Francis E. Warren Air Force Base , shortened as F.E. Warren AFB, is a United States Air Force base (AFB) located about west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is one of three strategic-missile bases in the U.S. It was named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Francis E. Warren in 1930. Warren AFB is home of the 90th Missile Wing (90 MW), assigned to the Twentieth Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command. The 90 MW operates the LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM. It is also the home of Twentieth Air Force, which commands all U.S. Air Force ICBMs.
Warren AFB is the oldest continuously active military installation within the Air Force, established in 1867 ( years ago) by the United States Army as Fort David Allen Russell. The facility came under the control of the United States Army Air Forces on 1 June 1947, and then of the United States Air Force (USAF) on 18 September 1947.
The 90th Missile Wing is commanded by Colonel Johnny L. Galbert. Twentieth Air Force, co-located at Warren AFB, is under the command of Major General Michael Lutton. Warren AFB is a census-designated place and had a resident population of 2,863 at the 2010 census.
History The history of the base dates back to the Railroad Act of 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln and Congress set plans for the transcontinental railroad. The plans included a military installation on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in the Wyoming Territory, to protect Union Pacific Railroad workers from hostile Indians. From these pioneer origins, the base evolved from a frontier infantry and cavalry post into the largest, most modern strategic missile facility in the U.S. Air Force. F.E. Warren AFB is named in honor of Wyoming's first United States Senator, Francis Emroy Warren (1844–1929), who was awarded the Medal of Honor at age 19 during the American Civil War.History of F. E. Warren AFB, 27 February 2018
United States Army
Fort Russell 1867–1927 On 4 July 1867, the Union Pacific Railroad established its mountain region headquarters at Crow Creek Crossing, later known as Cheyenne. A few weeks later, the U.S. Cavalry moved from temporary headquarters in Cheyenne to a point west and established Fort D. A. Russell. Thus, 1867 was the beginning of a city and a fort, and both have grown together over the years.
Detachments of the 30th Infantry formed the first garrison, under the command of Colonel John D. Stevenson. For a brief time the troops lived in tents, but during the winter of 1867–68 they moved into wood-frame quarters. The dwellings were set in the shape of a diamond, instead of a rectangle, to protect against harsh winter winds that howled across the then treeless high plains. The diamond opened to the east and measured 800 by . The entrance to the original fort was at a point next to the present day Chapel 1. The first troops stationed here lived the rough frontier life, which meant coping with the rigors of the weather in winter and coping with Indians in spring and summer.
In 1876, troops from Fort Russell participated in the Great Sioux Indian Wars, the same in which Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's forces were defeated.
In 1884, Fort Russell was made a permanent post, because of its strategic location. In 1885, the War Department ordered the post be rebuilt to serve eight infantry companies. The Army built 27 red brick buildings for $100,000 to replace the older wood-frame structures, and planted thousands of trees. Many of the early brick buildings were stables that housed nearly 20,000 horses and mules. From 1885 to 1930, more than 220 brick buildings were erected; most of them remain in use today. The last expansion of the base took place in the early 20th century when large barracks along Randall Avenue were constructed. The base maintains the historic exterior of each building with interior modifications for today's living and working environment.
In 1866, Congress formed four black regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry. The 25th Infantry was the only unit that didn't serve at Fort D. A. Russell. Black soldiers were called "Buffalo Soldiers," a title originating from Native Americans who likened the soldiers to the spiritual buffalo.
In 1898, the Spanish–American War renewed importance to the post. Soon after President McKinley sent a message to Congress, the 8th Infantry left Fort D. A. Russell for Cuba. Later that year, the Wyoming National Guard mustered into service at the post and departed for duty in the Philippines. In the Battle of Manila (1898), the Guard was the first battalion to reach the walls of the city and to raise the flag. In 1901, troops from Fort Russell returned to the Philippines to put down an insurrection for independence during the Philippine–American War laying ground for the occupation. They returned with a Queen Mary Tudor cannon forged in 1557 and two of the three Balangiga bells, which had been used by insurrectionists as a signal to launch an ambush on American troops. The bells were returned to the Philippines in 2018. The seven-foot cannon, the only one of its kind in America is on display near the base flagpole.
In 1906, Secretary of War William Howard Taft recommended Fort Russell expand to a brigade-size post. By 1910, the construction of red brick quarters, two-story barracks, offices and stables had tripled the area of the post. During this era, artillery units were assigned there, and the facility increased in size to accommodate troop training with the latest 20th century weapons. From 1913 to 1916, during the Mexican Revolution, post artillery units were stationed along the border to prevent the struggle from coming onto American soil. During World War I, the post served as a mobilization point and training facility for field artillery and cavalry groups. As World War I began, Fort Russell had become one of the largest military posts in the United States.
