No, repainting the ‘Christmas tree’ does not mean we’re back to the Cold War
Published 1 min ago on October 23, 2017
By Steve Berman The lead headline on Drudge this morning is an article in Defense One, which portends a return to a 24-hour alert, which hasn’t been seen since the demise of Strategic Air Command. As intriguing as that headline is, it’s really not practical, and it’s a stretch, if not a bluff.
At Barksdale AFB, the Air Force is preparing to renovate the “Christmas tree,” or the alert pad that used to mark every base with a long runway and a SAC presence. I grew up near Pease AFB in Portsmouth during the Cold War, and well remember the FB-111’s sitting on the pad, and practicing MITO (minimum interval take-off) drills at all hours. I remember going to the mall with some of my airmen acquaintances and seeing the blue school bus pull up to collect them when the alert klaxon sounded. I remember the December day in 1984 when a Russian sub off Finland almost trigger WW3.
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http://noqreport.com/2017/10/23/no-repainting-christmas-tree-not-mean-back-cold-war/