CHUGWATER, Wyo. — They wait silently beneath these rolling ranchlands, invisible to passing cars, impervious to cattle lumbering overhead but ready to fly in an instant.
A small metal rod protruding from the ground often is the only hint of what's below. Come too close, and a silent alarm triggers an instant response from heavily armed guards.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Monday January 03, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 52 words Type of Material: Correction
MX missile -- A Dec. 26 article in Section A about the phasing out of the MX missile said that in 2002, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin agreed to reduce the two nations' nuclear warhead stockpiles. It was George W. Bush who made the agreement with Putin.
At stake is the security of America's -- and perhaps the world's -- ultimate weapon of mass destruction: the MX missile. The 71-foot-high missile, also called the Peacekeeper, can travel halfway around the world before striking within 400 feet of its target.
Since 1986, the weapons have been the quintessentially quiet neighbor in these parts, keeping to themselves but capable of enormous destruction if provoked. Now the hulking rockets that confounded the Soviet Union, prompted street protests in Europe, inspired Hollywood thrillers and terrified millions are fading away.
For the last two years, MX numbers have shrunk from 50 to 13. By next December, none will be left. And their demise has been bittersweet for the crews trained to care for and, if necessary, launch them.
"There is a nostalgia in seeing something so powerful go away," said Capt. Carrie Owen, a missile operator at the Romeo One Launch Control Center located 60 feet below the wind-swept plains of eastern Wyoming. "We are all so proud to be a part of it."
The facility closed down last week. Its codes were removed, its targeting system unplugged and the top secret "cookies" -- mysterious devices that verify a president's order to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile -- spirited away by young men in green jumpsuits.
The last three launch centers will be shut next year, and its crews given new jobs.
The missiles were deployed by President Reagan, who believed that only a more modern, more powerful weapons system could wring arms concessions from the Soviets.
"It was a paradox," said Col. Evan Hoapili, commander of the 90th Space Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, which has responsibility for the missiles. "Reagan said, 'If I field a more modern weapons system, I will have a world with fewer nuclear weapons.' It sounded crazy, but he was right."
In 2002, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin agreed to reduce their nuclear warhead stockpiles to between 1,200 and 2,200 each by 2012. The MX, with 10 warheads apiece, was chosen for shutdown.
