The United States missile defense system that dots the rural terrain north to Montana and North Dakota, including western Nebraska, and Colorado has been in the ground and at the ready for several years. Some of the systems have been in place since the 1960s.

The United States Air Force has decided now is the time to upgrade the system. The question is what that will mean for local residents.

The new system, the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, named the Sentinel, is the Air Force's program to replace the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system.

On Wednesday, April 27, Air Force represe...