91st MW cable maintainers stand strong despite increased development Published Aug. 30, 2012 By Senior Airman Jose L. Hernandez Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The historic oil boom in North Dakota has brought with it an expansion in development all across the state and it looks to continue in the coming years, according to state officials. As the country's number two oil-producing state, generating more than half a million barrels of oil per day, the industry's expansion has not gone unnoticed by Air Force officials. Minot Air Force Base's 91st Missile Wing currently operates, maintains and secures a fleet of 150 Minuteman III missiles located in underground launch facilities scattered across the northwest part of the state. And with a communication network cable system of 1,535 miles spanning across 8,500 square miles, new development has prompted an increase in awareness by Air Force personnel to ensure the safety and security of all its cable assets. Team Minot's Cable Affairs and Hardened Intersite Cable Systems divisions have been at the forefront in working to mitigate cable mishandling by developers. When local excavation, utility work, or pipeline installations etc. are done underground, developers are required to call the North Dakota One Call line to check for any underground systems that may exist within the proposed excavation area. With coordination from Cable Affairs, the excavation process runs a lot smoother and prevents any abuse to missile cables. However, these check-in procedures don't always occur and it sometimes causes missile cable to be damaged during excavation. While the cable systems are an integral part of the communication structure for launch control centers and facilities, the advanced layout of cables does not hinder the mission when damages like these occur. Nevertheless, ensuring these cables are properly maintained is crucial to ensuring Minot AFB's 100 percent readiness capabilities at all times. In the event that missile cable is damaged, HICS personnel will evaluate, assess, and execute repairing procedures. One of the difficult parts about fixing missile cable is due to the fact that the wires are no longer in production, said Senior Airman Matthew Hardin, 91st MMXS HICS team chief. Thus, splice cases are used to re-connect a cable which is time consuming and can be difficult but serves as an effective way for re-wiring cables. Master Sgt. Allan Haskell, 91st Missile Maintenance, is head of the unit in charge of maintaining the HICS network and he explained that over the past two years, workload has almost increased threefold. Yet, despite reduction in personnel, Haskell said the nine Airmen and two civilians assigned to HICS are able to get the job done. All this work is done on top of routine maintenance on cable systems including performance and operational checks. Routine maintenance ranges from servicing the electrical surge arrestor rooms, cable air dryers (which prevent water from entering splice cases and pressurizes the cable system among other things), to doing periodic inspections at the base cable yard. At the HICS maintenance work center, personnel are constantly monitoring alerts to the pressure monitor receiver-transmitter equipment installed throughout the missile alert facilities. This equipment notifies HICS personnel of any drop in any cable pressure drops which indicates damage to cables. At times, state development projects require missile cable to be lowered further underground and HICS will assist with that as well. With their own excavating equipment, HICS appropriately handles all matters pertaining to cable maintenance and jobs. With many other duties entrusted to HICS, it's important to remember the vital support they provide in maintaining 91st MW's Launch Facility communication assets because they are crucial for the continuation of the mission at Minot AFB.