<i> - Since I was a kid growing up
at the height of the Cold War,</i> <i> I was always fascinated
by the deepest,</i> <i> darkest secrets
of our government.</i> <i> What weren't they telling us?</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Some people believe there's
a huge government secret</i> <i> hiding right beneath
our feet...</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> An entire network
of military bases</i> <i> and top secret facilities
under the ground.</i> <i> But is there any evidence</i> <i> of this massive
subterranean lair?</i> Is something going on down
there that we don't know about? <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Absolutely. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - We know that the military
started moving underground</i> <i> during the Cold War,
back in the '50s and '60s.</i> - That's the end of the world
right there. <i> - And rumors that started
in 1955</i> <i> about an underground base
called Area 51</i> <i> were only confirmed
by the FBI in 2013.</i> This is intense. <i> But some suspicious line items
in the military budget...</i> - There's about $50 billion
for classified programs. <i> - And even more suspicious
patents that were purchased</i> <i> by the federal government...</i> - They're using heat to tunnel
through and melt rock. - Oh, man! - This is science fiction
to me. <i> Could indicate that there's
way more happening</i> <i> beneath the surface
than we ever imagined.</i> "Patrolled by
military dog teams." That is top secret stuff. [gun cocks] <i> So I'm headed deep
into the underworld...</i> - Go, go, go. <i> - To see what I can find out.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> The "Eagle" has landed. And this is just the beginning. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Right beneath our feet,</i> <i> there are cities
hidden by time.</i> <i> They hold the clues
that could rewrite history.</i> <i> [dog barks]</i> <i> [bell tolls]</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Into the abyss, huh?</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> Whoo-hoo! <i> I'm Don Wildman,
and my mission is to explore</i> <i> the farthest and deepest
reaches of our planet,</i> <i> using cutting-edge
technology...</i> <i> How cool is that?</i> <i> To dig into the greatest
mysteries of our past...</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Going deep into the cities
of the underworld.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> I used to go to grade school,
and, just like fire drills, we would do
duck and cover drills, <i> which were for nuclear attack,</i> which was ridiculous
when you consider the fact that no way is anybody
surviving this thing, much less eight-year-olds
with their jackets over their heads
in the basement. <i> But those were the kinds
of things</i> <i> that were part of life
in the '50s and the '60s.</i> <i> The imminence of nuclear
holocaust is much less</i> a daily thought on the average American's mind
today than it was when I was young. <i> The Cold War is long over,</i> <i> but some declassified relics
from that era</i> <i> may show that
the nuclear threat from Russia</i> <i> was just the beginning
of a secret underground</i> <i> that only top-level officials
in the government know about.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Usually, when I go
into the underworld,</i> <i> I'm rappelling
into murky caves</i> <i> or squeezing
through tight crevices</i> <i> in some ancient ruin.</i> <i> But this is gonna be
different--</i> <i> an underground world</i> <i> built in secrecy</i> <i> with high-level
military technology.</i> <i> And I couldn't be
more excited.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> My first stop is
in the Arizona desert,</i> <i> at one of the many
decommissioned Titan 2</i> <i> missile sites
that exist across the country.</i> Wow, it smells like
a military base, doesn't it? - Yeah. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - These missile silos
were underground structures</i> <i> built during the Cold War,</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> constructed to house
an arsenal of nuclear warheads</i> <i> to deter the Russian threat.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> And it was all done
in total secrecy.</i> Wow.
This is intense. How far underground
are we at this point? - We're 35 feet.
- Wow. You worked in the silo. - Yes, during the height
of the Cold War. - What was that like?
What did that feel like? - It was boring and scary
at the same time. Kind of had the weight
of the world on your shoulders. - You were aware
of that feeling. - Absolutely.
- Interesting. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> David Harutunian was a Titan 2
ballistic missile analyst</i> <i> during the Cold War.</i> <i> His job was to wait
for this phone to ring.</i> <i> And if it did, he'd put
this key into this switch</i> <i> and launch a nuclear attack.</i> <i> And if it happened,</i> <i> it would've all taken
less than 60 seconds.</i> <i> How crazy is that?</i> So your day of work
was to make sure that this thing was up
and ready to go. - State of readiness.
24 hours a day. You thought you could launch
at any moment. But the thing that was
most upsetting about it was if we had the launch order,
we knew an attack was coming, and we knew that
all our loved ones would die. - Mm. <i> The Titan 2 was built in 1961,</i> <i> when a telephone
looked like this,</i> <i> a television looked like this,</i> <i> and a baby's car seat
looked something like this.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> And yet, this secret
underground facility</i> <i> had some
insanely cool technology.</i> - So this is a long cableway. - Whew, that's amazing. - This thing is built
to be like a Slinky, so it can move up and down,
side to side. We had to be protected
from the shockwave. - Yeah.
