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CNN Live Today

Look Inside Missile Alert Facility in Montana

Aired October 17, 2002 - 11:19   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The news from North Korea, admissions from there that there is an active weapons of mass destruction program under way recalls the specter of the Cold War. It was 40 years ago this week that the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted. The nation faced the real possibility of a nuclear war. The nation's missile alert facility in Montana was then put on alert and President Kennedy called the nuclear facility in Montana his ace in the hole. That facility is still on alert. It remains ready for action to this day. Our Jeff Flock is standing by. He is there in Cascade, Montana, and he's going to take us inside for an exclusive report -- Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's so many interesting things here, Leon. When you think about the history. It's fascinating. You see the sign on the wall, we're down 60 feet down, the two-person concept, not one person alone can launch an ICBM, a very important concept. In fact, it takes more than two. This is a blast door, because we're going to walk through here to the capsule, about eight tons of concrete and steel there. Look at the walls here, this is four-and-a-half feet thick concrete and rebar.

We're in now a secure area. Sergeant Scott Held has the task of making sure that you keep the environment up in the area. You don't have your finger on the missiles, but you have an important job.

TECH SGT. SCOTT HELD: Yes, Jeff, I do. As you can hear going through the hoses right now is what we call environmental control system. It's primary air going to the racks, computer racks.

FLOCK: You need to keep the temperature constant, even if there's a nuclear holocaust.

HELD: That's right. It's 55 degrees coming down, and there's such a heat-load, it's 75 degrees going topside.

FLOCK: I want to show our viewers what it looks like up topside, and that is, you're out, I don't want to say the middle of nowhere, because I don't want to offend anybody, but you are in the middle of nowhere.

HELD: Yes, we are, sir. We're in the middle of nowhere Montana.

FLOCK: But you still need to maintain a very sophisticated facility out here.

HELD: Yes, we do. Our job here, every job that we have out on the site is a jack-of-all-trades. My main job out here is provide environmental control system, keep it online, and provide power down to the LCC.

FLOCK: Because you have to maintain power out here under any circumstances.

HELD: That's right.

FLOCK: You talk about, Leon, their place in history, there's a display upstairs, I think we have a camera that shows you the background of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Forty years ago, this was an extraordinarily hotspot. And they've saved some of the pieces of history. There was a lockbox there where the keys, the original keys, for the missiles were kept. That was how the missiles got launched, someone turned a key. Also a Zulu clock there that exists.

We were talking with Sergeant Held. You're in the middle of nowhere. Your job is to provide food for folks out here.

PATRICE GUILLDRYN: Right. And people really appreciate it, when they can come out to the mess and get a hot meal.

FLOCK: Because you are, as you said, in the middle of nowhere, and folks are 24-on, 24-off, you have snow, this is Montana; this is not downtown fun .

GUILLDRYN: We provide 8,000 meals a year, roughly, for all of the personnel on site and also assist with any emergency procedures that they have on site.

FLOCK: So this is self-contained unit.

GUILLDRYN: Yes, sir.

FLOCK: Patrice, I appreciate it very much. One last look, as you can perhaps see, people on alert here, even as we speak, as perhaps we showed you earlier, right up to the launch switch, which if I get this out of the way, perhaps you can see, that is how a missile, in fact, gets launched. Happy to report that one has never been launched in anger in this country.

That is the latest, Leon, an amazing look.

HARRIS: Yes. We want to keep that streak alive, Jeff. Keep your hands away from that panel, please. You got us a little nervous here.

Jeff Flock, reporting live from the middle of nowhere, Montana.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired October 17, 2002 - 11:19   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The news from North Korea, admissions from there that there is an active weapons of mass destruction program under way recalls the specter of the Cold War. It was 40 years ago this week that the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted. The nation faced the real possibility of a nuclear war. The nation's missile alert facility in Montana was then put on alert and President Kennedy called the nuclear facility in Montana his ace in the hole. That facility is still on alert. It remains ready for action to this day. Our Jeff Flock is standing by. He is there in Cascade, Montana, and he's going to take us inside for an exclusive report -- Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's so many interesting things here, Leon. When you think about the history. It's fascinating. You see the sign on the wall, we're down 60 feet down, the two-person concept, not one person alone can launch an ICBM, a very important concept. In fact, it takes more than two. This is a blast door, because we're going to walk through here to the capsule, about eight tons of concrete and steel there. Look at the walls here, this is four-and-a-half feet thick concrete and rebar.

We're in now a secure area. Sergeant Scott Held has the task of making sure that you keep the environment up in the area. You don't have your finger on the missiles, but you have an important job.

TECH SGT. SCOTT HELD: Yes, Jeff, I do. As you can hear going through the hoses right now is what we call environmental control system. It's primary air going to the racks, computer racks.

FLOCK: You need to keep the temperature constant, even if there's a nuclear holocaust.

HELD: That's right. It's 55 degrees coming down, and there's such a heat-load, it's 75 degrees going topside.

FLOCK: I want to show our viewers what it looks like up topside, and that is, you're out, I don't want to say the middle of nowhere, because I don't want to offend anybody, but you are in the middle of nowhere.

HELD: Yes, we are, sir. We're in the middle of nowhere Montana.

FLOCK: But you still need to maintain a very sophisticated facility out here.

HELD: Yes, we do. Our job here, every job that we have out on the site is a jack-of-all-trades. My main job out here is provide environmental control system, keep it online, and provide power down to the LCC.

FLOCK: Because you have to maintain power out here under any circumstances.

HELD: That's right.

FLOCK: You talk about, Leon, their place in history, there's a display upstairs, I think we have a camera that shows you the background of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Forty years ago, this was an extraordinarily hotspot. And they've saved some of the pieces of history. There was a lockbox there where the keys, the original keys, for the missiles were kept. That was how the missiles got launched, someone turned a key. Also a Zulu clock there that exists.

We were talking with Sergeant Held. You're in the middle of nowhere. Your job is to provide food for folks out here.

PATRICE GUILLDRYN: Right. And people really appreciate it, when they can come out to the mess and get a hot meal.

FLOCK: Because you are, as you said, in the middle of nowhere, and folks are 24-on, 24-off, you have snow, this is Montana; this is not downtown fun .

GUILLDRYN: We provide 8,000 meals a year, roughly, for all of the personnel on site and also assist with any emergency procedures that they have on site.

FLOCK: So this is self-contained unit.

GUILLDRYN: Yes, sir.

FLOCK: Patrice, I appreciate it very much. One last look, as you can perhaps see, people on alert here, even as we speak, as perhaps we showed you earlier, right up to the launch switch, which if I get this out of the way, perhaps you can see, that is how a missile, in fact, gets launched. Happy to report that one has never been launched in anger in this country.

That is the latest, Leon, an amazing look.

HARRIS: Yes. We want to keep that streak alive, Jeff. Keep your hands away from that panel, please. You got us a little nervous here.

Jeff Flock, reporting live from the middle of nowhere, Montana.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com