Missile maintenance: scaling heights for mission readiness

Senior Airman Christion Bartlett, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron missile handling team team chief, climbs a transport erector March 3, 2025, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. Constant training is essential to maintaining proficiency on MHT teams. Airmen practice loading procedures, emergency responses, safety protocols and familiarize themselves with all system updates. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)

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Missile maintenance: scaling heights for mission readiness

Senior Airman Christion Bartlett, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron missile handling team team chief, climbs a transport erector March 3, 2025, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. While doing a routine training exercise, the MHT suspected a malfunction in one of the hoist mechanisms responsible for lowering the training missile back into the silo. To visually verify this, Senior Airman Bartlett was required to access the hoist sensor panel located at the top of the TE. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)

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Missile maintenance: scaling heights for mission readiness

Airman 1st Class Vincent Rymar, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron missile management team cage man trainee, lowers himself into a trainer missile silo March 3, 2025, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. Earning certification as an MMT technician requires six months of intensive training, combining classroom instruction with hands-on experience in the missile training silo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)

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Missile maintenance: scaling heights for mission readiness

Airman 1st Class Vincent Rymar, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron missile management team cage man trainee, removes the hoist straps from a trainer Minuteman III missile March 3, 2025, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. As part of their certification process, Malmstrom’s missile management and handling teams are required to complete a training at the T-9 training silo, involving the collaborative removal and subsequent reinstallation of a training missile, simulating critical operational procedures. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)

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Missile maintenance: scaling heights for mission readiness

Senior Airman Christion Bartlett, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron missile handling team team chief, buckles himself into a harness March 3, 2025, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. Missile maintenance teams regularly inspect missiles, launch equipment, handling equipment and support systems. This includes visual checks, testing connections and potentially swapping out components on a rotating schedule. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)

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Missile maintenance: scaling heights for mission readiness

Senior Airman Christion Bartlett, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron missile handling team team chief, climbs a transport erector March 3, 2025, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. Missile handling teams are the "hands" that carry out the specific tasks related to missile maintenance and operation, while missile management teams are the "brains" behind the operation, ensuring the missile force is ready to respond to any threat. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)

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Missile maintenance: scaling heights for mission readiness

Published March 7, 2025
By Senior Airman Mary Bowers
341st Missile Wing Public Affairs

MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- Senior Airman Christion Bartlett, 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron missile handling team team chief, climbs a transport erector March 3, 2025, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. Constant training is essential to maintaining proficiency on MHT teams. Airmen practice loading procedures, emergency responses, safety protocols and familiarize themselves with all system updates. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)