 PUSH control pregnancy went 250 degrees, 1-0 Keesley, 1-4 You're climbing out of the structure, left turn, climb on course, cleared for takeoff All right, you take 1-1 1-6-2.5 seconds Now, can you hear me? I'm on the stretch, we're ready, we're ready Three sub-parts here, hold Got it Job told, right? I have a work order to radio Aircraft 1-1-6 On Baker 1, UHS enough Roger, work order to radio, 1-1-6 That's a good message, and once checked in 500, 5-step, 1-return of missiles Not required No toes Noted Watch enable switches A and will Mark 4 Mark Sunstar 0-3 You've got your show Roger, ready for disconnect now We are in the command post of the strategic air command at Offit Air Force Base 10 miles south of Omaha, Nebraska From this location, some four stories underground The endless activities of SAC are precisely monitored and controlled Every second of every day The controllers, who man this facility Provide the length between the president through the joint chiefs of staff And the commander in chief of the strategic air command And the length between the SAC commander And the strongest and most ready military force ever conceived A moment ago, the duty controller pushed a button and picked up a telephone And those two simple motions Put him in touch with over 70 subordinate SAC command posts Command posts which supervise over a quarter of a million people The strength of SAC is its people Their every effort contributes to the success of the mission Who they are, where they are How they feel about their jobs is our story A story best told by the people who live it every day This is Navigator coming up on EIP in one minute That was a navigator telling us that we're coming up on our initial point This is the point from which the bomb run actually begins The bomb plot is going to be looking for us at this particular point And we must arrive over this point on the ground So that they can pick us up with their very narrow beam radar After we pass over the IP or initial point The bomb run effectively begins And everybody in the whole crew The radar navigator and the EW and the co-pilot gunner Everybody's concerned this time of getting the bomb on the target When I say put the bomb on the target I don't mean it It's an actual bomb, it's a simulated bomb The Air Force or SAC stations these trains At about three month intervals Places around the country Most of the places are isolated So that the targets would be difficult to find And SAC sets up all their equipment To score the bombers as they come across this bomb plot Knows where we are and when we release the weapon Plot us down and grab a big plotting board For my crew and for most of the crews in our wing While we fly approximately three sorties a month That's three missions a month that we fly On these missions I'd say we've had maybe Oh five or six bomb runs And this is not only my crew The crews in this wing, the crews in all the wings The squadrons in SAC Twenty seconds to go, the radar navigator Actuates the tone downstairs with a switch He turns his tone on, the bomb plot hears it And they track us, their final track On their big plotting board Now set up number one, I'll get them Twenty-five, ten Get a similar tone That's forty-five left It's okay, bomb door's coming open Roger, two, one So we're in frame number 0172, gunner 172 That's the first run, we have several more We won't know how well we did until bomb plot Computes and calls back to us our coded scores Like everything else of this nature it requires A great deal of practice Practice to keep ourselves at peak efficiency And carry out SAC's mission of deterrence That's deterrence not only for a nuclear war But to keep a limited war from escalating into a nuclear war Maintaining a nuclear deterrent Demands precise and positive control of the force This applies not only to the delivery of weapons In time of war, but to the readiness of them In time of peace We live positive control, we have to Behind that console and those screens up there Are over one thousand combat aircraft and nearly one thousand ICBMs Positive control evolves around a system called The two officer policy That is to say at any level of command In regards to positive control No action towards a strike or execution of force Can be taken without Concurrent actions by two designated positive control individuals Regarding the aircraft It can be launched under positive control And continue to appoint geographic fix short Of enemy territory If prior reaching that fix They have not received a valid and authentic go code They will turn around and return home without striking Receipt of a valid go code By a combat crew in flight Must be verified by the aircraft commander And at least one other positive control officer Even if they should experience radio failure While airborne and enroute to this geographic fix They would return home because they have no possible chance Of receiving a valid go code Now in regard to missiles This is a missile procedures trainer Where crew members can practice almost everything That they can accomplish in an actual capsule operation And get the proper reactions Now I can take this key Insert it and turn it And I wouldn't launch any of the ten minute man missiles That I monitor It takes another key in the hands of my deputy Turn simultaneously with this one After we've accomplished several checklists To get a vote in Beyond this it also takes two other crew members In another capsule miles away To accomplish the same procedures In order to launch any missiles This is an aspect of positive control That is very precise If we should undergo an all out attack It is planned for the missile forces To ride it out underground Any decision to launch Must come from the president Whatever happens we'll be ready Being ready means many things To the crews of the minute man To the combat crews it means being prepared At the beginning of each duty day To pass a test of procedures With a grade of 100% For this is the only passing grade And if an individual does not achieve it He does not go on duty The single duty day averages 30 hours From portal to portal And being ready means being psychologically And physiologically fit We spend 24 of these hours 60 feet underground In a capsule enclosed by earth And reinforced by concrete and steel Through change of command After change of command The systems are kept in the green Ready to launch in a matter of seconds Miles from the consoles Of the launch control facilities Are the silos of the missiles themselves Almost 1000 of them Are deployed in areas isolated and remote Here the men train to send The minute man missiles on their way Backed up by those