Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center stands up merged ICBM Systems Directorate

  • Published
  • By Aimee Malone
  • Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center is reorganizing its execution directorates to better serve the nuclear enterprise.

The Sentinel Systems Directorate and the Minuteman III Systems Directorate merged Aug. 27 to become the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Systems Directorate.
It will be responsible for providing the most responsive nuclear deterrence capability and sustainment for Air Force Global Strike Command through two major programs, the LGM-30G Minuteman III and LGM-35A Sentinel.

Brig. Gen. William Rogers, who is dual hatted as the Air Force program executive officer for ICBMs, assumed leadership of the new directorate in a ceremony at Hill AFB, Utah.

“I am excited to help AFNWC begin this new chapter,” Rogers said. “Placing our ICBM programs under one directorate will help streamline processes, improving how we coordinate with our partners in the nuclear enterprise. We are committed to ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of the ICBM force.”
Rogers joined AFNWC in April when the Air Force established the new PEO position for ICBMs. As PEO, he is responsible for the life-cycle management, inception to retirement, of the Minuteman III and Sentinel acquisition programs.

Maj. Gen. John Newberry, commander of the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, officiated the ceremony.

He said this reorganization is part of AFNWC’s ongoing efforts to optimize its processes to better meet the needs of the Air Force.

“In order to better sustain our current capabilities and modernize to meet future demands, we have to integrate and collaborate at all levels,” Newberry said. “Joining two related programs under one directorate may seem like a small step, but this change is part of a larger paradigm shift. At AFNWC and throughout the Air Force, we are working to foster horizontal integration across all weapons systems, major commands and services.”

Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, also attended the standup ceremony for the new directorate. He spoke about the importance of both the PEO for ICBMs position and AFNWC’s mission to deliver nuclear capabilities warfighters use every day to deter and assure.

“Nuclear deterrence remains one of the top priorities of the United States and its allies,” Hunter said. “This new PEO position reporting to me and the directorate realignment will support successful restructuring of the Sentinel program and help the Air Force deliver its weapons systems on a schedule that ensures our ability to sustain the nuclear deterrent.”

Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, and U.S. Rep. Blake Moore of Utah also attended the ceremony.

The ICBM Systems Directorate is principally located at Hill AFB, with operating locations at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming; Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts; Malmstrom AFB, Montana; Minot AFB, North Dakota; Vandenberg Space Force Base, California; and Washington, D.C. The new directorate has a combined total of about 1,000 military and civilian members.

It will execute over $6 billion annually for the land-based leg of the nuclear triad, which includes the modernization and sustainment of ICBMs and associated weapon system command and control, flight and launch systems, missile silos, and other ground infrastructure.

The rest of the center’s organizational structure remains unchanged. Headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, AFNWC is responsible for synchronizing all aspects of nuclear materiel management on behalf of Air Force Materiel Command, in direct support of Air Force Global Strike Command. It currently has more than 2,000 military and civilian members assigned to 20 locations worldwide.