341st Missile Wing: A brief look

The 341st Missile Wing, headquartered at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., is one of three U.S. Air Force Bases that maintains and operates the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.

The 341st Missile Wing reports directly to 20th Air Force, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., and is part of Air Force Global Strike Command, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. 

Mission 

The mission of the 341st Missile Wing is to defend America with safe, secure, effective nuclear forces and combat-ready Airmen.

People 

• Approximately 4,000 people, including more than 3,300 active-duty and more than 700 civilians, comprise the 341st Missile Wing.
• Malmstrom Air Force Base is also host to a tenant unit, the 819th RED HORSE Squadron, which accounts for nearly 500 personnel. 

Organizations 

The 341st Missile Wing is made up of a wing staff and five groups:

• 341st Operations Group
• 341st Maintenance Group
• 341st Mission Support Group
• 341st Security Forces Group
• 341st Medical Group

The 341st Operations Group consists of more than 500 operators, administrators, chefs and facility managers and is composed of three missile squadrons:

• Operations support
• Helicopters
• Standardization and evaluation element

Each of the operations group's three missile squadrons are responsible for:

• Five Missile Alert Facilities
• 50 Minuteman III ICBMs

The units of the 341st Operations Group include five squadrons:

• 10th Missile Squadron
• 12th Missile Squadron
• 490th Missile Squadron
• 341st Operations Support Squadron
• 40th Helicopter Squadron 

The 341st Maintenance Group provides the maximum number of fully modernized, combat capable Minuteman III missiles and the command and control required to execute launch per higher command authority. The units of the 341st Maintenance Group include:

• The 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron
• The 341st Maintenance Operations Squadron
• The 341st Munitions Squadron

The 341st Mission Support Group provides world-class support to enable the deterrent mission of the 341st Missile Wing, while preparing and deploying expeditionary combat support forces in support of the combatant commanders. The support group provides the war-fighting and peace-time support to the 341st Missile Wing. This includes:

• Supporting 43 units and tenants
• Resource protection
• Engineering and construction
• Disaster preparedness
• Personnel administration
• Communication services
• Recreation facilities
• Dining and lodging services
• Worldwide contingency mobility forces

The units of the 341st Mission Support Group include:

• 341st Civil Engineer Squadron
• 341st Communications Squadron
• 341st Logistics Readiness Squadron
• 341st Contracting Squadron
• 341st Force Support Squadron

The 341st Security Forces Group, the largest security forces group in the Air Force, ensures the most stringent security forces' support to the largest intercontinental ballistic missile complex in the world through effective management of all war-fighting and peacetime security taskings assigned to the 341st Missile Wing. The units of the 341st Security Forces Group include:

• 341st Security Forces Squadron
• 341st Missile Security Forces Squadron
• 741st Missile Security Forces Squadron
• 341st Security Support Squadron
• Tactical Response Force unit

The 341st Medical Group is responsible for all medical and dental care for nearly 15,000 beneficiaries throughout north-central Montana. The group's mission is to maximize 341st Missile Wing personnel health, fitness and readiness through comprehensive managed health care systems emphasizing health promotion and preventive medicine. The units of the 341st Medical Group include:

• 341st Medical Operations Squadron
• 341st Medical Support Squadron

Resources

• 150 Minuteman III missiles 
• 8 UH-1N "Huey" helicopters 
• Malmstrom Air Force Base is also host to the 819th RED HORSE squadron

Malmstrom: Security Forces chief removed

Malmstrom Air Force Base announced yesterday that the 341st Security Forces Group commander has been relieved of command.

Col. David Lynch was relieved of his duties Thursday 21st by 341st Missile Wing commander Col. Robert Stanley “due to a loss of confidence in Lynch’s ability to lead his group,” according to a news release.

Col. John Wilcox, Air Force Global Strike Command Security Forces Division director, will serve as an interim commander until a replacement is found. There is no timeline for selecting a new commander, according to the 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs Office. The missile wing received an unsatisfactory rating this month during a Nuclear Surety Inspection, but the wing continues to remain certified to perform its mission, according to the release.

The inspection happens every two years for bases that handle nuclear weapons. The release states Lynch’s removal is not related to MAFB’s recent Nuclear Surety Inspection failure. But it added: “However, as the 341 MW prepares for a re-inspection, Stanley must have full confidence in the leadership ability of his commanders.” According to Public Affairs, Lynch’s removal was not related to any misconduct. Lynch did not meet the expectations of wing commanders, Public Affairs said.

MAFB spokesman Capt. Chase McFarland said Lynch will “transition to retirement.” Lynch became commander of the 341st Security Forces Group in June 2012, after 37 years in the armed forces. He served in Grenada in 1983 and in Iraq in 2005 and 2010, according to the MAFB website. During a portion of an exercise in one of the 13 major graded areas unrelated to the command and control of nuclear weapons, a team did not demonstrate the correct procedures. The inspector general failed the team on that exercise, which resulted in the unsatisfactory rating.

According to the news release, the Security Forces Group has more than 1,200 personnel and four squadrons. It provides security protection for the 341st Missile Wing, 15 launch control centers and 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos in 13,800 square miles of central Montana.