Very slightly-related story: I was the OIC for the Tech Engineering Flight at the 321st Missile Wing, Grand Forks AFB (Minuteman III) from '92 to '95. We had a Fault at one missile site that required removing a large cable from what's called the "A-circuit", part of the Security system. It took removing 28 very small brass screws to release the cable, normally no big deal but this was topside on a day when it was -24º F (true temperature, no wind whatsoever).
We could not even use a small screwdriver, much less hang on to those 3/16" brass screws, with our gloves on. First guy jumped out of the truck and got 3 screws removed before he/she couldn't feel their fingers anymore, and they jumped back in the truck to warm up their hands. Next guy took the screwdriver, jumped out, and got the next three or so screws out. It took us a couple hours just to remove that cable, and our part of the repair was complete.
The fault turned out to be a broken wire in that cable, buried between the A-plug and the circuitry on the Cop's side, so the cable had to be pulled out. I can't remember how long the cable was, nor how deep it was buried, I'd guess 10' long, buried up to 4 feet down. They had to post two cops at that missile site 24-7 to handle security, from then until the cable finally thawed out enough to be pulled, which didn't happen until June! Grand Forks North Dakota is a miserable environment; I learned/grew a lot during my 3 years there, but will NEVER go back.
