Right to left, PBS NewsHour special correspondent Jamie McIntyre with 1st Lt. Kathleen Fosterling and Deputy Missile Crew Commander 2nd Lt. Christina Camp, inside the underground nuclear launch-control center. Image by Dan Sagalyn. United States, 2016.
Washington Examiner: How Air Force's ICBM missileers deal with stress and isolation during coronavirus restrictions in the middle of nowhere F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyoming — Mountain biking and long runs in southern Wyoming and northern Colorado in between 24-hour shifts 80 feet underground are how nuclear missile operator Capt. Emma Stonehill has coped with the isolation of COVID-19. “We’re not downstairs with the switch flipped on for two weeks straight,” Stonehill explained to the Washington Examiner about her responsibility to monitor up to 50 intercontinental ballistic missiles that are on alert for launch at the president’s word. Ever since COVID-19 lockdowns began at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, where the 20th Air Force is responsible for the nation’s three wings of ICBMs, the highly trained airmen who “pull alert” at the controls were faced with increased isolation pressures to prevent the spread of the virus. The service members who oversee the nation’s 450 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles were forced to find creative ways to cope with the increased isolation.
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WNU Editor: It is definitely a sacrifice.
