This is one of the most heavily guarded real
estate on the planet. Spread across Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska and Montana
are the missile fields, where inside, guys like “this” are protecting two missile
officers, sitting 80 feet underground in a nuclear bomb-proof capsule behind a massive
90-ton blast-proof door. Their job is to launch nuclear armed missiles, if they were to
receive such an order from the US President. They work 24-hour shifts and are
then replaced by the next crew. Basically some butts occupy those chairs 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In contrast to the missile officers, the security
police above the bunkers are deployed for 96 hours at a time before rotation. They basically eat,
sleep and live there … and you know what else. To some, this is the best job
you can get for obvious reasons. To others, this is the most boring military job in
the world, because on a good day nothing happens, and most days are good days! Makes you wonder,
what the missile officers in there do all day. But one thing is for sure: this is probably the
most impactful job on the planet, because the turn of a switch … could be the beginning of the end
for all of us, and it’s exactly what you think … So before that happens, today’s video
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is only available for 30 days, so don’t miss out. All the human life lost during wars and
conflicts in the 70 years post World War II doesn’t even come close to the number
of people who died during World War II. The theory behind this is “Nuclear Peace”, which
argues that the existence of nuclear weapons decreases the risk for military escalation,
because parties will seek to avoid situations that could lead to the use of nukes.
Mutually Assured Destruction, you know. Proponents of nuclear weapons suggest that
this leads to global stability while the opponents argue that nuclear proliferation
increases the chances of a nuclear war, not to mention the possibility of nukes falling
into the wrong hands. While the debate on the Nuclear Peace theory is ongoing, so far, our
planet has avoided a full out nuclear war, thanks to deterrence. Deterrence discourages an action
by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences. Currently there are five
recognized nuclear states, with some others who claim to possess nuclear
weapons and a few who aspire to acquire them. Four other countries previously possessed
nuclear weapons, that no longer do. To prevent adversary nations from using nuclear
weapons, the United States has to demonstrate that not only they possess nuclear weapons, but
that they are willing and capable of deploying them … if need be. And this is exactly why the
Department of Defense publizes their capabilities. Only a decade or two ago, the information that we
present in this video was classified and was only accessed on a need-to-know basis. But now there
are maps of the missile fields on wikipedia, tons of videos shared by the
department of defense itself and don't even get me started on google maps,
here’s one missile site, here’s the other, and here’s the street view of the site. You
can find anything on Google maps this days The Missile Alert Facility or MAF consists
of an above-the-ground support building which houses about a dozen airmen, a launch control
center within an underground bunker, called “the capsule”, which houses two launch officers, known
as the “missileers”, and auxiliary buildings like sewage lagoons, helicopter pads, garages and a
large radio tower. Each MAF controls ten nuclear armed ICBMs, which are located in unmanned
Launch Facilities spread out around the site. Five MAFs compose a squadron, with any of
the five launch control centers having the ability to control and monitor any of the
50 nuclear missiles within their squadron. As part of the nuclear triad, there are
a total of 450 Minuteman III missiles located in silos emplaced among raunches
and wind farms near three Air Force bases, Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Minot Air
Force Base and Malmstrom Air Force Base. For example Malmstrom base is actually
166 sites as it comprises the main base, 15 MAFs and 150 missiles sites. Note that all the
missile sites are located in the northern midwest, as the shortest flying route to the Soviet
Union would have been through the Polar icecap. Before airmen go out into the field,
they go through a pre-deployment briefing where men and women get their minds focused
on the mission at hand. You can’t deny it. It does get repetitive and sometimes you can
lose track of what you are doing, but after all, you are protecting the most powerful weapons
in the world. You must be on top of your game. In the morning, the cops of the security force
squadron get ready to head out to the missile field. They pick up their weapons, ammunition and
gear that they would need during their assignment. Then the airmen are assigned to teams
and they are told which MAF they will be protecting during their four-day deployment.
