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American Morning
40 Years Ago World's First Nuclear Crisis Erupted
Aired October 17, 2002 - 07:38 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And it was 40 years ago this week that the world's first nuclear crisis erupted. President John F. Kennedy, armed with evidence that the Soviet Union was putting missiles in Cuba, relied on an air force base in Montana to deter Russia's Nikita Khrushchev and peacefully resolve the Cuban missile crisis. The Alpha Zero One Squadron, one squadron in Montana, was nicknamed by Kennedy as his ace in the hole. It has been on alert every day since then.
Our Jeff Flock joins us from Cascade, Montana for a little tour -- good morning, Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, good morning to you.
What a beehive of activity this was 40 years ago to the day. Indeed, President Kennedy just had that information from the U2 spy planes about medium range missiles in Cuba and he set about trying to get this facility online as rapidly as possible.
I want to give you some sense of where we are, 60 or 65 feet or so beneath the hills and plains in Montana. This is a launch control facility, the first ever live broadcast from one of these facilities, an extraordinary look here. Take a look at, this is the blast door that leads into the inner sanctum here. This is about eight tons worth, Paula.
And just to give you some orientation of where we are, take a look top side. This, again, one of multiple sites out there. There are 200 silos in the Montana plains and hills that have these intercontinental ballistic missile launch facilities and silos.
And these are designed to withstand nuclear holocaust as well as inflict one. This is a shock absorber system so if you get a hit, not a direct hit, because that would probably take it out, but if there is a nuclear battle, this may well withstand it.
I'm with Colonel Don Alston, who is wing commander here.
First of all, thank you for this extraordinary opportunity to come live into a live hot facility.
COL. C. DONALD ALSTON, WING COMMANDER, MALSTROM AFB: You're welcome, Jeff.
FLOCK: What was this like 40 years ago?
ALSTON: Well, I've got to tell you, I've seen the pictures and even in black and white, it's clear that we had some older folks that, contractors, crew members, security personnel, and actually it didn't look as sophisticated at the time. I've seen actual old-fashioned office furniture in here. And it was just, folks were in constant motion trying to get the missiles in the launch control center on alert.
FLOCK: Take me through this some if you would. This is a hot facility. These men are here at their posts. And go ahead, Colonel, because I'm fascinated to see what this looks like. Obviously, it looks a little bit different today than it did 40 years ago, new technology, but the same principles.
I'm looking at something that says launch switch over there. Without giving away national security here, I've got to believe that's part of the process.
ALSTON: Yes, sir. No doubt about it. And frankly it takes a great deal of proficiency and I've got every confidence in all our crew members and security personnel to do this job perfectly. But it would require great crew coordination in order to insert our launch key, which we do right there.
FLOCK: I was going to say, show me that. That, what, a key goes in there?
ALSTON: In this, in right there. Yes, that's right. A key would go in there. There's a launch switch clearly marked to the left side. The other, the deputy combat crew commander has two launch switches, as well. And then with great crew coordination, these folks would turn the key and the switches. Another capsule within the 10th Missile Squadron would...
FLOCK: So these guys alone cannot launch on their own?
ALSTON: That's correct. That's exactly right. It would take another capsule performing the same actions at precisely the same time in order to do that job.
FLOCK: Do we have a need for ICBMs today with the threats that are in the world?
ALSTON: Well, I think that, you know, there's no doubt in my mind that we're not here to read folks' minds. Our job is to go out and deliver deterrence every day.
FLOCK: That's what you've been doing for, now, 40 years from this facility.
ALSTON: Absolutely. And I think that we've had great success providing that product every day.
FLOCK: Colonel, I appreciate it, very much.
Thank you, sir, for this extraordinary opportunity, Paula, to get down, as we said, as deep as you can go in this inner sanctum, this facility that has been hot every day for 40 years, hot again today as we speak. Amazing.
That's the latest from here.
Back to you.
ZAHN: Jeff, if you could, give us an idea of how many people are deployed there on a daily basis.
FLOCK: My understanding, Colonel, and correct me, two men are here every day. Two men must be in this facility every day, as well as, of course, support personnel above ground, up top side.
ALSTON: Or two women. And, yes.
FLOCK: I'm sorry. My apologies. ALSTON: Highly trained crew members. Twenty-four hours a day is the length of their tour. And they're here every day and have been here. We're into our third generation of missileers.
FLOCK: Amazing. And there's a wall out there, Paula, that has the names of basically every man that has served, man and woman that has served in this facility since back in the '60s. An amazing place.
ZAHN: Important to make that distinction of the female gender there, Jeff.
FLOCK: Yes. Apologies.
ZAHN: Very quickly in closing, what does this place look like from above ground? I mean can you even tell it exists?
FLOCK: Yes, I want to, I show you that up there. It's very dark out here this morning. It's a little after 5:00, 5:30 or so here in Montana. You know, there are 200 of these silos as well as launch control facilities that control them. They do tend to blend in. But don't try, if you're a terrorist, to get up there and try to get into one of these facilities. I can tell you, even if you're a network television news correspondent, it is not easy to talk into one of these facilities.
ZAHN: Well, that was just fascinating and please thank the powers that be for the great access you had today.
Appreciate it, Jeff.
See you in a little bit later on this morning.
