Environmental Impact Statement for the Sentinel (GBSD) Deployment and Minuteman III Decommissioning and Disposal

Welcome To The Sentinel EIS Website

Welcome to the Air Force's Sentinel Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Sentinel weapon system addressed in this EIS was formerly known as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). As the Sentinel project moves forward, this website will be updated with additional information and can be accessed anytime throughout the duration of the project.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Air Force is required to conduct environmental analyses for any major federal action that is proposed to occur, to determine the environmental impact from the proposed activities, and provide the public and other stakeholders an opportunity to comment on the action and associated analyses, and to consider all alternatives. The Sentinel project constitutes a major federal action, and thus an EIS must be developed. The Air Force is considering all reasonable alternatives for fulfilling the purpose and need for the action.

In the fall of 2020, the Air Force began preparing an EIS to analyze the potential effects on the human and natural environments from the deployment of the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system, and the decommissioning and disposal of the Minuteman III ICBM. The Sentinel weapon system represents the continued modernization of the United States' land-based nuclear arsenal with the replacement of the aging Minuteman III. Deployment-related actions would primarily occur both on base and in the missile fields at F.E. Warren Air Force Base (AFB), WY; Malmstrom AFB, MT; and Minot AFB, ND. Additional maintenance, training, storage, testing, and support would occur at Hill AFB, UT; the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR), UT; Camp Guernsey, WY; and Camp Navajo, AZ.

Path to Sentinel

The history and strategic importance of the land-based leg of the nuclear triad, and where it is going in the future.