741st Missile Squadron The United States Air Force ' s 741st Missile Squadron is an intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM ) unit located at Minot AFB , North Dakota . Mission . The 741st Missile squadron vigilantly maintains the missile force around - the - clock . Each squadron controls 50 launch facilities and five missile alert facilities . Missile squadrons are divided into missile operations flights and an operation support flight . The missile operations flights are composed of officer crewmembers who , when on alert , are responsible for day - to - day operations , maintenance and security of the missiles within their control and are prepared to launch their missiles at all times . Facility managers are responsible for and ensure the readiness of the missile alert facilities . The alert facility chefs are responsible for providing meals to missile alert facility personnel . Each squadron is responsible for 5 flights of 10 missiles each , or 50 missiles . Sites are designated by flight , using one letter of the alphabet , followed by a number . The first site in each flight is # 1 and designates the Missile Alert Facility ( MAF ) which consists of an above - ground structure plus an underground Launch Control Center ( LCC ) staffed by two officers . The Launch Facilities ( LFs , i . e . missile silos ) are numbered 2 through 11 and are connected to the MAF / LCC by the Hardened Intersite Cable System ( HICS ) which also interconnects flights . The 740th SMS includes flights A through E ; the 741st includes flights F through J ; and the 742nd includes flights K through O . History . World War II . Established as a B - 24 Liberator heavy bombardment unit in mid - 1943 ; assigned to II Bomber Command for training . Primarily trained in New Mexico and Utah received deployment orders for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations ( MTO ) in November 1943 . Moved to Virginia where the group flew long - range convoy escort missions over the Mid - Atlantic , October – November 1943 while station in Italy was being constructed . Deployed to Southern Italy in January 1944 ; entered combat in January 1944 , being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force . Engaged in very long range strategic bombing missions to enemy military , industrial and transportation targets in Italy , France , Germany , Austria , Hungary , Romania , and Yugoslavia , bombing railroad marshalling yards , oil refineries , airdrome installations , heavy industry , and other strategic objectives . In addition to strategic missions in the Balkans , the group bombed troop concentrations , bridges , marshalling yards , and airdromes during the fall of 1944 to hamper the enemy ’ s withdrawal from the region . The group also supported ground forces at Anzio and Cassino in March 1944 ; knocked out gun positions in preparation for the invasion of Southern France in August 1944 ; and assisted the final Allied drive through Italy in April 1945 by hitting such targets as bridges , gun positions , and troop concentrations . Remained in Italy after the German Capitulation in May , although unit personnel were demobilized throughout the summer of 1945 . Group was inactivated in Italy on 9 September 1945 . Reactivated in the Air Force Reserve in 1947 with B - 29 Superfortress es . Trained at Hensley Field , Texas . Inactivated in 1949 due to budget restrictions . Tactical Air Command . Allocated to Tactical Air Command during the 1950s . Activated at Myrtle Beach AFB , South Carolina in 1956 as part of a second Fighter - Day Group planned for the new installation . Some personnel were assigned but never became operational with aircraft . Inactivated in July 1957 due to budget restrictions ; personnel assigned were reassigned to 354th Fighter - Day Group . Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Squadron . Reactivated on 1 Nov 1962 as an ICBM squadron assigned to the 455th Strategic Missile Wing at Minot AFB , North Dakota . Initially equipped with 50 LGM - 30B Minuteman I s in 1963 . Reassigned to 91st Strategic Missile Wing in 1968 . Upgraded to LGM - 30G Minuteman III in 1968 / 1969 , has maintained ICBMs on alert ever since . Communications . The 741 MS became the first unit in 20th Air Force / Air Force Space Command to operated the LCC Netlink computer system . This system allows missile combat crew members access to the Internet while on alert . Prior to Netlink , no external communication systems , aside from telephone , was allowed into the launch control center . 741st Missile Squadron Launch Facilities