The job of the security police is to protect the
missileers, who sit 50 to 80 feet underground in the nuclear-proof bunker. Missileers are
the ones in control of the ten nuclear armed ballistic missiles, and should the President
ever give the order, they would be the ones launching the missiles. missileers basically sit
in a little box inside a cement bubble which was designed to survive a nuclear explosion. In case
they get attacked, their bubble is survivable to make sure they can launch missiles back. However
critics point out that the underground capsules were designed over fifty years ago when the ICBM
accuracy was significantly lower than it is today. A modern Russian or Chinese ICBM will be able
to target the MAFs precisely, which questions the survivability of the underground capsule.
But since there are dozens of MAFs spanned across four states, it would be no easy task to
destroy all of them. Not that it would matter, since in a full blown nuclear war, MAFs would fire
their missiles several minutes before getting hit. Hopefully the missileers would never have
to launch their rockets. The fact that they haven’t so far, is what makes this strategic
deterrence program so successful. That said, they have launched ICBMs for testing purposes, as they
randomly pull out a Minuteman III from an existing silo, remove the nuclear warheads, and launch it
empty or with new experimental re-entry vehicles. Usually, the ICBMs fly over 6000 miles to
a range near Guam in the pacific ocean. ICBM tests verify the accuracy and
reliability of the weapon system, to make sure that existing ICBMs provide
safe and effective nuclear deterrence. Speaking of ICBMs, you need
to know two more things. First is that ground based missiles are
only one prong of the US Nuclear Triad, with the other two prongs being bomber-launched
and submarines-launched nuclear weapons. Second, is that ICBMs are very
old! How old you ask? Well, let’s just say when they were being designed,
this is what smartphones looked like! On November 26th, 1956, the US Air Force was
assigned to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles or ICBMs. The first ICBM, the Atlas, was
able to strike a target area up to 500 miles away. The goal was to have the ability for a quick
nuclear attack and to have a reliable nuclear deterrent. But there was a huge problem with the
early ICBMs, and a solid solution was needed! Early ICBMs were fueled by mixing
liquid fuel with an oxidizer. These ICBMs were known as hypergolic missiles.
But due to the volatile nature of the fuel, the rocket could only be fueled immediately
prior to being launched, which would take at least 30 minutes. Not only this slowed down
the reaction time in the event of a nuclear war, but if something went wrong during fueling,
missiles might not even get launched. Just think of NASA’s recent attempts to launch
their new SLS rocket in the summer of 2022, which were scrubbed, twice. Both times due to fuel leaks
during the fueling process. Therefore the issue with earlier ICBMs such as Thor, Jupiter, Titan
I and II was the launch delay due to fueling. The solution was a solid propellant which
could be loaded in advance and allowed for instant combustion. This eliminated
the fueling step during the ICBM launch altogether. Other benefits included increased
accuracy and range, but most importantly, solid propellants were much safer to handle compared
to mixing liquid propellant with an oxidizer. The first solid fuel ICBM, “Weapon System Q”,
was developed in 1958. It was later renamed to “Minuteman” as a symbolic reminder
of the country's military past and its ability to launch within a minute compared
to the 30+ minutes for hypergolic missiles. Minuteman was designed to be an inexpensive,
reliable and efficient weapon system, which is why it was mass-produced. By 1965, the US
Air Force had 800 operational Minuteman missiles, located across six states. By 1975, Minuteman
was replaced with Minuteman II, which had longer range and increased survivability. Both
versions of Minuteman carried one warhead. That changed with Minuteman III, which could
carry three warheads. But more importantly, Minuteman III had a rapid re-targeting
capability, making it easy to switch targets. Additionally, an improved guidance system called
Multiple Independent Delivery System, or MIRV, made ICBMs much more accurate, and was able
to strike missiles up to 8000 miles away. By 1977, the United States had increased its
stockpile of Minuteman III ICBMs to 550, while reducing its Minuteman II missiles to 450. In
1985, the US Air Force developed the Peacekeeper missile that was able to carry 10 warheads.
