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The Soviets Signed a Lot of Arms Control Treaties with Us.
Then Came the Hard Part: Making Sure They Were Complying.
What Did That Look Like on the Ground? How Did We Know They Weren’t Spoofing Us?
How Did Those Site Inspections Work?
Ask the Former Missileer AF General Who Was Director of the On-Site Inspection Agency—and Commanded Our ICBM Missile Forces.
The Cold War Museum invites you to attend a presentation by
Major General Robert Parker (USAF, ret.) on
Protection and Inspection:
Keeping Our Missile Forces Deterring
And Ensuring Missile Reductions as Both Sides Ramped Down
This presentation provides a window into what it took to be a Cold War Missileer at all levels and in many capacities, from Second Lt. Parker reporting for duty at Ellsworth AFB to his rise to commanding the deployment of 1,000 missiles at six bases. But the second phase of his career, as Director the On-Site Inspection Agency, while depending heavily on his experience as a missile commander, called for additional skills: as a diplomat and as an expert evaluator of technological situations with very important strategic consequences.
General Parker will take us through the highlights both of his leadership of the forces controlling some of our most devastating strategic weapons and what it looks and feels like to be part of an on-site missile inspection team where the stakes were very high, and error was not an option.
In March 1964 2nd Lt Bob Parker was assigned to a missile combat crew at Ellsworth AFB, SD. He was responsible for the readiness of ten Minuteman Missiles. Thirty years later, Major General Bob Parker was 20th Air Force Commander, responsible for the safety and readiness of 1000 ICBMs. His missile career included assignments as an evaluator and Airborne Launch Control System evaluator, and Headquarters assignments at Strategic Air Command and the Pentagon. He participated in the only live launch of a Minuteman missile from an operation launch facility, Long Life One and was on the first Airborne Launch Control crew. As 20AF/CC, he was directly involved with the Minuteman upgrade program in the mid-90s, to including motor wash-out, improved guidance system, and re-deployment of upgraded warheads.
After an assignment at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, he became Director of the US On-Site Inspection Agency. During his tour as Director, he was responsible for the inspection regimes for multiple treaties between the US and the USSR, including Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF), Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE), START 1, Open Skies, Threshold Test Ban. and two Chemical Accords. He made over twenty treaty-compliance visits to Russia.
This is the 41st in a series of presentations sponsored by the Museum featuring eyewitnesses to, and other experts on, significant Cold War events and activities.
Date and Time: Sunday, February 28th, 2021 from 2:00-3:30 PM. THIS EVENT IS ENTIRELY VIRTUAL, WITH ONLINE ACCESS ONLY, DUE TO THE COVID HEALTH EMERGENCY.
(NOTE: FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS PRESENTATION BUT CANNOT ATTEND BECAUSE THEY ARE AT A DISTANCE, HAVE A CONFLICT, ETC., THEY MAY BUY A TICKET VIA EVENTBRITE LIKE ATTENDEES, THEN ACCESS THE EVENT VIDEO ONLINE AFTER THE EVENT VIA A LINK THAT CWM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JASON HALL WILL SEND THEM. TO ARRANGE, EMAIL JASON AT JASON@COLDWAR.ORG.)
Cost: $20, 100% of which is a contribution to the Cold War Museum.
Location: ONLINE ONLY. Eventbrite ticket buyers will receive a link to the virtual room on the Zoom platform where this event will take place. We are recording the whole event, including the Q&A, for the Museum’s archives.
Agenda:
• 1:30-2:00 EST. Participants arrive in the Zoom room online.
• 2:00-2:05. Jason Hall, Executive Director of the Cold War Museum, introduces the Museum and General Parker.
• 2:05-3:00. Bob presents on a career in maintaining missile launch capacity, and a later role in reducing missile forces under treaty.
• 3:00-3:30. Q&A opportunity for the audience.
Questions? Call or email Jason Hall, 703-283-4124 (cell), jason@coldwar.org
