Air Force Update to Impact Panhandle

The U.S. Air Force is planning some major upgrades to its missile defense system, including those in western Nebraska, eastern Wyoming and northern Colorado.

Joseph Coslett and Terry Higgins, both of the Public Affairs office at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., met with the Cheyenne County commissioners on July 6. The meeting was in part a public relations tour, an opportunity for Air Force officials to meet local officials.

During the county commissioners meeting, Joseph “Cos” Coslett, Operations Chief, 90 Missile Wing Public Affairs office, and Terry Higgins, Chief of Plans, discussed plans to upgrade the missile system and what it could mean for the region.

Higgins said the project is a 30-year plan that will include an influx of construction workers.

The project will include a complete renovation of existing missile sites and will likely have more military vehicles in the move, according to Higgins. Coslett compared some of the work to having a piece of equipment with no available replacement parts.

“This is going to be over several years,” he said.

The project is, at least before the public eye, in its infancy. Survey teams are working the area in preparation for the next stage. Coslett and Higgins said the survey teams are currently in the Pawnee Grasslands (northern Colorado). They also said vehicles will be clearly marked, and surveyors will have identification.

Coslett said they are the contact between the county and its residents, and the Air Force.

“We're your one phone call away from getting an answer,” he said.

He added many of the questions likely do not yet have answers.

“A lot of these answers we do not have yet,” he said.

Some of the variables not answered yet is where and when the project will start, Coslett said. He said there could be a community meeting as soon as August or September.