I served my first four years in the Air Force at Fairchild AFB just outside of Spokane Washington. I was a member of the Security Police, charged with guarding three things: Alert B-52s loaded with nuclear weapons, KC-135 tankers also on alert to refuel those B-52s to make them able to strike any target in the world. Lastly the storage area where the bombs and missiles were kept and assembled before being loaded in the bombers.
During the Cold War, Fairchild had around 17 or so B-52s, five of which were on 24/7 alert status. When the US was at a heightened state of tension, those extra B-52s could also be brought online and ready to go as well. Each B-52 carried up to 20 Air Launched Cruise Missiles. Each ALCM had a nuclear yield of 170-200 kt. To put in perspective, the bombs dropped on Japan had a nuclear yield of about 10kt. Thus, FAFB could send up to 340 nuclear weapons to their targets. That is one base.
Standing 60ft away, watching the weapons loaders lifting such devices into the bombers is a very sobering experience. It’s hard to describe just what you feel, knowing that you were looking at a device capable of killing 100,000 people, it just sends chills.
We’ve gone so far away from those days. Most Americans don’t realize just what we’re dealing with, and even worse, they think this is all ok, as its all over some country far away that they can’t even point to it on a map.
And yes, the clowns are in charge of this circus.
I’d hate to think the current administration is purposely doing this to leave the country on the brink of nuclear apocalypse just to make trump look bad when he inherits this mess.
Like you I also grew up with the atomic clock. I was even more aware of a possible nuclear attack living within the first strike target zone of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. I also knew that an exchange of nuclear weapons could occur at any moment if one of the leaders of the atomic bomb group was having a bad day or temper tantrum, let alone the real risk of a leader with mental decline. When we’ve used words like “detente” or phrases like “mutually assured destruction”, shouldn’t we stop and re-evaluate our military strategies. When rhetoric and posturing, regardless of where it comes from, falls back to the use of such destructive weapons or to consider the use of “Battlefield nuclear weapons” is a leader who is unable to step back and take a pause. When the consequence of losing face, appearing weak and having to win at all costs are added to an added to any narrative, then we,as a humanity have lost, and maybe the only thing left to hope for is the comet.
I served my first four years in the Air Force at Fairchild AFB just outside of Spokane Washington. I was a member of the Security Police, charged with guarding three things: Alert B-52s loaded with nuclear weapons, KC-135 tankers also on alert to refuel those B-52s to make them able to strike any target in the world. Lastly the storage area where the bombs and missiles were kept and assembled before being loaded in the bombers.
During the Cold War, Fairchild had around 17 or so B-52s, five of which were on 24/7 alert status. When the US was at a heightened state of tension, those extra B-52s could also be brought online and ready to go as well. Each B-52 carried up to 20 Air Launched Cruise Missiles. Each ALCM had a nuclear yield of 170-200 kt. To put in perspective, the bombs dropped on Japan had a nuclear yield of about 10kt. Thus, FAFB could send up to 340 nuclear weapons to their targets. That is one base.
Standing 60ft away, watching the weapons loaders lifting such devices into the bombers is a very sobering experience. It’s hard to describe just what you feel, knowing that you were looking at a device capable of killing 100,000 people, it just sends chills.
We’ve gone so far away from those days. Most Americans don’t realize just what we’re dealing with, and even worse, they think this is all ok, as its all over some country far away that they can’t even point to it on a map.
And yes, the clowns are in charge of this circus.
I’d hate to think the current administration is purposely doing this to leave the country on the brink of nuclear apocalypse just to make trump look bad when he inherits this mess.
Like you I also grew up with the atomic clock. I was even more aware of a possible nuclear attack living within the first strike target zone of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. I also knew that an exchange of nuclear weapons could occur at any moment if one of the leaders of the atomic bomb group was having a bad day or temper tantrum, let alone the real risk of a leader with mental decline. When we’ve used words like “detente” or phrases like “mutually assured destruction”, shouldn’t we stop and re-evaluate our military strategies. When rhetoric and posturing, regardless of where it comes from, falls back to the use of such destructive weapons or to consider the use of “Battlefield nuclear weapons” is a leader who is unable to step back and take a pause. When the consequence of losing face, appearing weak and having to win at all costs are added to an added to any narrative, then we,as a humanity have lost, and maybe the only thing left to hope for is the comet.
Humans are insane. Truly. I keep hearing that the book NUCLEAR is fantastic, but I don't have the stomach to read it...