I received my Top Secret (TS), Special Compartmentalized Information (SCI) clearance in 1989. I was an Army Captain at the time. Before receiving the clearance, I did not know what work I would actually do in my new job. When I was cleared into the program, the first thing Gene, my new boss, asked was “How do you feel about Nuclear War?”

I had served in Germany the previous four years. About five months before returning home, I learned my next assignment would be with the Joint Tactical Command, Control and Communications Agency (JTC3A) within the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). The duties for the job were not exactly clear or defined, but there was an urgent need for an electrical engineer with a command and control background. I fit the bill and would learn more about the job, once I applied for my TS/SCI clearance (I held a SECRET clearance at the time) and they granted it. 

When I arrived in DC in June of ‘89, my clearance still was not final and I could not go into the Special Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF) for my work. I ended up sitting in a cube outside it, reading and doing “make work” for about a month until my clearance finally came through. 

 Gene brought me into the SCIF and asked, “How do you feel about Nuclear War”? Me: “What?”  Gene:“How do you feel about Nuclear War”?

 To be honest, I had not really thought about it much. We (and the Russians) deployed tactical nucs in Europe, but I doubted they would ever be used, or if they were, my life would end quickly and it did not matter. I had not given a whole lot of thought to the reality of a global nuclear war since I was a kid attending the 4-H Fair back in Ottawa, Illinois. There, the Civil Defense authority’s booth regularly featured plans for a backyard bomb shelter, along with lists of needed provisions. All of us kids thought that was pretty cool, and I remember taking home a booklet or two.

 I gave Gene some generic, inarticulate answer. 

 He answered back, “Well, that’s fair enough. In this office we test the communications systems and procedures used in the event of a nuclear war. I don’t know what your feelings are about nuclear war, but personally, I want to make sure the systems used during periods of heightened security (that’s the euphemism we used for the times of potential nuclear war) are working properly, so no mistakes are made.”

 That made sense, or it certainly made sense for me at the time. 

 It was an interesting job, even as the Cold War was winding down after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I flew on the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP – pronounced KneeCap), the president’s “other plane”, and on the Doomsday Plane (the US Strategic Command aerial nuclear command post) and took part in nuclear exercises on both. I also visited almost every nuclear command and control facility the United States government owned. Some of my travel went through cut-out locations and Cath could not know where I went. If she needed to reach me, there was a phone number to call and a person would get me a message. Like I said, it was an interesting job.

 When I left the program in 1992, I signed a nondisclosure document which prevented me from talking about the details for the next seventy years. Only thirty-seven more years to go. 

A Photo of me, While Stationed at DISA.

 What made me think about all of this now?

 My friends, Howard and Laurie, gave me a book for Christmas called “Nuclear War – A Scenario” by Annie Jacobsen. Published just last year, it follows a scenario in which a Nuclear War takes place in current times. What was particularly riveting and scary for me? The accuracy of her portrayal. Well researched and documented, it tells the story using US systems, procedures, and responses, including events at The White House, the Pentagon, Site-R, Cheyanne Mountain, Offutt Air Force Base and other locations. Having visited all those locations and tested Nuclear Command and Control systems at most of them, I can vouch for the general accuracy of her book. 

 Here’s the thing. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union, everyone thought the world would be a safer place from a nuclear war perspective. And I suppose it was for ten years or so. Then things changed. Multiple times. Nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism are real things. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, some nuclear material may have disappeared. Pakistan joined the nuclear club and then so did North Korea. Iran’s nuclear program continues to advance. Mr. Putin, with his back against the wall, has threatened the use of tactical nuclear weapons. 

 It only takes one madman to change the world. Kim Jong Un in North Korea and Putin in Russia are two examples of people I really wish did not have control of nuclear weapons. I can think of another person or two who give me concern, but I will not name them here. 

In the United States, the president has the sole authority to determine the use of nuclear weapons. Short of someone disobeying an order, there is no counterbalance. 

With our changing world landscape, and growing instability across the globe, I can certainly see a nuclear event happening in the relatively short number of years I have left on this earth. Whether it involves us, Russia, China, somewhere in the Middle East, the Far East, or elsewhere remains to be seen.

 When we and the Soviet Union dominated the world, the concept of deterrence because of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) was perhaps effective. Now, I am not so sure. There are a few too many rogue states and macho-men leaders for it to really work. The real question is whether we destroy the world, or “only” a few million of us are killed. 

— Peace be with you —

Addendum:

If you are looking for a good and interesting read, I recommend you try “Nuclear War – A Scenario” by Annie Jacobsen. It is not a fun book, but it is a page-turner. 

I’ve written three previous blogs that are nuclear weapons related. You may (or may not) find them interesting.

Discover more from Live Life Exuberantly

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a comment