmen from Minot’s 91st Operations Group. The crew swaps are part of a plan to use Minot as a test bed in implementing some of the modifications in missile force procedures under the Force Improvement Program. Four airmen from the 341st Operations Group at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and three from the 90th Group at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., are working at Minot for three-months, replaced by the Minot missileers. “The idea is that the folks embedding with us for 90 days would be able to experience at the ground level some of the changes and initiatives we’re implementing” as part of the FIP, Lt. Col. David Rickards, 91st Group deputy commander, said in an Air Force Global Strike Command release. The airmen have similar backgrounds, certifications, and abilities, Rickards said. The initial modifications under the FIP focus on changes to the operations groups’ crew training and scheduling. They were implemented after an investigation into cheating on missileers’ proficiency tests revealed low morale in the missile force. (See also Systemic Problems from the March issue of Air Force Magazine.)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.