A 10-member team of Russian treaty inspectors arrived at Hill Air Force Base Friday morning for the second half of a Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) inspection that began in April.
The team traveled to Utah from an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) site in Wyoming and may stay as long as four days, inspecting missile rocket booster motors at the Oasis Test Complex west of the Great Salt Lake.Treaty provisions allow inspectors from republics of the former Soviet Union to examine the first stages of Minuteman II, III and Peacekeeper missiles and intercontinental ballistic missile emplacement equipment.
The formal inspection phase of the treaty compliance process began March 1. Russian team leader Col. Victor Kozlov said through an interpreter treaty provisions prevent him from discussing details of the team's findings. "But so far we are sat-is-fied," he said.
Kozlov said he has noticed a measurable warming in relationships between Americans and officials from former Soviet republics compared with six years ago when he first served a two-month tour in Utah as an Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty inspector.
"It was very uncommon to see a smile on the face of an American officer or enlisted man - or a Russian. But that's not the case now," Kozlov said, his own face boasting a wide grin.
According to the Air Force, Hill is the most complex START inspection site in the nation, due primarily to its large geographical area and its unique stockpile of approximately 300 ICBM com-po-nents.
Treaty provisions also make base officials scramble by giving them inspection notice of nine hours or less. And once the team announces its inspection site, no vehicles able to carry cargo more than 4.1 meters long can be moved out of the inspection area. The restriction is imposed to enable an accurate accounting of ICBM components and to ensure no covert movements are taking place.
On a less suspicious note, the short notice also has its logistical complications: On-base quarters were in short supply when the first START inspection team arrived April 27, forcing officials to bump some of their "billeting" or hotel customers out of their rooms to make room for the inspectors.
The last Russian team also made nonmilitary inspections as well, shopping heavily for clothing, toys and electronics at Ogden-area stores before their departure.