90th Missile Wing
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Display of missiles operated by the wing
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Active | 1951–60; 1963–present |
Country | United States |
Branch | United States Air Force |
Role | Strategic missile |
Size | 3361 military and 964 civilians as of May 2016 |
Part of | Air Force Global Strike Command |
Garrison/HQ | Francis E. Warren Air Force Base |
Nickname(s) | Mighty Ninety |
Motto(s) | Impavide Latin Undauntedly |
Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
Insignia | |
90th Missile Wing emblem (Approved 9 December 1993) | |
Patch with 90th Strategic Missile Wing emblem (Approved 29 September 1964 | |
Patch with 90th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing emblem |
The 90th Missile Wing is a component of Twentieth Air Force, stationed at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base and equipped with LGM-30G Minuteman III Missiles. It has served at Warren as a component of Strategic Air Command, Air Combat Command, Air Force Space Command and Air Force Global Strike Command since 1963.
The wing was first organized at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington as the 90th Bombardment Wing, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress unit. After moving to Forbes Air Force Base, Kansas, it served as a training unit for Strategic Air Command units and aircrews in the B-29. In 1953 it converted to the strategic reconnaissance mission, upgrading to the Boeing RB-47 Stratojet in 1954. After 1958 it trained reconnaissance crews with the B-47 and continued that mission until it was inactivated in 1960.
The wing operates 150 LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles on full alert 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to underground missile alert facilities through a system of hardened cables.