- It's gonna be like the world's worst earthquake if a nuclear detonation
went off up there. - Right. Right. - And it's a cableway,
'cause it's all the cables coming from the control center
to the missile. <i> - The cableway is
a massive version</i> <i> of the shocks in your car,</i> <i> designed to protect
this entire underground base</i> <i> from any nuclear explosions
above.</i> So, you're down there,
two hundred and some feet away from the rocket,
which is up here. - This is the silo,
and this is the launch tube. The missile sits
in the launch tube, <i> protected by that
really heavy door.</i> - Man, that's a hard door
to push. <i> ♪ ♪</i> Oh, my Lord. <i> Look at that.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> That's crazy.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> Incredible. Wow.
There you go. <i> So give me some read
on what I'm looking at here.</i> <i> - It's 103 feet tall.</i> <i> It weighs 330,000 pounds
fully loaded.</i> <i> - Mm-hmm.</i> <i> - It has 430,000 pounds
of thrust,</i> <i> which is equivalent
to two 747s</i> <i> at full throttle.
- Wow.</i> How fast does it take for this to get to its target
in the Soviet Union? - About 30 minutes. It's gonna go about
17,000 miles an hour. - Wow. <i> To put into perspective
how ridiculously fast</i> <i> this Titan missile was,</i> <i> the commercial airplanes
we fly in today--</i> <i> they go around 570 miles
per hour top speed.</i> <i> So this nuclear missile
flies about 30 times faster.</i> And what is the actual bomb? - It's a nine-megaton bomb, which is equivalent
to 9 million tons of TNT. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - How does that compare
to Hiroshima?</i> <i> - It's 600 times
more powerful</i> <i> than Hiroshima.
- Jesus.</i> <i> Unbelievable.</i> And how many facilities
with this nuclear missile were ready to go
on a single phone call? - 54. - That's crazy.
- Absolutely. - So in the case
of nuclear attack, 54 Titan 2 missiles <i> all lift off
basically at the same time?</i> - Only totally retaliatory,
not a first strike weapon. If the Soviet Union
launched against us, this was the deterrent.
Mutually assured destruction. The 54 Titans
were going to wipe out 54 of their cities
or military bases. - Yeah. That's where it just enters
into a whole 'nother realm. I mean, it's just hard
to conceive of that much destruction.
And today, even more so. - Today more so. There's more of them,
and they're more accurate. <i> ♪ ♪</i> - So we're at the top
of the missile. How far down is the bottom? - The bottom's 146 feet down. <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Wow.
That's insane. - This is where
the engines would sit. - Man.
And that's the-- that's the end
of the world right there. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> This once-top secret
underground base</i> <i> was built in 1960,
and the public had no idea</i> <i> that we had 54 weapons
of mass destruction</i> <i> hidden deep below ground
until 30 years later.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> So what else
could our government</i> <i> be hiding today?</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> One thing that caught
the attention of the public</i> <i> was some very covert
government activity</i> <i> in remote parts
of the American West.</i> <i> Back in the '50s,</i> <i> the government
prohibited the public</i> <i> from entering
a fenced-off region</i> <i> of the Nevada desert
called Area 51.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Around the same time,
there were numerous sightings</i> <i> of unidentified
flying objects nearby.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> And so the theories began:</i> <i> they're conducting
experiments on aliens,</i> <i> or reverse-engineering
a downed spacecraft.</i> <i> And the theories get wilder
and wilder</i> <i> the deeper
you go down the wormhole.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Flying saucers exist. <i> Mankind should be alarmed.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - One thing we certainly know
is that the government denied</i> <i> Area 51's existence</i> <i> until a Freedom of Information
Act request</i> <i> in 2013.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> They admitted that since
the 1950s, an underground base</i> <i> at Area 51 has been developing
secret weapons and spy planes.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> So what about the aliens?
We may never know,</i> <i> because all current activities
at the base are classified.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> And the government
seems to be remarkably good</i> <i> at keeping secrets.</i> <i> So, what I'm curious about is</i> <i> what else is hiding
down there.</i> <i> And how massive could
a U.S. secret underground</i> <i> actually be?</i> There you go. "Warning:
U.S. Air Force installation. "Unlawful to enter. Patrolled
by military dog teams." That is Nellis Air Force Base
right in there. But we're not going inside.
Because this--this fence defines the whole perimeter
of the place. <i> This is one of many
military installations</i> throughout the state.