What stands as quarters No. 2 today was, in 1885, the post commander's home. By tradition, the post commander always occupied the largest house on post. Hence, the commander moved into quarters No. 8 when it was built in 1903. Quarters No. 2 was then assigned to the family of Captain John "Black Jack" Pershing, who later led American forces in Europe during World War I. Pershing married U.S. Senator Francis E. Warren's daughter, but she preferred staying with her father when her husband was on campaign. Pershing would be promoted four ranks from his permanent rank of captain to brigadier general within two years of his marriage, the Senate's approval of his nomination by President Theodore Roosevelt aided by his father-in-law's influence.
Fort Warren, 1930–1945
In 1927, the last cavalry units left the installation, ending 60 years of cavalry history at Fort Russell. President Hoover issued a proclamation in 1930 which renamed the post "Fort Francis E. Warren," to honor Wyoming's territorial and first state governor. Warren, who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Civil War at the age of 19, was a U.S. Senator for 37 years, dying in office in November 1929 at the age of 85. Other well-known figures stationed here include General Billy Mitchell (the "Father of the Air Force"), General Mark Clark (World War II General in Europe), Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis Sr. (first black general), Dr. Walter Reed and singer Sammy Davis, Jr. Entertainer Chris LeDoux grew up at Warren AFB.
During World War II, Fort Warren was the training center for up to 20,000 of the Quartermaster Corps. More than 280 wooden buildings were constructed without insulation and interior walls to temporarily house the increased number of troops. In the harsh Wyoming winter, waking up in these barracks often meant shaking snow from one's blanket before heading for the just-as-cold communal showers. A prisoner of war camp was also constructed at that time.
United States Air Force At the end of World War II, city officials in Spokane, Washington, had tried to acquire joint use of facilities at Geiger Field, Spokane which Air Training Command (ATC) had used as its Aviation Engineer Training Center. The Army Air Forces were opposed to sharing facilities with civilian authorities, so its headquarters directed ATC to transfer the training mission from Geiger Field to Fort Warren in Wyoming, and training stopped on 15 May 1947.
Air Training Command, 1947–1958
On 1 June 1947 Air Training Command assumed jurisdiction of Fort Warren, the 463d Air Force Base Unit was activated to manage the support facilities, and the 3450th Technical Training Wing was activated for conducting training. Training began on 7 July 1947. In September 1947, Fort Warren, along with other Army Air Force facilities, was transferred into the newly established United States Air Force.
In March 1949, HQ ATC was directed to re-program, as a part of an overall restructuring to a 48-group Air Force. The statement of trained personnel requirements gave priority to radio, radar, armament, and aircraft maintenance training programs. ATC needed to find additional space for these courses. Air Force announced on 17 January (1949?) that all aviation engineering courses at Fort Warren, with the exception of "powerman", would transfer to the Army's Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The "fixed wire courses" at Scott AFB went to Fort Warren, so that Scott had room to expand its radio mechanic school.
On 7 October 1949, Fort Francis E. Warren became Francis E. Warren AFB. As a result of the Korean War, Air Training Command had to process thousands of volunteer reservists; between late July and the end of October 1950, about 20,000 reservists were brought on active duty, most of which was done at Warren AFB.
In 1957, in response to budget reductions, Air Training Command formed a base utilization board to examine all its facilities, looking at existing and future training requirements. That board concluded that two bases could be released —Francis E. Warren and Scott AFB, Illinois. Warren AFB had a number of strikes against it, including poor weather conditions limiting training to seven months of the year, lack of a flying field, and many inadequate buildings. In 1958, Air Training Command received permission from Headquarters USAF to phase out its training programs at Warren AFB.
Effective 1 February 1958, the base transferred from Air Training Command to Strategic Air Command. Training continued until 24 March 1959, and on 1 May ATC discontinued its 3450th Technical Training Group.
Strategic Air Command, 1958–2005 The 389th Air Base Group was established on 1 February 1958 to take control of the former ATC facilities as part of the transfer to Strategic Air Command (SAC). The provisional 4320th Strategic Missile Wing was established that date with responsibility for 24 Atlas missile sites under SAC. Although not the first designated missile wing, Warren became the first fully operational ICBM base in the Air Force.
706th/389th Strategic Missile Wing Atlas D and E missiles, 1958–1965
The project design for the above-ground SM-65D Atlas ICBM launch and control facilities at "Site A" was to be completed by mid-May 1958 and construction finished in November 1959. Design revisions delayed the project several months. Construction began at a location northwest of Cheyenne in late 1958 for the facilities of the recently activated 706th Strategic Missile Wing, which would control the ICBMs. On 15 September 1959, the first Atlas D missile to deploy away from Vandenberg AFB, California, went to the 564th Strategic Missile Squadron stationed at the Warren I complex. A month later, Warren AFB became the recipient of the first air-transported Atlas missile. In the presence of General Power, the Commander in Chief of SAC, the first Atlas D complex was turned over to the 564th SMS and declared operational on 9 August 1960.