It's hard not to be worried; rogue nations like North Korea keep talks of "offensive" missiles. That's the reason why a successful test of America's GMD, the ground-based mid course missile system, was so important. That test was in last May.
"What we did last year in that test have never been done before by mankind," said Col. Kevin Kick, the Commander of the 100th Missile Defense Brigade. "Shooting down an ICBM in outer space. Hitting a bullet with a bullet."
The test covered thousands of miles, and the intercept was made in space; the collision between intercept vehicle and target happening at thousands of miles an hour. The technology is incredible, but so are the men and women who operate GMD. "You know I'm the commander of the 300 soldiers that defend the 300 million citizens of the United States from ICBM attack," said Col. Kick.
The 100th Missile Brigade was created in 2004. The responsibility is obvious, but they hope they'll never use their skills for real. That being said, training is everything. "Each and every one of our crews, we train five to six times a day on potential scenarios that could happen should we be called into action," says Col. Kick.
And, of course, there is a connection to Redstone Arsenal, with the Space and Missile Defense Commant. "We come there to get that higher strategic messaging," says Col. Kick. "We're got to make sure periodically that we're all on the same sheet of music, and really that headquarters in Huntsville is key."
Bottom line: Missile defense and missile defenders are always on the job.