trained to maintain them And what they do Lends true substance to the definition of Being ready to go They're always checking us out one way or the other They say we're highly skilled technicians Why shouldn't we prove it Now in the process of removing the missile With the transporter erector To send to Vandenberg for test firing When we do get the word We're going to launch one at Vandenberg The teams immediately pick up in morale We've been working on this missile for quite a while We have no doubt whatsoever That the maintenance has been performed correctly The missile field is different From the aircraft field Because the maintenance people in the aircraft field Can see their bird fly every day Missile people can't They just go out and work on it It comes in the green That's the last they have to do with it Until it goes out again They never see it actually fly Until they get a proficiency launch Basic idea for the missile crew members Is to get experience launching Actually launching a missile And they can't see them when they launch it themselves But they know it's all actual operation We sometimes think that we're sitting out there That a big man on the other side Stops and looks and takes inventory Of our deterrent circumstances here And he says to himself today isn't today And as long as we can continue Having him say this every day We're continuing this deterrent effort And it is effective We expect it to be a perfect launch With no hold ups, no delays whatsoever Everyone really gets out They work hard just to get to go out on these launches Because more to it than just working They get to see what happens They get to see the final result Of what we're all working for This is the peace of our nation The order for the proficiency launch Into the Air Force Western test range Comes from the commander in chief Of the strategic air command Through the senior controller on duty At the command post And it comes without warning Noted Launch naval switches And we'll arm while you breathe I agree, sir Arm left forth Which is arm, war plan, select switch Rebar in position Launch key It's inserted The port on the missile Looks good From tests like this A sack can judge the confidence of its people Ability is something you can't take for granted Even when things are working smoothly Now here in the SAC command post We get into just about everything it goes on From my position as senior controller I can see a mounting respect for the command and control system That enables SAC to carry out its daily commitments With swiftness and accuracy In the event that the SAC underground command post And alternate command posts were destroyed In an all out conflict An airborne command post Assumed direction of the command's bomber missile force And execution of the command's emergency war orders Under authority of the president We have this airborne command post Operating day and night 365 days a year Along with every other general officer in SAC And on a roster basis I am serving as the emergency airborne actions officer We have a very highly qualified And competent staff aboard here Consisting of operations Materiel Intelligence And communications people In fact it's very much like being downstairs In the underground Once we're airborne We establish and maintain contact With the SAC underground Down in the headquarters Alternate SAC command posts The Air Force command post in Washington And the joint war room in Washington Well certainly Having this facility at 30,000 feet Gives us a further guarantee That we can launch our global force Effectively in retaliation to attack Under a single tanker management concept SAC with some 600 KC-135 jet Stratotankers Is assigned the entire United States Air Force Aerial refueling responsibility Tankers strategically positioned Help to maintain the deterrent power Of the United States And are prepared at any time To extend the punch of its fighter And bomber forces Global capability means getting out bombers To the target and back again That's where air refueling comes in That's our business That's what we're here for Air refueling could be a tricky business Flying along at 500 knots Transferring up to a thousand gallons per minute As you can tell this could be a bit tricky But I feel like with our professional crews Our bomber pilots Our tanker crews Boomers I feel like that we've taken the trick Out of air refueling When we're refueling When you're flying up there And of course you know once you're refueling This is all being coordinated on the ground You know you're either refueling B-52 Or B-58 or something like this You know exactly what you're doing The air speed you're going to be flying in And you know this man when he's pulling In the back of you Has more than like they've been doing This a lot of work Now my first thoughts And I look back there And start picking out You can start seeing him On the way back from six to eight miles And you observe him closely coming in And a few thoughts that run through your mind Like this is Well one of the co-pollards Going to be refueling today One of the pilots Going to be watching real carefully And what you know You know that they are You know this man that As he comes in there Has been at the game more than likely He's a B-52 pilot He's been at the game a long time And you can watch him You can tell as he's coming in Just exactly once What type of super-pilot he's going to be But he comes in real slow Cautiously moving in very slowly Taking his time You know that he's He's thinking about refueling He's coordinated He's got it on his mind And as you observe him moving in closely Of course you're all eyeballs You're laying back there And I know for sure that When he's moving in there He's relying on my skill And I'm also relying on his skill We trust each other We know that That we're both capable That we wouldn't be there We were a few bombers Of course In this business But also in the same In the same time that we do I'd say right now At the present time a greater More business for fighters And these people When they go overseas Of course you know With our global capability That we have now When they want to move a wing They want to move a bunch of people in a hurry They can rely on KC-135 The tankers to carry them across But as well our way across there They realize that When we reach past And get to the point of Past the point of no return That we're sort of a mother We have a life of blood for them We're providing them navigation And fuel on the way over I've had fighter pilots Pull up in the back of me And we're glad to see you And didn't think you'd ever get here They know that that pipe That big iron pipe coming