FLOCK: Thanks, Paula.
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 - 07:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And it was 40 years ago this week that the world's first nuclear crisis erupted. President John F. Kennedy, armed with evidence that the Soviet Union was putting missiles in Cuba, relied on an air force base in Montana to deter Russia's Nikita Khrushchev and peacefully resolve the Cuban missile crisis. The Alpha Zero One Squadron, one squadron in Montana, was nicknamed by Kennedy as his ace in the hole. It has been on alert every day since then.
Our Jeff Flock joins us from Cascade, Montana for a little tour -- good morning, Jeff.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, good morning to you.
What a beehive of activity this was 40 years ago to the day. Indeed, President Kennedy just had that information from the U2 spy planes about medium range missiles in Cuba and he set about trying to get this facility online as rapidly as possible.
I want to give you some sense of where we are, 60 or 65 feet or so beneath the hills and plains in Montana. This is a launch control facility, the first ever live broadcast from one of these facilities, an extraordinary look here. Take a look at, this is the blast door that leads into the inner sanctum here. This is about eight tons worth, Paula.
And just to give you some orientation of where we are, take a look top side. This, again, one of multiple sites out there. There are 200 silos in the Montana plains and hills that have these intercontinental ballistic missile launch facilities and silos.
And these are designed to withstand nuclear holocaust as well as inflict one. This is a shock absorber system so if you get a hit, not a direct hit, because that would probably take it out, but if there is a nuclear battle, this may well withstand it.
I'm with Colonel Don Alston, who is wing commander here.
First of all, thank you for this extraordinary opportunity to come live into a live hot facility.
COL. C. DONALD ALSTON, WING COMMANDER, MALSTROM AFB: You're welcome, Jeff.
FLOCK: What was this like 40 years ago?
ALSTON: Well, I've got to tell you, I've seen the pictures and even in black and white, it's clear that we had some older folks that, contractors, crew members, security personnel, and actually it didn't look as sophisticated at the time. I've seen actual old-fashioned office furniture in here. And it was just, folks were in constant motion trying to get the missiles in the launch control center on alert.
FLOCK: Take me through this some if you would. This is a hot facility. These men are here at their posts. And go ahead, Colonel, because I'm fascinated to see what this looks like. Obviously, it looks a little bit different today than it did 40 years ago, new technology, but the same principles.
I'm looking at something that says launch switch over there. Without giving away national security here, I've got to believe that's part of the process.
ALSTON: Yes, sir. No doubt about it. And frankly it takes a great deal of proficiency and I've got every confidence in all our crew members and security personnel to do this job perfectly. But it would require great crew coordination in order to insert our launch key, which we do right there.
FLOCK: I was going to say, show me that. That, what, a key goes in there?
ALSTON: In this, in right there. Yes, that's right. A key would go in there. There's a launch switch clearly marked to the left side. The other, the deputy combat crew commander has two launch switches, as well. And then with great crew coordination, these folks would turn the key and the switches. Another capsule within the 10th Missile Squadron would...
FLOCK: So these guys alone cannot launch on their own?
ALSTON: That's correct. That's exactly right. It would take another capsule performing the same actions at precisely the same time in order to do that job.
FLOCK: Do we have a need for ICBMs today with the threats that are in the world?
ALSTON: Well, I think that, you know, there's no doubt in my mind that we're not here to read folks' minds. Our job is to go out and deliver deterrence every day.
FLOCK: That's what you've been doing for, now, 40 years from this facility.
ALSTON: Absolutely. And I think that we've had great success providing that product every day.
FLOCK: Colonel, I appreciate it, very much.
Thank you, sir, for this extraordinary opportunity, Paula, to get down, as we said, as deep as you can go in this inner sanctum, this facility that has been hot every day for 40 years, hot again today as we speak. Amazing.
That's the latest from here.
Back to you.
ZAHN: Jeff, if you could, give us an idea of how many people are deployed there on a daily basis.
FLOCK: My understanding, Colonel, and correct me, two men are here every day. Two men must be in this facility every day, as well as, of course, support personnel above ground, up top side.
ALSTON: Or two women. And, yes.
FLOCK: I'm sorry. My apologies. ALSTON: Highly trained crew members. Twenty-four hours a day is the length of their tour. And they're here every day and have been here. We're into our third generation of missileers.
FLOCK: Amazing. And there's a wall out there, Paula, that has the names of basically every man that has served, man and woman that has served in this facility since back in the '60s. An amazing place.
ZAHN: Important to make that distinction of the female gender there, Jeff.
FLOCK: Yes. Apologies.
ZAHN: Very quickly in closing, what does this place look like from above ground? I mean can you even tell it exists?
FLOCK: Yes, I want to, I show you that up there. It's very dark out here this morning. It's a little after 5:00, 5:30 or so here in Montana. You know, there are 200 of these silos as well as launch control facilities that control them. They do tend to blend in. But don't try, if you're a terrorist, to get up there and try to get into one of these facilities. I can tell you, even if you're a network television news correspondent, it is not easy to talk into one of these facilities.
ZAHN: Well, that was just fascinating and please thank the powers that be for the great access you had today.
Appreciate it, Jeff.
See you in a little bit later on this morning.
FLOCK: Thanks, Paula.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
