Francis E. Warren AFB: From Cavalry Post to Nuclear Arsenal
The same year Cheyenne was founded, the U.S. Cavalry established Fort D.A. Russell three miles west to protect Union Pacific Railroad workers from hostile tribes. That was 1867. The frontier post evolved through Indian wars, Spanish-American campaigns, two World Wars, and the Cold War to become something its cavalry founders could never have imagined: the largest strategic missile facility in the United States Air Force. Francis E. Warren Air Force Base now controls 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles scattered across 9,600 square miles of Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. The original wood-frame buildings, set in a diamond pattern to shelter against Wyoming's howling winter winds, gave way to 220 red brick structures built between 1885 and 1930 - most still in use today, their historic exteriors preserved while their interiors house 21st-century technology.
Frontier Garrison
Detachments of the 30th Infantry formed the first garrison in 1867, living in tents before moving into wood-frame quarters that winter. The diamond-shaped layout opened to the east, measuring 800 by 400 feet, with the entrance where Chapel 1 now stands. Troops fought the rigors of Wyoming winters and skirmished with Indians in warmer months. In 1876, soldiers from Fort Russell participated in the Great Sioux Wars that claimed Custer and his men at Little Bighorn. The War Department made the post permanent in 1884, ordering 27 red brick buildings constructed for $100,000 to replace the deteriorating wood structures. Thousands of trees were planted, transforming treeless prairie into a proper military installation. By 1910, the post had tripled in size, its stables housing nearly 20,000 horses and mules.
Names in the Brick
The base's history reads like a roster of American military legend. Captain John 'Black Jack' Pershing lived in quarters No. 2 with his family - he had married Senator Francis E. Warren's daughter. Pershing would later command American forces in World War I, promoted four ranks in two years with his influential father-in-law's help. General Billy Mitchell, the 'Father of the Air Force,' served here. So did General Mark Clark, who led troops in Europe during World War II, and Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis Sr., the Army's first Black general. Dr. Walter Reed worked at the post, as did entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. Country singer Chris LeDoux grew up within its gates. The post was renamed Fort Francis E. Warren in 1930, honoring Wyoming's first governor and longtime senator who had earned the Medal of Honor at age 19 during the Civil War.
War Trophies and Winter Barracks
In 1901, troops returning from the Philippine-American War brought back unusual souvenirs: a Queen Mary Tudor cannon forged in 1557 - the only one of its kind in America - and two of the three Balangiga bells, which Filipino insurrectionists had used to signal an ambush on American soldiers. The bells remained at Fort Russell for over a century before their 2018 return to the Philippines. World War II transformed the post into a Quartermaster Corps training center for 20,000 troops. More than 280 wooden buildings went up without insulation or interior walls; soldiers woke to shake snow from their blankets before heading to communal showers just as cold. A prisoner of war camp operated on the grounds. When the war ended, city officials in Spokane wanted the training mission at their Geiger Field, but the Army refused to share facilities - sending the mission to Wyoming instead.
The Missile Mission
On August 9, 1960, Warren became the first fully operational ICBM base in the Air Force when the Atlas D complex was declared ready. The base would host Atlas D, Atlas E, Minuteman I, Minuteman III, and Peacekeeper missiles over the following decades. Construction of 200 Minuteman silos across Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado began in 1962, scattered over 9,600 square miles. President Ronald Reagan chose Warren for the MX 'Peacekeeper' deployment in 1982 - missiles capable of carrying ten independently targeted nuclear warheads. Fifty Peacekeepers went on alert in hardened silos between 1986 and 1988. They came off alert beginning in 2002 as part of arms reduction treaties with Russia. Today, the 90th Missile Wing operates 150 Minuteman III missiles, split evenly among three squadrons. A new underground nuclear weapons storage facility is under construction - a $144 million reinforced concrete bunker to replace the aging weapons storage area.
Above the Silos
Francis E. Warren AFB lies at coordinates 41.14 N, 104.80 W, approximately three miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. The base is visible from altitude as a developed area with distinctive red brick buildings and tree-lined streets on the treeless high plains. The missile silos themselves are invisible from above - 150 hardened installations scattered across three states, connected to the base only by secure communications. Cheyenne Regional Airport (KCYS) lies to the east; Denver International (KDEN) is 100 miles south. During Cheyenne Frontier Days each July, the USAF Thunderbirds perform their aerial demonstrations over the base. The base heliport (KFEW) operates on-site. Twentieth Air Force, headquartered here, commands all U.S. Air Force ICBMs from this location that began as a cavalry post 159 years ago.
From the Air
Located at 41.14 N, 104.80 W, approximately 3 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Distinctive red brick buildings visible among planted trees on otherwise treeless plains. Base heliport KFEW on site; Cheyenne Regional (KCYS) nearby; Denver International (KDEN) 100 miles south. Missile silos scattered across 9,600 square miles of WY/NE/CO are not visible from altitude. USAF Thunderbirds perform here during Frontier Days in July.