I went to the Minuteman sites in ND & SD this summer…..pretty cool. I’d love to see a Soviet block site. All the action would’ve been happening right over Canadas heads. Kinda scary, I don’t think most of the Russian stuff would’ve made the full trip and would’ve fell short…lol

Dang it, another book to add to the reading list.

I just finished that book.

great, real world scenario (based on previously classified, official protocols).

save yourself the money on bunker construction, BC...you won't want to live in the world that would be left.

Cool pic. Would like to see those.

When I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, near Rapid City, SD, we were what was known as a centralized support base. We were responsible to provide EOD support to Grand Forks, Minot, Malmstrom, Francis E Warren and Whiteman AFB bases. These all had Minute Man missiles. When a problem would occur on one of the missiles, they'd fly us to the base on a KC-135, and we'd take care of the problem. Of course once we resolved the issue, we had to make our own way back. No KC-135 would be cranked up to fly us home.

US Nuclear weapons are the safest weapons out there. They are what is called one point safe. In other words, if a detonation of the explosive material surrounding the fissionable material only occurred at one spot, the nuclear contribution would be equal to 4 pounds of C-4. I cant say that other country's nukes are as safe as ours though.

Nuclear war would be something so horrific, I wouldn't want to even consider it as a possibility, although it is. The main thing to consider surviving the initial detonation is having as much mass and distance between you and the detonation site. The gamma rays, heat and shock are killers. After the detonation, there is the alpha particles that will cover the area downwind.

What kind of problems occur with nuclear missles? Is it mostly maintenance type work, or are there actual repairs? It seems that, just sitting in a hole in the ground, there wouldn't be much to go wrong, but then again a nuclear missile, is probably a pretty complicated device. I imagine the workshop manual for one is pretty thick, and you can't exactly take one on a test flight to check your repair

You may be right, but I've always wanted one. I like unconventional projects.

I live far enough away from anything the Russians or whoever would want to hit I could probably hang on for a bit. And, I'm not talking some multi-million dollar bunker. More of a hidden, large, reinforced cellar with air filtration, security, food, water, lots of ammo, etc.

BC--Future Warlord

When I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, near Rapid City, SD, we were what was known as a centralized support base. We were responsible to provide EOD support to Grand Forks, Minot, Malmstrom, Francis E Warren and Whiteman AFB bases. These all had Minute Man missiles. When a problem would occur on one of the missiles, they'd fly us to the base on a KC-135, and we'd take care of the problem. Of course once we resolved the issue, we had to make our own way back. No KC-135 would be cranked up to fly us home.

US Nuclear weapons are the safest weapons out there. They are what is called one point safe. In other words, if a detonation of the explosive material surrounding the fissionable material only occurred at one spot, the nuclear contribution would be equal to 4 pounds of C-4. I cant say that other country's nukes are as safe as ours though.

Nuclear war would be something so horrific, I wouldn't want to even consider it as a possibility, although it is. The main thing to consider surviving the initial detonation is having as much mass and distance between you and the detonation site. The gamma rays, heat and shock are killers. After the detonation, there is the alpha particles that will cover the area downwind.

We still have a tour site of launch control facility known as Oscar 1 here at Whiteman. As I have not been "read in" I don't know the specifics but do know a single nuke from today (non-missle) would clear from KC to Columbia MO - roughly 120 miles all directions. This is initial - as Paul stated after effects would be even worse.
Nukes are maintained, parts updated etc.....tests done etc. DOE (energy) has the true nerds that know the details - many are young and brilliant......Been through several trainings and once sat in one with a north korean who never finished his background checks before he left the usaf....seriously

Maintenance was not our job. I can't divulge any more than that. I'm not trying to be coy, things are still classified.