While the Peacekeeper was highly responsive and accurate, it was expensive to maintain, and thus
all 50 Peacekeeper ICBMs were retired in 2005. This left Minuteman III as the sole ICBM in the
US arsenal, which means what protects the US today is 1970s Minuteman III technology. Of course,
these missiles were continuously maintained and upgraded, but still a lot of it is legacy hardware
which is very old yet incredibly reliable, as opposed to some other technologies that
needs to be replaced every couple of years! The United States is currently developing a
new “Ground Based Strategic Deterrent” ICBM to replace Minuteman III. This initiative has an
estimated lifetime cost of $264 billion dollars. For the nearly half a century long cold
war, the nuclear mission was America's top priority, but all that changed after the
collapse of the Soviet Union. Since then, United States’ priorities have changed, and
some missileers feel less relevant than before. Many would not want to do this job, because you
are waiting for hopefully nothing to happen, but that doesn’t mean this job is not important.
Sitting down in a capsule or protecting something that is already impenetrable, is not for everyone.
In fact not many people pass the mental screening tests required for these jobs. But for those who
do, the Air Force tries to relieve the stress of this incredibly monotonous work. That’s why they
have a pool or ping pong table, a TV, and a gym at each missile alert facility. Mandatory
days off are also a thing to keep you sane. While security police and missileers are the two
primary roles at these missile alert facilities, there are others jobs. Each MAF has a chef
who cooks with each individual in mind, and even delivers food to the
missile officers underground. Then there’s a facility manager, who makes
sures everything is in order. Other jobs include helicopter ops, bringing people in and out
of the facility. Missile maintainers who inspect, repair and troubleshoot any issues with the ICBMs.
Finally, there is a “tactical response team”. Basically a SWAT team which has snipers, breachers
and so on, and they are on a 24/7 stand-by in the main Air Force Base. Their primary responsibility
is to recapture and recover the missile base, if anything were to go wrong. Making
sure that the government doesn’t lose control of their own ICBMs. But how
do they actually guard the missiles? The missiles are located underground and
the small fenced facilities occupy a small patch of land the size of a football field.
Chances are you wouldn’t even notice it, unless someone pointed it out to you. But if
you ever wander too close to one of the sites, you would be definitely noticed by
security. According to the US Military, these patches of land are some of the most
heavily guarded real estate on the planet. First off, there is continuous
video surveillance of all the sites, with automatic tracking of anything moving. Motion sensors and other classified security
systems are both inside and outside the launch sites. If an alarm is triggered in one of the
missile sites, the security police team would be immediately dispatched while being continuously
monitored from a remote control center. They would sweep the missile site area for any
suspicious activity before resetting the alarm. Of course, it's almost always a false alarm due
to wind … or a Russian spy disguised as a rabbit! There are also training exercises. The
presence of security police alone can be a deterrent to threats, and the use of deadly
force is 100% authorized … against anything! Even if a foreign special op’s team took over
the missile site by neutralizing the security, they would still face some challenges. First of
all, to get into the missile silo you have to enter a security code that will hydraulically lift
a 2,000 pound access hatch. That’s an “A-Circuit”. But even if they had the code or torched their
way through, below is the “B-Circuit” which is a 14,000-lb steel plug that locks in place with 12
massive bolts. Try to blow it up with explosives, and you permanently seal off the shaft. Opening
the “B-Circuit'' also requires a security code. But before it opens, there’s a time delay of
20 minutes. This would be more than enough time for the “Tactical Response Team”, to arrive
via helicopters and overwhelm the intruders. Rumor has it that in the 1980s,
during training exercises, “Seal Team 6” successfully captured
missile bases on multiple occasions. We couldn't verify if this was true or just
a myth, so leave a comment if you know! Realistically speaking, it's incredibly improbable
that someone would ever try to capture a missile field. But since we are talking about the
most powerful weapons in the world, nothing can be left to chance and all the necessary
precautions have to be taken. While no one would be able to steal ICBMs, given their weight
and size alone, they might be able to sabotage them. A somewhat realistic scenario is that a
massive synchronized diversions across multiple sites might sabotage the alertness level of the
missileers inside their capsules. Otherwise, the current threats to the missile fields don’t
go further than protesters, instagramers trying to take pictures in front of the missile field … and
those russian spies smelling their rabbit suits! Thanks again to Conflict of Nations
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