Posted on 09/10/2008 9:53:45 AM PDT by STARWISE
FORT GREELY, Alaska (American Forces Press Service, Aug. 30, 2007) - While most Americans were celebrating Independence Day in 2006, Maj. Joe Miley was at his post in the remote interior of Alaska, staring at blips on a computer screen reminiscent of a 1980s video game.
But this was no game. Maj. Miley was in the "tank turret" of U.S. missile defense, scrutinizing 21st-century space-surveillance technology and monitoring a North Korean long-range ballistic missile test.
"It was quite a sense of awe. We had spent thousands of hours on the system, doing simulations, training for such an event and then actually watching the system and waiting for the sensors to pick up and see if we'd be directed to engage the missile," Maj. Miley said. "It felt like this was what we had prepared for, and we were ready."
The missile failed to become even a remote threat as it toppled within in a minute of launch into the Sea of Japan. Had it assumed a threatening course and reached an altitude capable of propelling it to U.S. soil, Maj. Miley and a handful of Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers stood ready, upon direction, to smash it into pieces mid-course.
*snip*
"The world's a dangerous place, and the future is uncertain, and technology allows us to have this capability," Col. Besch said. "We know from 9/11 that if an event were to occur in a major city ... that the impact to human life and the cost in dollars would be astronomical."
*snip*
Traditional units perform maintenance and training during a "red cycle" following deployments or exercises.
"There's no red cycle here. It's 'green' 365-24-7. We have to maintain our operational mission. There is no standing down from it," Maj. Miley said.
(Excerpt) Read more at army.mil ...
Who ya gonna call?
At 3:00 AM?
Sarah Palin is the Commander of the Alaska National Guard!!!
ping
They’re REALLY among the most vital of our defense frontlines now, if not the most essential.
Sarah Palin is not such a small-town girl after all
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/09/09/do0904.xml
pinging self...
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