New south gate marks start of Sentinel work at Malmstrom

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — Malmstrom Air Force Base moves ahead with a new south gate, marking the start of construction tied to the Sentinel missile program.

A large crowd of base officials, project partners and local leaders attended the groundbreaking ceremony. NonStop Local attended the event as officials highlighted what they described as a key step for the base's future.

The project is part of Malmstrom's effort to modernize its intercontinental ballistic missile systems. Base leaders said that work began with the new south gate.

"Generations of missile leaders have thought about, known about, or needed to happen. It's always been over the horizon, but here we are making it a reality," said Lt. Col. John Mayer, commander of Air Force Global Strike Detachment 11.

Mayer said the Sentinel program would replace the Minuteman III system at the base. He explained that the new gate would support projects needed to field the LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile.

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"We’ve had Minuteman III online here since the 1970s and if you go back to Minuteman I, we’ve been on here as a strategic deterrent since 1962. So Sentinel is the next piece of that," Mayer said.

The Sentinel program also includes several infrastructure projects on and around the base. Those plans include new missile silos, utility corridor networks and maintenance facilities.

"The very beginning of deployment of Sentinel starts with this gate so it’s the first Sentinel devoted on-base construction that we’ve seen. Once Sentinel is fielded, it’s going to be the land base leg of the triad in Montana through 2075 at least," Mayer said.

Mayer said construction in the missile field would begin within the next couple of years. He said base officials were still conducting environmental studies and assessing the land.