The 579th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated in September 1961 as an SM-65 Atlas-F squadron. This addition of ICBMs resulted in the wing's redesignation as the 6th Strategic Aerospace Wing in May 1962. The squadron received its first ICBM on 24 January 1962. At the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 six of the squadron's missile sites had not yet been turned over to SAC by Air Force Systems Command (AFSC). On 24 October, AFSC began to bring these missiles up to alert status. Once the crisis had abated, these missiles were removed from alert until normal training and testing could be completed. On 1 June 1963, a crew of the 579th was conducting a propellant loading exercise when an explosion occurred, destroying the squadron's launch complex 1. A nearly identical accident on 13 February 1964 destroyed launch complex 5, followed less than a month later, on 9 March 1964, by the destruction of launch complex 2 in another explosion.