BRANCH: U.S. Air Force LOCATION: Heath, Ohio TEAM: Defense, Space & Security When Mike Penrose joined the U.S. Air Force in 1989, he had thoughts of maybe getting to see the world. Instead, he got to see a lot of remote Wyoming, where he was stationed at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base as an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, technician. Located a few miles from Cheyenne, the base is one of the country’s strategic missile sites, and Penrose began his Air Force career maintaining the MX ballistic missile system, also known as the Peacekeeper. The Peacekeeper system was eventually disbanded, leaving the Minuteman as America’s mainstay ICBM. Penrose was also involved early on at the Wyoming base helping ensure U.S. compliance with the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START. That treaty with the former Soviet Union, which was signed in 1991, required both nations to reduce their arsenals of nuclear warheads and the missiles and bombers capable of delivering such weapons. “After performing field maintenance, I spent time as an instructor, teaching missile maintenance, safety equipment maintenance and vehicle maintenance,” Penrose said. “We lived by the saying ‘green time is prime time,’ meaning we were proud to serve to ensure our ICBMs stayed on strategic alert, ready to defend our country 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” When he retired from the Air Force after 20 years, Penrose joined the Boeing team in Cheyenne to upgrade ICBM silos. Today, he works on the Minuteman III guidance system at the Boeing site in Heath, Ohio. “The Air Force taught me service before self, personal reliability and quality in everything you do,” Penrose said. “It’s the same at Boeing, being part of the team on a missile navigation system that supports our national defense.” Mike Penrose ICBM Quality specialist PHOTO: BOB FERGUSON | BOEING 42 BOEING FRONTIERS
Frontiers November 2015 Issue
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