Reducing the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Alert Rate and the Impact on Maintenance Utilization

We have been at war for four and a half years. The financial burden of executing Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom caused military services to undergo extensive cost cutting efforts. The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) community is not exempt. Recently, the Air Force Nuclear General Officer Steering Group (AFNGOSG) requested an additional study of lower missile readiness rates, presumably to identify any potential cost savings from reduced maintenance and security footprints. This research offers an initial study by analyzing the impact of lowered ICBM alert rates caused by not repairing off-alert missiles until a lowered alert rate threshold is reached and any correlation to a potential decrease in daily ICBM maintenance team utilization.