out there They know that that means That means getting there I'm not getting there And when you get past The point of no return You're going or coming So it's pretty nice to have A mother and son out there In regards to the conflict In Southeast Asia The wreckage at the present time Of course you know we're busy With the B-52 and the The tank fighters at the same time We feel like we have a Probably just a vital job In series is Because we see the B-52 Pulling in the back of us Loading the bombs and armament And we know the The vitality of his mission A very vital function He's performing And what it means to the people On the ground over there And the same goes true to the Fighters We get some going coming also And we know that We've been right there also Providing a job as vital Not as dangerous perhaps I realize But a job as vital as theirs Because they have to Have the gas to get there And we realize that When we were finished With these people in there On the way of the target That the man on the ground there This is more than a welcome sign to him We know the support that the B-52 And the fighters are providing there When the man on the ground Looks up and sees the airplane That the man on the airplane Is also very aware of the support That he's given to the man on the ground And this just is A one-way effort here This is everybody combined With hands flash together To get this job done The aircraft and crews in Sack are combat ready But to keep crews at peak efficiency Means thousands and thousands Of hours of flying time every year And this means getting the most From the aircraft The question then How do you keep complex aircraft From wearing out under continual use The responsibility is in the hands Of those in maintenance Maintenance schedules are adhered To as closely as any phase Of an airborne mission It begins with a debriefing As soon as an aircraft lands Each air crew member reviews The entire mission in detail With the maintenance specialists All systems that have not worked perfectly Have to be fixed immediately Maintenance control is the heart Of the maintenance activity And top airmen regulate its every beat The system the controllers use Is so thorough, so accurate That they can tell a month in advance Where each aircraft by tail number will be And what it will be doing Because on every Sack base A portion of its aircraft Are on continuous ground alert As part of the 50% of Sack's Total bomber and tanker force Ready to react well Within the warning time provided By the ballistic missile early warning system As a result of the maintenance debriefing Of this aircraft We find we have numerous discrepancies This aircraft has got to be on the alert pad And we're going to do it Keeping the strategic air command's Mighty force of aircraft operationally ready Isn't exactly an easy way of life But neither is standing alert Waiting for something you don't want to happen To happen Yep, this concludes the briefing Are there any questions? There is going to be what? We go out to brief like this morning This has been our daily alert briefing Each day of our 7-day alert tour Starts with a similar briefing Consists of weather information Operational planning factors and maintenance During our 7-day alert tour We live here in this building We eat, sleep, and flight plan here We're now going out to pre-flight Followed by mission planning Alert activity to me Is a very important thing Of course with our crew we think it's very important We think it's important to the country for defense And it's difficult to explain alert Because alert to me Means mission planning Daily brief lights Daily briefings And a great deal of study And testing For example on the first day When we come on alert A good portion of that day I'll say 75% is made up of testing Testing in the areas of Launch procedures, tactics Emergency procedures And on the mission that you're Supposed to fly in the event We would have a war As a navigator on this B-52 crew Usually it'll take at least 2 hours 2 hours of flight planning for every hour That you will be in the air I have to get almost all of my paperwork done Before any of the rest of the crew members can start I will take it from takeoff through aerial refueling Into a nav leg or to fly AGM missiles Into several Race tracks for bomb releases Into the gunnery If we have it scheduled for that time Back here scheduled enough time For pilot work and then land It's a personal relationship with The other crew members It's something that I don't think Most people appreciate In that you have to not only work with this man On an 8 to 5 basis Such as a civilian would do But you also have to live with him You have to live in the same room with him You have to eat at the same table And you're never out of sight of that man And so after a week It's amazing to me that you don't get on I don't work We all stay together as a crew But we do have certain freedoms Outside the building The wife has to be able to accept Your job She has to be able to accept that You're going to be gone for 7 days at a time She can come down to see you If she remains out at the gate You can go out and see her in a car It's just like back in high school days Sitting in the car again The crew doesn't very often I like to stay pretty close to the airplane I don't like to get too far away That involves a traffic problem If you go to the BX plane For example, the copilot wants to go to the BX To get some toothpaste or something We all go along with him We don't all necessarily buy toothpaste However, we'll stand there while he does The system blows This creates a rush to the airplane And because of security policy We have to go in a group The time requirements are such We don't have one striker We have to get there within a very short period of time And the horn to me Just scares me to death every time it blows In fact, when they have the daily test eye jump Even if I'm looking at my watch It's going to blow in the next 5 seconds I jump And in fact, at home, if I I hear something that sounds like a horn I usually jump And I turn pale, I'm sure And I run to the thing like crazy It's a test exercise The order comes A complete surprise Whatever the situation is These men respond with all the Concentration, seriousness And confidence the occasion demands Despite the fact that the men of SAC are specialists Who work in an extraordinary environment And are trained to an extraordinary degree They are not supermen They are just as fallible as any judge Surgeon Or man in government anywhere In a word, they're human But with more than their share Of dedication and responsibility Beyond this What more than one asks