Vandenberg Air Force Base reported that 26 members of its Air
Force contingent were deployed to Southwest Asia – which includes
Iraq and areas to the east of what is commonly referred to as the
Middle East – on February 2 for a 180-day stint in an effort to
help protect military forces and enforce laws.
An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was
launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Wednesday at 12:14 a.m.,
flying 4,200 miles in about 30 minutes to a target in the waters
off the Marshall Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The launch
was intended to test the ICBM weapon system’s reliability and
accuracy, according to a Vandenberg press release.