The silent ones: missile launch officers stand ready with the weapons of last resort

Airman, Dec, 2004 by Mark Kinkade

Off duty, 1st Lt. Melissa Hutchings and Capt. Todd Benson come across as just your average kind of Air Force people. They're outgoing and quick with warm smiles. Both are married; he has children. She likes People Magazine, and he likes to ride motorcycles.

Just average people in average Wyoming doing a decidedly unusual job. See, Lieutenant Hutchings and Captain Benson are missile launch officers, the people behind America's intercontinental ballistic missile force.

They are the last line of defense. And they know it.

"We're kind of forgotten out here," Captain Benson said. "But that's fine. We know our role. We know we're a deterrent to our enemies."

With the Cold War over, it's easy to forget the U.S. missile fleet. With the collapse of the Soviet Union came an era of downsizing both sides' missile stockpiles. That meant fewer bases, fewer launch facilities and fewer missile launch officers.

But at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., the missile is still king.

Both officers spend a lot of time in those underground control facilities. Captain Benson, a 29-year-old U.S. Air Force Academy graduate from Adna, Wash., went to Warren after completing missile launch officer school in 2001. Lieutenant Hutchings arrived in 2002.

The launch facility is a self-contained living place. Crews rotate on 24-hour shifts, sleeping and eating in the facility until relieved by the next crew.

That means a lot of time away from home and a lot of time spent with just one other person--your crew partner. The key to getting along and doing the job, Lieutenant Hutchings said, is discipline.

"It takes a checklist mentality to do this job," she said. "You can't be sloppy, or wing your way through it. You have to be sharp and focused and able to keep your focus."

Discipline is vital in a crew capsule, Captain Benson said. The capsule's buried deep in the earth's crust, surrounded by tons of dirt and rock. The site is sometimes hundreds of miles from the nearest human population. And they have their hands on the most lethal firepower on the planet.

"We basically wait for a presidential directive to launch the missiles," the captain said. "So we spend a lot of time on equipment maintenance and checking equipment status. And we train non-stop. We're held to very perfecting standards. The job demands those standards."

It's easy to assume those exacting standards translate to their personal lives, but both officers said they tend to be laid back and less detail-oriented at home and with their families.

Lieutenant Hutchings agreed, noting that "a checklist mentality is needed at work, not at home."

If being the "key turners" for America's missile arsenal weighs heavy on their minds, the missile launch officers don't show it. In fact, with war raging in parts of Iraq and terrorism a constant threat, both said they believe they are providing a blanket of security for the nation.

"Just like the [missileers] before us, we're going to keep going down there and doing our jobs," Captain Benson said. "I think it's good that people don't have to worry about nuclear deterrence because we're here. We're keeping up the guard."

Career Field Facts

13SX--Space and missile operations

Assigned: 3,150

Duties: Operates and manages space and missile operations; launch officer for Peacekeeper (being phased out) or Minuteman missile systems.

Civilian application: Since space and missile operations have a wide application, civilian applications are equally broad.

Capt. Todd Benson

Senior ICBM combat crew instructor, 90th Space Wing, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.

Years in Air Force: Five

Hometown: Adna, Wash.

Reason for joining: "I was always interested in the military and in space. The Air Force was a natural fit."

Assignments: U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.; F.E. Warren.

Coming up: Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.

Best thing about the job: "The people. I work with some of the best, most dedicated people on the planet."

1st Lt. Melissa Hutchings

ICBM combat crew instructor, 90th Space Wing, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.

Years in Air Force: Two

Hometown: Kalispell, Mont.

Reason for joining: "My father was a big influence since he's in the Air Force. I wanted to see what was beyond Montana."

Assignments: F.E. Warren.

Coming up: Focusing on instructing missile crews and moving within Air Force Space Command. "There aren't too many places people who do our jobs can go," she said.

Best thing about the job: "My father once told me [Air Force Space Command] people are among the most disciplined in the service. I find it very satisfying to be among those people."