As the Atlas ICBM entered service with the USAF in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were numerous design changes taking place rapidly that would have to quickly disseminated from engineers at the Convair plant in San Diego where the missile were produced to Convair engineering liasons in the field that were assisting the USAF in standing up the Atlas ICBM force at bases throughout the country.

In most cases the changes being done flowed out from Convair and into the field. In on case, however, some inventive USAF base crew came up with fix that while ingenious, was potentially dangerous. At Francis E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the crews were having trouble with a water line that serviced an Atlas launch pad. It would freeze over easily due to the proximity of a liquid oxygen fuel line combined with the extreme winters in that part of the United States.

Base personnel built a wooden box around the problematic water line and filled it with horse manure. As the manure decomposed, it gave off heat that kept the water line from freezing. However, manure also made a great fuel source that combined with liquid oxygen could have had potentially explosive results. This was noted by a Convair field engineer who had it removed and being diligent, sent a memo back to Convair-San Diego about a change to not enact!

Source: Atlas- The Ultimate Weapon by Chuck Wallace with John Powell. Apogee Books, 2005, p71-72.

The Air Force Space Command was formed in September 1982 initially responsible for space monitoring and space-related activities connected with the defense of the United States and Canada. In 1993 the ICBM force passed from the Air Combat Command to the Space Command and since then AFSPC has been responsible for the ICBM nuclear deterrent force, the early warning of ballistic missile launches, the launch and operation of military satellites (including the GPS constellation) and worldwide space surveillance.

But the only manned aircraft assigned to the Air Force Space Command are approximately 26 Bell UH-1Ns assigned to three Flights to fly launch crews to ICBM missile silos and transport security teams to ICBM sites. The three Flights are based at three Air Force bases of the 20th Air Force, the operating AF for the ICBM force- Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming (tail code "FE"), Minot AFB, North Dakota ("MT"), and Malmstrom AFB, Montana ("MT"). A fourth Flight of UH-1s is based at Vandenberg AFB ("HV") to support missile and space launch activities.

Source: US Air Force: The New Century by Bob Archer. Midland Publishing, 2000, p29.