8 years ago
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The hidden base that could have ended the world
In the 1970s and 80s, crews sat at constant readiness in nuclear missile silos buried in the Arizona desert. What would have happened if they had got the order to launch? By Richard Hollingham.
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hat is really and truly terrifying that humans would be willing to kill everything like this.
The cold war era wasn't entirely sane. I remember duck and cover drills in my early school years, and being aware enough to realize that hiding under a desk wasn't really going to save anyone. But everybody played the game.
Yeah, I guess it would be like hiding under a desk inside of a massive oven. I can't believe there was a time where there were drills designed to 'protect' you from a nuclear blast, it sounds so surreal.
It wasn't designed for protection. It was designed to make children feel like there was a way that everything would be alright in the event of a nuclear war. Kid logic was supposed to be "jump under the desk when the bright light goes off, then get on the bus and go home to mom, dad, and the pet dog". As far as I know, they were never conducted past elementary school levels, because they would be universally recognized as useless.
During, and after the Cuban missile crisis, there was real fear that the end of civilization was possible at a moments notice. Duck and cover drills were an attempt to maintain childhood innocence in the face of scary media reports and adult family discussions about the state of the world.
The giveaway is that your first clue there's been a nuclear blast is supposed to be the flash, but if you're looking when the flash hits you're blinded, but you've got to prepre for the coming shockwave and fallout. Talk about a rock and a hard place. It's a crying shame kids aren't made to act out this futile ritual in schools any more. As you do, you can feel yourself maturing. Beyond war.
Many years after my last duck and cover drill, I was stationed at a Strategic Air Command base during the latter part of the cold war.. I got kicked out of an all-ranks briefing because I couldn't stop giggling. An 0-5 was giving a big-picture overview of what would happen if the alert planes got an actual "go" order. When he got to the part about recovering returning aircraft, all I could picture was them trying to land in the crater that a 2-5Mton blast would leave, and flashing back to elementary school, hiding under a fucking desk.
We were less than 5 miles inland, and the warning time on an SLBM could have been as low as 5 minutes. I later got to explain to him in my commander's office that I realized he was trying to motivate the troops, but it was as silly then as it was in the 60s. I was ordered not to speak to my coworkers about the likelyhood of a SAC base being a primary first-strike target. Also got a letter of reprimand for my unprofessional behavior.
Hey, at least the onset of nuclear Winter would cut your exposure to the rapid-aging effects of harmful UV rays!