MINOT (AP) -- Air Force missile, bomber and security crews nationwide are competing for top honors in a contest meant to sharpen their skills and develop team spirit.
As many as 400 personnel are competing in the Global Strike Challenge, said Lt. Col. Michael Petrosh, the command project officer for the competition. "It supports the mission and goals of the Air Force Global Strike Command to encourage a culture of excellence and pride in our troops," he said.
The competition is run by the Global Strike Command, which oversees the nation's intercontinental ballistic missiles and B-52 and B-2 bombers.
B-1B bomber crews from the Air Force Air Combat Command will also compete, Petrosh said.
Contests for bomber crews date to the late 1940s, and ICBM crew competitions started in 1967, Petrosh said, but this is the first contest held under the auspices of the Global Strike Command, which was activated in August.
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The command was formed to consolidate ICBMs, B-52s and B-2s under a single command.
Competitors include missile crews from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.
Bomber crews from Minot, Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., are also competing.
Bomber crew contests, which include loading weapons and flying simulated missions, began in April.
The ICBM competitions include simulated launches, peacetime operations, installing and removing missile boosters, and maintaining electrical, mechanical, environmental and communications systems.
Those competitions get under way in August. Evaluators will travel to the competing teams' home bases to judge their performance.
Security teams at the ICBM bases and other bases will compete in weapons, tactics and endurance. Those competitions take place in November at Barksdale.
