F.E. Warren Air Force base is rich in history.
When President Lincoln and Congress set plans for the transcontinental railroad, they recognized the need for a military installation to protect Union Pacific workers from hostile Indians. On July 4, 1867, the railroad established its mountain region headquarters at Crow Creek Crossing, later known as Cheyenne. A few weeks later, the U.S. Cavalry moved from temporary headquarters in Cheyenne to a point three miles west and established Fort D. A. Russell. Thus, 1867 was the beginning of a city and a fort, and both have grown together over the years.
Even though this installation became an Air Force base in 1947, the only conventional airfield ever located at F. E. Warren AFB was a single dirt strip. This field, never used by modern day pilots, was made famous by World War I ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacker who crashed his plane on the field and survived. The airfield was used in 1919 by the "Western Flying Circus," then led by then-Major Carl "Tooey" Spaatz (later promoted to general and the first Air Force Chief of Staff). However, the base does maintain an active heliport which is primarily utilized by Air Force UH-1N Twin Huey helicopters of the 37th Helicopter Squadron to ferry missile launch crews and maintenance personnel to various launch control centers and missile silos surrounding the base.
F. E. Warren AFB was initially used as a training facility. In 1958, the 4320th Strategic Missile Wing was established with responsibility for 24 Atlas missile sites under Strategic Air Command. Although not the first designated missile wing, Warren became the first fully operational missile wing in the command. On September 2, 1960, the 564th Strategic Missile Squadron was declared the first fully operational Intercontinental Ballistic Missile squadron.
Only two years later, the new Minuteman replaced the Atlas, and on July 1, 1963, the 90th Strategic Missile Wing was activated. During the early 1970s, the SAC ICBM Force Modernization Program began replacing Minuteman I with Minuteman III missiles. In November 1973, the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron marked the transition by becoming the first all Minuteman III squadron at Warren. The 90th Strategic Missile Wing was selected to base the Peacekeeper missiles in 1975. Warren was home to 50 Peacekeeper missiles from 1986 to 2005, when deactivation of the missiles and the 400th Missile Squadron was completed. Warren missile fields currently maintain 150 Minuteman III missiles, split evenly between the 319th, 320th and 321st Missile Squadrons.
During a period of Air Force reorganization in the early 1990s, Warren transitioned from the deactivating SAC to newly-established Air Combat Command, and finally, on July 1, 1993 to the Air Force Space Command. This realignment was designed to take advantage of the similarities between missile launch and space launch operations. The 90th Strategic Missile Wing was also renamed the 90th Missile Wing. The wing became the 90th Space Wing on October 1, 1997.
