An armoured jump jet with radiation shielding?

Everyone is staring at each other in disbelief. No one got the normal forewaring. (You see, the bird had stars in his eyes, so he always leaked the details of the the “exercise” klaxon so that the force timing looked terrific! That way, he improved his chances of being general.) I managed to wipe myself somewhat dry and mustered into my flight suit. I remembered running to my aircraft, the first in the christmass tree parking arrangement. There was so much confusion.

The pilot and I arrived at the aircraft at about the same time and were busy firing up the engines. After getting the electrical system hot, I got the radios online and heard the command post blaring out the encoded text for the crews to copy to the message book.

The Nav arrived choking from the smoke and fumes of the eight start cartridges. His job was to decode the message. The crew chief plugged in and was listening to the interphone traffic.

The Nave told the Pilot, “You’re not going to believe this Shit!” It’s an actual message! We have to taxi to the hold line and await survival launch authentication.

The Pilot responded, “Recopy the damn message Nav! What have you been smoking anyway?”

A few short moments later, the Nav replied, “Pilot, I am telling you, this is an actual message. Let’s get the safe open and get the tickets ready!”

In a harsh voice and thinking he could decode the message correctly, the Pilot shouts, “Nav, bring that damn decode book up here and I’ll decypher it!”

Well as fate would have it, the first two characters correctly translated to the ill fated word “ACTUAL”. I could make this a really long story and I should probablly write it all down someday. The real problem was what happened next.

Since this was a supposed nuclear survival launch, the message decoded to something like “taxi to the hold short line and await launch authentication.” Since this was an “actual” survival launch…the only message we could receive was to launch. There were no other possibilities or options for a different message than to launch. Nothing like, oops boys, we made a mistake so would you please taxi down the runway and back to your parking spots!

The confusion was crazy and scary. As a copilot, I knew the secret winchester HF channel and was listening to all the other SAC bases. We were all asking the same question! “Did you get ‘The MESSAGE’, you know, the message?” Loring, Minot, KI Sawyer,Grand Forks, and all the rest, we were all asking the “BIG” question.

The launch message never came. There were severl attempts made to recall the aircraft back to parking. Over the years in SAC we crew dogs were always told that one day we would be tested for our loyalty and ability to follow orders. These attempts to recall us to the christmas tree were useless. The bird couldn’t trick us into disobeying orders. We were going to wait for the launch order and that was that.

Mean while, the Nav had been monitoring his watch…tic toc, tic toc. Missle flight time from Russia to our southern base was about 27 minutes. Missle flight time to Loring was about 17 minutes. I remember winchester going silent and then someone began counting down, five, four, three, two, one…..then dead silence for what seemed liked an eternity. Then there was this sobbing voice announcing to winchester listeners that Loring was still there. Everyone on our plane cheered! One by one the scenario continued as base after base counted down and then reported that there was no nuclear blast.

I remember crying while listening to those count downs. The tensenses in each voice…the relief that they were still there…and the disbelief that no one launched for survival as was required by the EWO, Emergency War Order.

Time dragged on, and we still would not move; we would not honor the repeated request from the command post to return to parking even after correctly authenting those messages. We could only launch. That was the only option allowed by the first message.

Eventually, the bird connected to our bomber, swore on a stack of bibles that he wasn’t under duress, that this wasn’t a loyalty test, and that we were to return to parking and the bird would assume all responsiblity for any punitive actions associated with his NOT ACCORDING TO HOYLE request. With six witnesses on board, we voted and agreed to return to parking. It took nearly four hours from the klaxon to find ourselves snuggled safely back in our chocks.

I think it is egg in the eyes of the planners who failed to conceive of the possiblity that there could be a “FALSE ACTUAL”. It is more egg in their faces to know that there were those service members out there who elected to ignore the “actual” message, believing it to be a false message. Regardless, computers can and do fail, and planners cannot percieve all outcomes. I am just thankful that I didn’t have to drop my bombs those frightful nights in July, 1980!

A laugh? Technology revealed from a country to the people is ATLEAST 20 years behind, so it would be a good, if not great system, so stfu.

The poster did not even correctly describe the sequence of events that would have occured and he gives his position at the time as a Fire Data computer operator, in a power test station, neither of which existed.

Additionally he states 9 missiles were erected which is incorrect again as the Pershing 1a would not have allowed this to occur.

“we were to have First Strike Capability (NATO Doctrine)” This is a real laugh for anyone familiar with Emergency Message Authentication systems in place at that time….

As a Former inspector of launch crew profciency and with a Top Secret security clearance I would rate this post as a “Wanna Be important” persons attempt to impress someone

In 1979 we received launch codes for our weapons, which caused the rounds to be counted, PAL (Permissive Action Link) was enabled, ball lock pins were pulled, Nine Missles were erected, fire buttons were exposed, recorders were copying launch codes, within the (BCC) Battery Control Central, all you could think of durning that time was do your job, you don’t think of family, you don’t think “What If”. We had no idea what happened all we knew was an attck was in progress and we were to have First Strike Capability (NATO Doctrine).
We were very close to launch, when abort, was announced, it was a chore to get those weapons down back into their cradels and relocked in place.
Many of us whent outside and smoked a cigarette and reflected, on the then “What If”.
That was my only close call with God All Mighty.

I have known the fear of death three times in my life and that is one of them. I did my job, but I found a moment to call my wife at home and tell her to get under the basement steps and not to come out. I could not tell her what I knew, so she didn’t get the reason for my call, but I’m sure she sensed the urgency in my voice, and probably my fear.

Being on a Strategic Air Command base with B-52 bombers, that base being located in the middle of the largest nuclear missle field in the free world, we were a prime target for multiple incoming missiles. Getting under the steps was about as useful as getting under the student desks as we were instructed back in second grade in the 50′s. But when it comes to loved ones, you do what you can.

The incident may have taken only 6 minutes at headquarters, but I can assure you it took a lot longer than that out at field level. I kept wondering if I would hear our missles leaving their silos or if I would hear the incoming detonation, or if I would hear nothing at all.

As I type this the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end.

THAT one of the three hit home the hardest. It involved my family, and it is as vivid in my mind today as when it occurred. I can smell the air of that day right now.

I remember hearing that for his effort, the Russians rewarded him with a telephone.