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Wing commander, 2 others fired at Minot

The 91st Missile Wing commander at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., was fired Wednesday after Air Force Space Command leaders “lost confidence in his ability to command.”

Maj. Gen. Roger Burg, commander of the 20th Air Force, flew to Minot to remove Col. Christopher Ayres from command. Burg also fired Col. Lyman Faith, 91st Maintenance Group commander, and Lt. Col. Andrew Healy, 91st Missile Maintenance Squadron commander.

The firings followed an investigative report released Oct. 9 that found a bug caused a 91st Missile Wing truck carrying rocket engine parts for intercontinental ballistic missiles to overturn outside Minot on Aug. 31. The “large insect” landed on the driver’s back, and the truck tipped over as the driver tried to remove the insect, according to the report.

The crash follows multiple accidents, incidents of misconduct, and a failed nuclear surety inspection at the 91st Missile Wing under Ayres’ command, which led to his removal, Air Force Space Command spokeswoman Capt. Lindsey Hahn said. He was not relieved for any misconduct or wrongdoing, she said.

“He was not fired solely because of the accident in August,” Hahn said. “His removal from command was a combination of multiple factors.”

It was the second payload transport to overturn under Ayres’ watch. One carrying an ICBM rocket booster crashed in July 2008. Faith and Healy’s commands oversee the transport of ICBM components to the missile fields. However, the Air Force didn’t provide an official reason Air Force Space Command relieved the two commanders.

The 91st Missile Wing did experience other problems. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency failed the wing for security errors during its nuclear surety inspection. Air Force Space Command passed the wing for the same inspection, but Gen. Robert Kehler, head of Air Force Space Command, later said he still considered it a failure. The wing passed its next inspection in July.

In July 2008, three officers in the 91st fell asleep while in possession of classified components containing superceded missile launch codes for Minuteman III ICBMs. The two lieutenants and one captain received Article 15s.

An airman in the 91st also left a safe open in the summer of 2008 for an entire night. The safe contained missile operation procedures. Officials found nothing was removed.

Col. Ferdinand Stoss, 90th Missile Wing vice commander at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., will assume command of the 91st. Maj. Laurie Arellano, Minot’s spokeswoman, didn’t know who would take over for Faith and Healy.

Ayres will work at Air Force Space Command headquarters where he will “provide his expertise in the upcoming transfer of the ICBM mission to Global Strike Command,” Hahn said.

“We must uphold the highest standards within the nuclear enterprise,” said Gen. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command. “We must have complete confidence in our leadership as we continue the revitalization of the nuclear enterprise.”

The Air Force did not make Ayres available for comment.

DISCUSS: The firing