Members of the 91st Space Wing at Minot AFB, N.D., reached a 99.82 percent alert rate—the highest ever for a Minuteman ICBM force, say Air Force Space Command officials. The ICBM alert rate is a function of the percentage of missiles on alert and ready to launch. For the Minot airmen, the 2005 alert rate marked the fourth straight year that the North Dakota has been the command’s top unit.
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.