North Dakota Missile Commander Relieved…
By Major Bill Donahue, USMC -RET | Thursday, October 15th, 2009
- Colonel Ayres
BISMARCK, N.D. – The missile wing commander at North Dakota’s Minot Air Force Base was relieved of his command after a series of missteps at the unit, including two crashes of vehicles carrying missile parts in just more than a year.
Col. Christopher Ayres was not ousted for any misconduct or wrongdoing, but the Air Force said it had lost confidence in his ability to command the base’s 91st Missile Wing given recent incidents, which also included three ballistic missile crew members falling asleep while holding classified launch code devices.
The 91st Missile Wing oversees 150 Minuteman III missiles, sunk in hardened silos, in central and western North Dakota.
