![Pentagon Chief In Rare Visit To Nuke Missile Base](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/01/Senator-Chuck-Hagel.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Pentagon Chief In Rare Visit To Nuke Missile Base
UNDATED (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is making a rare visit to an Air Force nuclear missile base, hoping to boost morale among those who operate, maintain and safeguard the nation's Minuteman 3 nuclear missiles.
Today, Hagel is expected to fly to a Minuteman 3 launch control center in Nebraska from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., headquarters for the organization in charge of all 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Besides Nebraska, the missiles are in underground silos in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota.
The last Pentagon chief to visit an ICBM base was Robert Gates in December 2008, when the Air Force was reeling from embarrassing lapses in its handling of nuclear weapons. It since has made strides to improve nuclear operations but problems remain, including attitude issues and leadership lapses.
More From News Talk 96.5 KPEL
![Russia Threatens U.S. Targets With Nukes, and 1 of Them Could Be in Louisiana](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2016/10/GettyImages-615648564.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Harvard Astronomer Predicts as Many as 4 Quintillion Spaceships in Our Solar System](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2022/10/attachment-pentagon-ufo-declassified.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Hagel: US Needs Game-Changing Military Innovation](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/01/Senator-Chuck-Hagel.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Pentagon Sending Advisers To Iraq](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/01/Senator-Chuck-Hagel.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Hagel Testifies Wednesday On Tabliban Prisoner Swap](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/01/Senator-Chuck-Hagel.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Hagel Says Captive’s Life Was In Danger](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/01/Senator-Chuck-Hagel.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![House Rebuffs Pentagon On Defense Spending](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/01/female-soldier.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Hagel Hints At US Impatience With Karzai](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/01/Senator-Chuck-Hagel.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Pentagon Freeze On Death Benefits Sparks Outrage](http://townsquare.media/site/36/files/2013/01/Women-in-Combat.jpg?w=980&q=75)