Dyess senior leaders tour Lawn Atlas Missile Base

Larry Sanders, owner of the Lawn Atlas Missile Base, gives a history brief to Dyess Air Force Base senior leaders before guiding a tour of the missile silo in Lawn, Texas, Sept. 19, 2017. The base was established in 1962 under the Air Force Strategic Air Command as a storage and launching facility for the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile F series. An ICBM is a guided ballistic missile designed for weapons delivery with a minimum range of 3,400 miles. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland)

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Dyess senior leaders tour Lawn Atlas Missile Base

Dyess senior leaders stand over the 45-ton doors of the missile silo at the Lawn Atlas Missile Base, Texas, Sept. 19, 2017. The leaders were given a tour of the launch control center and the 185-foot-deep missile silo which was in use from 1962 to 1965, until newer technology prompted the U.S. Air Force to terminate the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland)

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Dyess senior leaders tour Lawn Atlas Missile Base

U.S. Air Force Airmen from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, enter the launch control center of the underground Lawn Atlas Missile Base, Texas, Sept, 19, 2017. The silo in Lawn was one of 13 Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile F-series silos built in Texas. The F-series was America’s first missile to assure survival of a first-strike nuclear attack through retaliating second-strike capacity. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland)

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Dyess senior leaders tour Lawn Atlas Missile Base

Dyess senior leaders view the hollowed missile silo during the tour of the Lawn Atlas Missile Base, Texas, Sept. 19, 2017. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the silo housed a missile 85 feet tall and 10 feet wide which was capable of reaching Russia in under one hour. After the base was decommissioned, it was gutted of all equipment, including the missile itself. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland)

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Dyess senior leaders tour Lawn Atlas Missile Base

U.S. Air Force Col. David Doss, 7th Bomb Wing vice commander, takes a photo of the silo doors from the inside of the Lawn Atlas Missile Base, Texas, Sept. 19, 2017. The Dyess Air Force Base senior leaders received a tour on the silo and listened to the history of the base’s role during the height of the Cold War. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland)

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Dyess senior leaders tour Lawn Atlas Missile Base

Larry Sanders, owner of the Lawn Atlas Missile Base, officially acquired the missile base in 2009 and has used it as a history piece in the telling of Dyess Air Force Base’s role in the Cold War. All 12 of the missile silo’s surrounding the base were under the command of Dyess and established as the 578th Strategic Missile Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland)

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Dyess senior leaders tour Lawn Atlas Missile Base

Dyess senior leaders climb the stairs to the above-ground entrance of the missile silo at Lawn Atlas Missile Base, Texas, Sept. 19, 2017. The silo was in use from 1962 to 1965, until the U.S. Air Force replaced the Atlas intercontinental ballistic mission. The military sold the silo to the town of Lawn, who purchased it for use as a public shelter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland)

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Dyess senior leaders tour Lawn Atlas Missile Base

Published Sept. 21, 2017
By Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Larry Sanders, owner of the Lawn Atlas Missile Base, gives a history brief to Dyess Air Force Base senior leaders before guiding a tour of the missile silo in Lawn, Texas, Sept. 19, 2017. The base was established in 1962 under the Air Force Strategic Air Command as a storage and launching facility for the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile F series. An ICBM is a guided ballistic missile designed for weapons delivery with a minimum range of 3,400 miles. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Emily Copeland)