Minuteman III makeover

Sgt. Michael Howard stands upon the 110-ton blast door, a living-room-sized slab of concrete and steel sitting over the Minuteman III nuclear missile perched below.

The missile isn’t live. If it were, Howard tells the group of journalists, the hatch over the access tube wouldn’t be left open. This, we’re told, is the missile’s most vulnerable moment — the only opportunity a well-timed infiltrator may have in gaining access to the warhead.

After September 11, 2001, when the 341st Space Wing locked down Montana’s 23,500-acre missile field, security upgrades to the Minuteman III defense system began in earnest.

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