Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana – They call this part of Montana "Big Sky Country," with rolling plains, few trees and lots of, well, sky. It’s also where the daughter of a Frederiksted woman calls home, with a job of protecting the U.S. in an area slightly larger than the state of Maryland.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Michaela Maximin, daughter of Teresa Ula Stephen of Mount Pleasant, is a senior missile chef at this intercontinental ballistic missile base, one of only three remaining in the U.S. The 341st Missile Wing is one of the largest units in the Air Force, with 150 Minuteman III missiles spread out over 13,800 square miles within 15 missile alert facilities, and more than 4,000 military and civilians, making it the largest complex of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.
Maximin is assigned to the 12th Missile Squadron with the responsibility of running a missile alert facility kitchen by herself. "I am a one man show," said Maximin, a graduate of Vide Boutielle Secondary School in Castries, Saint Lucia. "I prepare three meals a day for missilers and security forces airmen. I am a chef, cashier, conduct inventory and I run my kitchen with an iron fist."
To support such a large operation requires help from just about every corner of the Air Force career specialties. Everything from admin to chefs, missile crewman, missile alert officers, security forces, helicopter pilots and maintenance, communications, services, medical and dental – it all adds up to one of the biggest support operations in the military.
"My role as a missile chef is critical to the mission," said Maximin. "I ensure that all personnel assigned to the facility are well fed. I ensure that they are happy and healthy and ready for the war fighting mission. Without my contribution to our mission, the mission would not happen, period. I love what I do. It’s the most important job of my Air Force career."
For Maximin and other airmen stationed here, Montana is either one of the best places to be stationed or one of the worst. Montana can be a haven for the outdoorsman and traveler with major national parks like Glacier and Yellowstone just a few hours away. For others, being in an out-of-the way place like Malmstrom, with no major metropolis or urban centers nearby, can make a tour seem isolated. "I do not like the cold weather Montana has to offer," said Maximin. "However, my family loves to cook, so on days when the weather is great, we barbecue. We also love to travel and have visited Billings and Missoula."
Maximin has been in the Air Force for 12 years. (Written by Rich Lamance)
