91st Missile Wing
| 91st Missile Wing | |
|---|---|
UH-1N of the 54th Helicopter Squadron at Minot Air Force Base in 2005 | |
| Active | 1948–1957, 1963–Present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Missile |
| Role | Strategic deterrence |
| Size | 150 Minuteman III missiles 290 officers, 1,500 enlisted members and 25 civilian employees |
| Part of | Air Force Global Strike Command |
| Garrison/HQ | Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota |
| Nickname | Rough Riders |
| Motto | Poised For Peace |
| Mascot | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Decorations | Air Force Outstanding Unit Award |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Colonel James L. Schlabach |
| Insignia | |
| 91st Missile Wing emblem | |
| 91st Bombardment Wing emblem | |
| 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing emblem | |
48°24′57″N 101°21′29″W / 48.41583°N 101.35806°W
The 91st Missile Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command Twentieth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota as a tenant unit.
The 91st is one of the Air Force's three intercontinental ballistic missile wings. The missile wing, whose members are known as the Rough Riders, is responsible for defending the United States by maintaining a fleet of 150 Minuteman III missiles and 15 Launch Control Centers located in underground facilities scattered across the northwest part of the state. The wing's missile complex stretches over 8,500 square miles—approximately the same size as Massachusetts.
The wing's on-alert missiles are controlled by U.S. Strategic Command, based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. To make sure of Mutually Assured Destruction, the command aims to make sure that intercontinental ballistic missiles are launched, if necessary, in accordance with Presidential orders.
The wing's predecessor, the World War II 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress unit formed at MacDill Field, Florida and subsequently stationed with Eighth Air Force at RAF Bassingbourn in the southern United Kingdom. It was one of the first United States Army Air Forces (AAF) heavy bomber groups deployed to Europe in 1942. It is most widely known as the unit in which the bomber Memphis Belle flew, and for having suffered the greatest number of losses of any heavy bombardment group in World War II.
As part of Strategic Air Command (SAC), the 91st wing was one of SAC's longest-lasting and most versatile wings. It was a strategic reconnaissance wing from 1948 to 1957 and a B-52 bombardment wing from 1963 to 1968. Its men flew virtually every plane in the SAC inventory. It became a missile wing in June 1968. On 1 July 2008 it was designated as the 91st Missile Wing.
The 91st Missile Wing is commanded by Colonel Glenn T. Harris and its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Garrett W. Langston.