The end of a 14-year effort to complete environmental requirements related to 150 Minuteman II ICBM facilities throughout Missouri came to a close last week, when Air Force, EPA, and Missouri state officials met at Whiteman AFB, Mo., to sign an agreement transferring long-term stewardship of the sites to Missouri. TSgt. Matt Summers reports that the Air Force monitored and took samples from the sites, which USAF dismantled in the early 1990s under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. Larry Erickson with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources says most of the sites will be used for agricultural endeavors.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.