Air Force Holds Town Hall Meeting at Sidney High School

SIDNEY-- Representatives from the U.S. Air Force and Northrop/Grumman were on hand on the evening of August 7 to answer questions from Cheyenne County residents about the Sentinel Missile Project. After opening remarks by Lt. Col. Eric Green of Warren Air Force Base, Taylor Wharton, Acquisition Program Manager from Hill Air Force Base in Utah fielded questions from those in attendance. Most questions concerned specific circumstances that individual landowners had, like easement and fencing questions, and the U.S Air Force had specialists on hand to answer these types of inquiries after the presentation. Also, people were able to submit questions online in real time, which were read and answered as they arrived. The U.S. Air Force has committed to holding these town-hall style meetings every six months for the Cheyenne County community.

The Sentinel Project represents the modernization of the land-based leg of the nuclear triad. The LGM-35A Sentinel missile will replace the aging LGM-30 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. The Sentinel ICBMs will replace 400 Minuteman III ICBMs currently in service for over 50 years in Air Force missile fields in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota and here in Western Nebraska. Maintenance, storage, testing and support functions will encompass the areas around these sites.