Photo By Airman Nicholas Rowe | Staff Sgt. Brandon Sanders, 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron missile maintenance team...... read more read more
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F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. - Missile maintainers work tirelessly to uphold one of the most demanding missions in the military. One Airman's recent achievement is a testament not only to the precision and discipline the job requires, but also to the grit, long hours, and commitment it takes to keep America’s nuclear deterrence mission ready.
Staff Sgt. Brandon Sanders, a team chief with the 90th Missile Maintenance Squadron (MMXS) at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, recently completed his 100th dispatch to the missile field - a rare milestone that highlights his dedication to the wing’s mission.
With only three Air Force bases supporting the intercontinental ballistic missile mission, missile maintenance is one of the Air Force’s smallest and most tight-knit career fields. That community is where the strength of the job is.
“With it being a small community, it's very tight-knit, everybody knows everybody, because we only have three main bases,” said Sanders. “But the brotherhood, the sisterhood, family overall is the benefit to our career field.”
Missile maintainers operate in all conditions. From extreme heat to freezing temperatures, they perform complex and hands-on maintenance out in the missile field.
The camaraderie is what makes the 100th dispatch especially meaningful. With only a few teams operating at a time, rotations are limited. Hitting the 100 mark takes years of effort, often competing against tight timelines and shifting schedules.
“I didn't think I was gonna get to it actually, because I'm about to take a training position, if not I should be moving somewhere else, just moving up to something new,” said Sanders. “And with the timeline of going somewhere else around the corner, I was trying to go out as much as I could just to get close to the 100 to see if I could actually get to it and now that I'm finally there, it feels good.”
Master Sgt. Bryan Canon, non-commissioned officer in charge of the missile maintenance team section with the 90 MMXS, praised Sanders' impact as a leader and role model.
“The 100th dispatch shows not only his pride and dedication to the business,” said Canon. “There's few people in this AFSC that have the opportunity to be a team chief and missile maintenance team section, and to lead by example and absolutely dominate that position enough to get 100 dispatches.”
In a career field often defined by what remains unseen, Sanders' journey is a reminder of what truly matters: dedication, teamwork, and the legacy outstanding leaders leave behind.
| Date Taken: | 07.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.10.2025 18:24 |
| Story ID: | 542307 |
| Location: | F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 709 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A Missile Maintainer's 100th Dispatch, by Amn Nicholas Rowe, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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