Missile alert facility reopensby 1st Lt. Tressa Tillman91st Space Wing Public Affairs 06/26/02 - MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (AFPN) -- A remote North Dakota missile alert facility that burned to the ground just after Thanksgiving two years ago was officially reopened June 21. The ceremony marked the end of nearly two years of temporary trailer shelters for the Golf-01 missile alert facility team aboveground as they continued to provide support for the launch teams sequestered underground. A team of Air Force investigators determined that a failed circuit breaker in the diesel generator room was the most probable cause of the fire. Each MAF comprises a small complex consisting of an underground launch control center and an aboveground building that houses the equipment for it to be self-sufficient and provide for the needs of the missile combat crew, security forces, facility chef and transient maintenance personnel. The actual missile silos are not located at the MAF. During the fire, the underground launch crews sealed off their launch control center entrances and continued to monitor their missiles until the fire was extinguished and they could be relieved of duty. The cost of the reconstruction totaled $1.2 million. (Courtesy of AFSPC News Service)
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