What It’s Like to Man America's Lethal Underground Nuclear Arsenal
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Beneath several feet of Wyoming soil lies a bunker. Inside, two airmen sit — poised, waiting, ready. The world’s fate rests in their fingertips.
Tim Broderick [2]
Beneath several feet of Wyoming soil lies a bunker. Inside, two airmen sit — poised, waiting, ready. The world’s fate rests in their fingertips. “When I am on alert, I am in charge of ten to fifteen Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles,” Capt. Victoria Fort, stationed at the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, told Scout Warrior in an exclusive special interview. These missiles’ nuclear payload can incinerate entire cities.
If the President ever orders a nuclear attack while she occupies this bunker, Fort must launch the missile. This is her responsibility. “We train every month for this. Every simulator run we take, we practice launching, that’s the one thing. We fail the evaluations if we don’t launch on time,” she said. “If it comes between an enemy attacking us and we are required to launch, I’m going to protect my country best I can.”
Source URL (retrieved on October 3, 2016):
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/what-its-man-americas-lethal-underground-nuclear-arsenal-17910
