News>Peacekeeper missile mission ends during ceremony
Photos
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- (From left) Capt. Warren Neary, retired Col. Roscoe Moulthrop and retired Maj. Gen. Jerry Perryman present a painting to Dr. Ronald Sega during the Peacekeeper missile deactivation ceremony Sept. 19. The painting is a montage of the people who carried out the Peacekeeper mission throughout its 19-year history. Dr. Sega is the undersecretary of the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Liz Saucier)
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- During its deactivation ceremony Sept. 19, seventy five people here represented the thousands of people who worked with the Peacekeeper missile throughout its 19-year history. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lauren Hasinger)
by 2nd Lt. Joshua S. Edwards
90th Space Wing Public Affairs
9/20/2005 - F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. (AFPN) -- The Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missile mission came to an end Sept. 19 during a ceremony here.
Hundreds of Airmen and civilians, including Dr. Ronald M. Sega, undersecretary of the Air Force, were on hand to celebrate the Peacekeeper’s role in nuclear deterrence.
“Today we celebrate 19 years of Peacekeeper service,” Dr. Sega said. “Behind 19 years are many more years of strategic nuclear deterrence in ICBM operations.”
Dr. Sega, guest speaker at the event, had many words of thanks and appreciation for the people who made the Peacekeeper mission a success throughout its years. He also explained its development and journey to becoming an operational weapon system, and credited the Peacekeeper with helping to end the Cold War.
“Along with the rest of the nuclear triad, the Peacekeeper was a great stabilizing force in an increasingly unstable world,” Dr. Sega said.
The Peacekeeper was the nation’s most advanced strategic missile, so advanced that it was called the Missile Experimental, or MX, during President Jimmy Carter's administration. President Ronald Reagan renamed it "Peacekeeper" in November 1982.
“As the 400th Missile Squadron brought its full complement of Peacekeepers online in 1988, another aspect of the system’s success came to light,” Dr. Sega said. “Even though the Soviets had their own missiles, they weren’t as good as Peacekeeper.”
As the last step in the deactivation ceremony, a missile combat crew officer at Papa One Launch Control Center confirmed that there were no longer any Peacekeeper ICBMs on strategic alert in the 400th MS. With that confirmation, the Peacekeeper era came to a close.
