Posted on 07/14/2009 9:08:10 AM PDT by OldMissileer
...A former nuclear missile launch center that closed as the Cold War was winding down opened Monday to a public curious to see what life was like at the once top-secret site.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
I pulled many Alerts in this weapon system based at Grand Forks AFB, ND and pulled a few at this exact facility.
The article also mentions the Titan II meuseum in Arizona. I pulled many alerts in that system too, just out in Kansas.
Winners of the Cold War.
Former co-worker of mine was a missile launch officer at one of the sites. Did that for several years until he got married and had kids. Decided at that point that he didn’t want to be “one of the ones who ended the world,” and went to work at CBPO.
/salute.
I was a BMAT at 533-2.
Thank you very much. It was an honor to be selected to do that duty and have such responsibility placed upon me.
I am proud to have been able to serve you and our great Country.
Dang it.
The Titan II system was my favorite.
Unlike the Minuteman you could walk 150 feet down the cable-ways and visit your missile, and since the Combat Crew was that close we were trained in every technical aspect of the system so we could do what was necessary to either keep it on Alert or get it out of the hole during wartime.
The crews consisted of two officers and two enlisted so the officers got to command and interact directly with enlisted troops and find out how smart and competent they were.
Don’t forget the Minuteman Missile national Historic Site in western South Dakota.
Here’s a link in case anyone’s interested:
I was a BMAT at 532-2, then 532-9, then on to the Instructor Shop.
It’s interesting how many of these deactivated silos still dot the middle of the country. Most all the Titan silos are gone (blown up under treaty as I recall), but their predecessors still remain unscathed in many cases. They were the Atlas missile facilities. As a child, I remember riding by one during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was out of the silo......waiting. Even for a child it was a sobering sight.
They were interesting installations. After the military deactivated them, and much of the equipment removed by salvage companies, they were left to sit. Some of the new owners left the silo door open which was kind of hazardous, so most eventually had the door pushed shut. It left a wonderful, deep, clear well to scuba dive in as they gradually filled with groundwater over the years. They were also rather deadly, as an emergency ascension could bring you up under one of the catwalks. In that respect they were really similar to cave diving, one of the most hazardous forms of diving. One unfortunate individual actually lost his life “bouncing” to the bottom (~100 ft) on a quarter tank, then coming up under a catwalk that was still submerged in place. Those of us that used the silo for our dives were a good deal more careful after that incident. Even the parts that weren’t underwater were fascinating to explore. The crew silo sat right next to the missile silo and still had the blast doors in place. As I recall, the kitchen facilities (including a stove) were still down there 32 years ago. It was as close to spelunking as you were able to get in Nebraska.
In retrospect, a rather dangerous area if one was not careful, but still neat.
When were you at McConnell?
1976 to the end of 1981
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