Francis E. Warren Air Force Base

Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, located approximately 3 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, is a United States Air Force installation. Established in 1867 as Fort David Allen Russell by the U.S. Army, it is the oldest continuously active military installation within the Air Force. It was renamed Fort Francis E. Warren in 1930 and transferred to the United States Army Air Forces in 1947, then to the USAF on September 18, 1947.

The base's history traces back to the Railroad Act of 1862, intended to protect transcontinental railroad workers. It evolved from a frontier infantry and cavalry post into a strategic missile facility. During World War II, it served as a training center for the Quartermaster Corps and housed a prisoner of war camp. In 1947, Air Training Command assumed jurisdiction, and in 1958, the base transferred to Strategic Air Command, becoming the first fully operational ICBM base with the deployment of Atlas missiles.

Currently, F.E. Warren AFB is home to the 90th Missile Wing, assigned to the Twentieth Air Force, Air Force Global Strike Command. The 90th Missile Wing operates 150 LGM-30G Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, maintaining them on constant alert. The Twentieth Air Force, also co-located at Warren AFB, commands all U.S. Air Force ICBMs. The base notably lacks a paved runway for fixed-wing aircraft, utilizing turf runways and helipads for UH-1N Twin Huey helicopters of the 37th Helicopter Squadron.

F.E. Warren AFB has been listed as a Superfund site since 1990 due to extensive soil and groundwater contamination, primarily from Trichloroethylene (TCE) used for degreasing. Remediation efforts are ongoing, with projections indicating a multi-century clean-up process. The base is undergoing construction of a new underground Weapons Storage and Maintenance Facility to enhance the security of nuclear assets.