Col. Ronald G. AllenJr., began service as commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in April 2016.
He was among 1.317 eligible colonels for promotion to the rank of brigadier general and at the end of December the U.S. Senate confirmed him for promotion to brigadier general in the United States Air Force.
“It’s a great honor to serve with someone of Col. Allen’s caliber and character,” said Col. Peter Bonetti, 341st MW vice commander. “I’m grateful to see the Senate confirmation. It’s an acknowledgement that Col. Allen’s senior leadership is vital to the Air Force and the United States.”
The wing’s 4.000 personnel defend the United States with combat-ready Airmen and nuclear forces. They are responsible for base support, maintenance, security and operation of 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles located throughout a 13.800 square-mile complex in central Montana.
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 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.
The commander of a nuclear missile wing that failed a surety inspection earlier this month likened the results to failing a complex physics problem by being off by a “fraction of a decimal point.”
Col. Rob Stanley, commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., declined to say what part of the inspection the wing failed because doing so would give too much information to adversaries. The wing, which handles 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, failed because of tactical-level errors during one exercise during the inspection. The failed inspection comes about three months after the Air Force sidelined 19 missile officers from the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., after the wing was rated “marginal” on one aspect of the inspection.
