SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. — The Air Force confirmed Monday that Technical Sergeant Robert Miller, 31, of the 20th Operations Support Squadron, is facing general court-martial after an investigation determined he used Guard frequency 121.5 MHz — the international aeronautical emergency frequency, monitored continuously by air traffic control facilities, military installations, and Federal Aviation Administration centers across North America and maintained exclusively for distress communications — to coordinate a group pizza order for eleven members of his watch section on the evening of May 8th.
The transmission was intercepted at 2141 local time by Shaw Air Force Base Approach Control, by Atlanta Center, and by the FAA Eastern Service Area operations desk in Herndon, Virginia, which has 24-hour monitoring capability.
All three facilities documented the transmission.
“Technical Sergeant Miller’s conduct represents a fundamental and unambiguous violation of FAA regulations, Air Force instruction, and international aviation treaty obligations,” said Lt. Col. Christine A. Huang, 20th Operations Support Squadron commander, in a brief statement delivered to installation media Thursday. “Guard frequency is not a communication asset for personal use. It has never been. It will not become one.”
Investigators with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations reviewed the transmission logs on May 9th. The logs reveal that TSgt. Miller’s use of Guard frequency that evening was not a single transmission but a sequence of seven transmissions spanning approximately twelve minutes, during which Miller coordinated topping selections, confirmed payment arrangements, and relayed a delivery address.
The transmissions are described in the investigative summary as “thorough and well-organized.”
Miller’s watch section ordered from a Domino’s Pizza approximately 4.1 miles from the installation. The order included two large pepperoni, one large mushroom and black olive, and one large Hawaiian. The Hawaiian was added by TSgt. Miller without a formal section consensus.
This detail appears in the investigative summary as a separate paragraph.
The pizza arrived in 34 minutes.
“We were hungry,” said one member of the watch section, who asked not to be identified by name, rank, or the fact that he ordered the mushroom and black olive. He confirmed the pizza was warm. He declined to characterize whether the Hawaiian was good.
TSgt. Miller is facing charges under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for failure to obey a lawful general regulation, and Article 134 for conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline. His court-martial is scheduled for July 22nd at Shaw Air Force Base.
His counsel has filed a motion requesting the complete transmission transcripts. The motion has been granted.
The FAA has declined to comment pending the court-martial outcome but confirmed it has updated its Guard frequency incident log to include the May 8th event. It is the first entry in the log from the continental United States related to food.
The Domino’s Pizza has not commented.
The Hawaiian remains unaddressed.
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