Posted on 05/21/2010 6:56:37 PM PDT by VaRepublican
just looking for other SAGE folks who might be still around. My dad passed away to soon but I just found out he was an original member of sage, never said a word.
In the mid 90’s I was at a science conference with him with lots of Russians presenting papers and learning. At dinner we would sometimes sit with them. He would always ask them where they were from, and then make comments like “Oh yeah - I know where XXXXX is. That was part of nuclear siting plan back in the Cold War.”
Active Duty/Retiree ping.
That certainly does go back in time. I was a USAF tower/RAPCON/GCA controller, as well as a TERPS specialist, from 67 to 87.
Welcome to Free Republic! Stick around, we’re still fighting the commies.
Not to take this too far off topic, but my Dad was a B47 Navigator when he retired from SAC in 1962. I loved their motto: “Peace is our profession”.
RIP Captain Thomas C. Loveland.
My Dad was a B47 Navigator when he retired from SAC in 1962. I loved their motto: “Peace is our profession”.
The world was a better place because of SAC and men like your father.
Were ya ever at Kincheloe ?
No, but I was in Cheyenne Mountain running all the mainframes SAGE, DEW, Tule, RAF Fylingsdale and Woomera sent our way.
We had Philco Ford 2000’s running Delta (Space Track) and 425L—which we called Fornicator (four and a quarter, get it?) (Missile Warning), and a Univac 1106 running MEBU (Mission Essential Backup), which later was used to paint trajectory screens for Missile Warning in the mountain. I used to work there often and so I could watch every exercise scenarios and see all the mass attack launches against every American city, town and hamlet. I used to think, “Someday, this is going to happen.”
I was the relief shift in late 1979 when someone ran the mass attack scenario tapes right before shift change. The oncoming missile warning crew didn’t know it was a scenario.
Now this part I was TOLD, and didn’t see it happen. I was at my computer console upstairs in the Univac room reading the Sunday paper. Usually this smaller room was a one or two man position as there really wasn’t a lot to do after hours and on weekends. I enjoyed the solitude. I was actually unaware what was going on until several hours later, and only found out because I complained to my Shift supervisor that I never got relieved for supper. Anyways, the story:
It turned out later that the day shift, eager to get out as it was a nice late Fall day, left without a full SITREP to the oncoming Colonel. MW had just come on shift (like me, we were all one big crew) and suddenly the screens lit up with multiple launches from the USSR and PRC, as well as SLBM... They went to Command Authority alert and even called CINCSAC, as Carter was in route from Camp David to the White House via helicopter (it was Sunday around 1500) and comms were sporadic. Someone started saying Washington was destroyed, so CINCSAC alerted silos and I’m told some concrete missile covers were blown off in preparation for launching!
That’s when my Computer Operations Shift supervisor, a Tech Sergeant, called MW and asked if they wanted to run more scenarios after the mass attack scenario finished. They said you could hear the screaming over the phone even in the noisy computer room with all the A/C blowers on full blast. Man what a mess! I’ve never seen so much brass in the computer room and other places that evening! At first they were trying to blame TSgt Brewer for running the tape without notification, but the log clearly showed it was run by day shift per MW order. So two Colonels ending their careers that day. Old TSgt Brewer got off with a reprimand for failing to note a scenario was in effect at shift change—they have a 30 second crew brief in MW at shift change after the local elements are relieved (which was bull, they only put that requirement in the changeover log AFTER the incident). Brewer said he was not even aware MW didn’t know a scenario was going at that time.
Dear Lord, we sure dodged a bullet there.
There was a SAGE facility at Truax Field in Madison, Wisconsin that was active when I was a kid. When it was retired, and the base was deactivated, the company that purchased the building had a heck of a time cutting holes in the walls as they were 6 or 10 feet thick.
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