CGO Tour

First Lt. Cory Elder, 321st Missile Squadron missile combat crew commander, explains different instruments on a control panel Dec. 9, 2013, in the Kilo-01 Missile Alert Facility Launch Control Center and discusses what a missileer’s duties entail. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jason Wiese)

CGO Tour

First Lt. Jason McLaughlin, 90th Force Support Squadron, exits the bus that brought him and other 90th Missile Wing CGOs to Kilo-01 Missile Alert Facility in Dix, Neb., Dec. 9, 2013, for a tour of the facility. The tour allowed CGOs not directly involved in missile operations to become familiar with the mission they support every day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jason Wiese)

CGO Tour

Staff Sgt. Shaun Haynes, 321st Missile Squadron chef, and Staff Sgt. Clifford Cochran, 321st MS facility manager, welcome CGOs to the Kilo-01 Missile Alert Facility to give them a safety brief and tell them about their roles at the MAF Dec. 9, 2013. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jason Wiese)

CGO Tour

Airman 1st Class Robert Allore, 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron, describes the functions of an M68 Close Combat Optic used on an M4 carbine, which security forces are armed with while patrolling F.E. Warren Air Force Base’s missile complex, Dec. 9, 2013, in the Kilo-01 Missile Alert Facility. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jason Wiese)

CGO immersion tour at MAF broadens horizons, perspectives

Published Dec. 10, 2013
By Airman 1st Class Brandon Valle
90th Missile Wing Public Affairs

F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- A group of 10 company grade officers from various career fields of F.E. Warren participated in an immersion tour of the 90th Operations Group Dec. 9. The tour included a pre-departure briefing in the operations building, a tour of the building and a visit to the Kilo-1 missile alert facility and launch control center.

"The general purpose of the tours is for CGOs on base to become familiar with the different missions of the base," said 2nd Lt. Rebecca Prill, 321st Missile Squadron. "This particular tour focuses on the mission of the operations group, particularly what occurs out in the field on a day to day basis. This includes the missileers, missile chefs, facility managers and our security forces support."

Through the various tours we host, the CGOs of F.E. Warren get an inside look at how individual groups and squadrons operate, said 1st Lt. Klinton Holscher, CGO council president.

"It is important for other CGOs to understand what the different roles are," Prill said. "During the tour, CGOs get the opportunity to network as well as learn and understand the mission of the base as a whole."

With the role of missileers being the main force of the mission on F.E. Warren, it is important for CGOs to understand what they do in order to help support them better, said Holscher.

"The role of the missileer is unique in that it is not a traditional job." Prill said. "It includes deploying to the field and being on alert in a launch control center underground for 24 hours.
This leads to a varying schedule, unlike most CGOs. Understanding that and understanding the role that missileers have in nuclear deterrence is important for CGOs at F.E. Warren to increase awareness of this wing's mission."

The operations group immersion tour is just one of the many immersion tours the CGOC puts on each year. The tours helps CGOs from other career fields understand the needs of the others.

"If we as CGOs have a better grasp of what our counterparts require, we will be able to provide better service, which can ultimately impact both tactical and strategic decisions for the Air Force," Holscher said.

The next immersion tour is currently being designed to tour the 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron in late January or early February.