MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- Maj. Gen. H.D. Polumbo, 9th Air Force commander, Air Combat Command, was at Malmstrom Aug. 25-27 to visit the 819th RED HORSE Squadron, a unit within his command. The visit was also an opportunity for Polumbo to tour the 341st Missile Wing and understand the nuclear mission that the 819th RHS supports.
The 819th RHS, a rapid engineer deployable, heavy operations repair squadron, has a distinctly separate mission from the missile wing but is considered a tenant unit while garrisoned here. The 341st MW is assigned to 20th Air Force and is one of Air Force Global Strike Command's three intercontinental ballistic missile wings.
Polumbo, a command pilot, flew an F-16 Fighting Falcon Aug. 25 from his headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, to Great Falls International Airport, Montana.
At Malmstrom, Polumbo met with Col. Rod Pieri, 819th RHS commander, and squadron leadership to discuss professional development of Airmen including training, supervision and promotion criteria. He was joined by Chief Master Sgt. Scott Fuller, 9th Air Force command chief, who travelled separately to Great Falls.
The next morning, Polumbo and Fuller reviewed squadron local project sites including new construction at the 341st Security Forces Group's Warrior Launch Facility tactics trainer, and road repairs at the weapons storage area and Recreation Road. The general then met with Col. Tom Wilcox, 341st MW commander, to learn about the ICBM mission.
Wilcox accompanied Polumbo and Fuller on a tour of Missile Alert Facility Bravo-01. A helicopter flight to the MAF provided the visitors an aerial view of missile sites, and demonstrated the importance of the 40th Helicopter Squadron's UH-1N Iroquois helicopters to the nuclear mission.
At the MAF, Polumbo met defenders from the 341st Missile Security Forces Squadron, a missile chef from the 341st Force Support Squadron, and a facility manager from the 341st Operations Group. He also toured the site's launch control center and talked with the 10th Missile Squadron missile combat crew on alert.
The ICBM tour concluded on base at the T-9 launch facility maintenance trainer. Polumbo received mission briefs from the 341st Maintenance Operations Squadron and the 341st Security Forces Group's Tactical Response Force. He also watched as the TRF breached, swept and secured the site. Afterward, Polumbo acknowledged the importance of the nuclear mission, and thanked the Airmen for their service.
"The nation does not know how professional you are and how dedicated you are," he said. "I can see it in every move you make."
Polumbo then resumed his visit with the 819th RHS and travelled to the squadron's phase II field training exercise already in progress. A tent city set up on base near the weapons storage area simulated the squadron's deployment. The general operated a back hoe and a front end loader at the site, talked with Airmen about their specialties, and helped serve the evening meal at the field kitchen.
Polumbo also conducted an all-call while at the field training exercise. Standing on a flatbed trailer, he spoke to a formation of approximately 130 red-capped Airmen and offered words of encouragement.
"As a downrange commander multiple times, I never took the RED HORSE for granted," Polumbo said. "I appreciate what you do, what the colored hat means, and what the camaraderie means. Your esprit de corps and professionalism means something to me as an Airman, and I'm proud to wear the red hat with you today."