![]() ![]() The Minuteman was also a faster missile and traveled at 15,000 mph, which meant it could have traveled over the North Pole and reached its target in 30 minutes. The Minuteman was a solid-fueled missile, so it could sit stagnant and unmanned for months at a time without any maintenance and could be launched within 30 seconds should the command be given. Typical liquid-fueled rockets require constant of maintenance, and fuel needs to be purged and monitored, so it takes time to get an intercontinental ballistic missile ready for launch. But the biggest advantage was the speed and state of readiness of the Minuteman. We had many more missiles than the Soviets, so we had them outgunned. The Minuteman was a unique missile and had features that helped in its deterrence role. In fact, the blast door at Delta-01 showed a pizza-delivery box reminiscent of a popular national brand with the slogan “Worldwide Delivery in 30 Minutes or less or the Next One is Free.” Air Force flight service personnel typically paint nose art on their planes, but missileers didn’t have planes so their artwork adorned the basement walls and on the huge blast doors. ![]() ![]() Training drills had been implemented unannounced and with total surprise to keep the missileers on their toes. The shifts were described as long periods of intense boredom, punctuated by brief periods of extreme panic. ![]() Each control center had controlled 10 Minuteman Missiles, which were located at dispersed sites within a 20-mile radius of the command center. The 5-ton blast door would be locked from the inside for the duration of their 24-hour shift. Topside personnel had been allowed into the underground area, but only the launch control officer and his assistant were allowed inside the command center. The entire underground facility had been placed in a hardened concrete tube that is capable of withstanding a nuclear blast. The elevator doors opened up into a small room flanked by mechanical areas and a 3-1/2-foot thick blast door weighing 5 tons. After a tour of the above ground facilities we headed for the elevator that would take us down into the hardened control center bunker. Inside the barracks was a communications area, as well as living quarters for the guards and tech-support team. A small barracks building, which looked much like a ranch house from a distance, housed the eight-man support crew for the facility. We were let in through a chain link gate that enclosed a secure area, bristling with antenna arrays, a helicopter pad, an armored vehicle, and underground access hatch covers. The tours are limited in size due to the tiny elevator that takes you down underground, as well as by the confined quarters of the launch control center. His personal anecdotes contributed greatly to our understanding of life below the surface. We were fortunate in that our command center tour was led by a former missileer, a retired Air Force major who once was in command of a similar control center. You may also make a reservation for an underground guided tour into the command and control center, which is located four miles west of the headquarters. You can drive there and view the site at your convenience, because it is a self-guided tour. The Delta-09 missile silo is located about 15 miles west at Exit 116, just to the south of the highway. Inside the office you will see a 12-minute interpretive film that brings you up to speed on the sites. The site is accessed via a small office facility just south of Exit 131 on South Dakota’s portion of Interstate Highway 90, which is about 75 miles east of Rapid City. However, this particular unit was allowed to remain as a non-serviceable unit for public display. After the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty many of these sites were deactivated, rendered unserviceable, and sealed up. It was a location that was safe from Soviet submarine-launched missiles and not in major populated areas, such as the east and west coasts. About 500 of the 1,500 sites were located in South Dakota. ![]()
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