Top secret stuff. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Just a quick dune buggy trip</i> <i> outside Las Vegas</i> <i> takes us to this location,</i> <i> which may be the origin</i> <i> of our government's
fascination</i> <i> with secret underground
operations.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> In the early '50s,</i> <i> this is where some of
the first nuclear weapons</i> <i> were developed and tested.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Back in Vegas,</i> <i> the mushroom clouds
were so visible</i> <i> that a new phenomenon
known as atomic tourism</i> <i> exploded on the Strip.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Restaurants and bars
would organize happy hour</i> <i> watching parties.</i> <i> So the tourists
were having a blast,</i> <i> but eventually,
the nuclear explosions</i> <i> were also enjoyed
by enemy satellites,</i> <i> and the U.S. feared
that Russia</i> <i> was collecting valuable intel</i> <i> about our nuclear
capabilities.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> So the military took</i> <i> the entire operation
underground,</i> <i> performing nuclear tests
below.</i> <i> This site
is still operational,</i> <i> but you'd never know it
from above ground,</i> <i> and only a classified few know</i> <i> the true scope
of the operations.</i> <i> But locals have reported
military vehicles</i> <i> disappearing into the Earth.</i> <i> And there's rumors
of a network</i> <i> of hidden labs and tunnels</i> <i> stretching for miles
in every direction.</i> There you go. You've got military here,
and you've got this theory that the underground
is more than meets the eye. We can't go in here,
and we can't know quite possibly
what's under there until we go looking for it. <i> I'm wondering if there's
any modern technology</i> <i> that might show whether this
secret military underworld</i> <i> could actually exist.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> [dramatic music]</i> <i> - We found out
after the Cold War</i> <i> that the U.S. government
constructed</i> <i> top secret missile silos</i> <i> and nuclear testing facilities
underground.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Now, 70 years later,</i> <i> some believe that
these operations still exist</i> <i> and that there might be
even larger underground bases</i> <i> the public doesn't know about.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> It's fascinating,</i> <i> but is it possible?</i> [bell rings] [elevator whirring] <i> To learn more about how one
of these underground bases</i> <i> could actually be constructed,
I've come to Fort Wayne,</i> <i> Indiana, to explore
the underworld</i> <i> with Lance Waddell,</i> <i> chief engineer of the
Three Rivers Tunnel Project,</i> <i> to get an idea of how
these underground bases</i> <i> could be made.</i> The "Eagle" has landed. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Is it even possible to do
a gigantic engineering project</i> <i> underground in total secrecy?</i> You don't really get
the perspective until you're down here. How deep is this thing? <i> - About 240 feet.
- My Lord.</i> And this is just the beginning. <i> ♪ ♪</i> What's that? - That is St. Barbara. We always have her underground
where the work is, because she's the patron saint
of miners. - How worried are you
about things going wrong? - You get used to it
after a while. - Look at you.
You can deal with it. - You hear that rumbling sound? That's the locomotive
coming up. That's our ride. - I didn't buy a ticket,
but okay. - [bangs on train]
Good, Martin! <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - The tunnel system that Lance
and his team are digging</i> <i> is five miles long
and 19 feet in diameter,</i> <i> running nearly 20 stories
below the surface.</i> <i> When it's done, 850 billion
gallons of sewage overflow</i> <i> will run through it
every year,</i> <i> instead of into one
of the three rivers above.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> While this isn't</i> <i> a secret government tunnel,</i> <i> I'd like to find out
how they're building</i> <i> this public project</i> <i> to see if you could even dig
a tunnel system like this</i> <i> without anyone above ground
knowing about it.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> So we're headed straight</i> <i> into the belly of the beast.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> Whoa! - My bad. - Follow you. <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Everything we're seeing
is the machine itself. It's basically
a 400-foot long worm working itself
through the earth. And as it goes, it's building
its own tunnel behind it. <i> I'm actually inside the TBM,
the tunnel boring machine</i> <i> that's used to build
this kind of massive tunnel.</i> <i> This thing is longer
than a football field,</i> <i> and the machine actually
constructs the tunnel</i> as it moves through the earth. - This is a probe drill. So the machine cuts
a 19-foot diameter hole. - Okay. - There's seven
of these motors, and when they're all pushing,
driving that machine... <i> - Yep.</i> <i> - It's up to 8.4 million
pounds of force.</i> <i> - Wow.</i> What happens to the rock
it carves away? <i> - As the rock is cut up,</i> <i> it falls into the bottom
of the excavation chamber,</i> <i> and it's mixed
with water slurry mix,</i> and it's pumped all the way
to the surface, <i> then hauled out.</i> <i> - Tons and tons of debris.</i> - About 35 tons an hour. - Really? <i> The huge cutting face
is obviously an effective tool</i> <i> when it comes
to digging a tunnel.</i> <i> But 35 tons of debris</i> <i> an hour being shot
back up to the surface</i> <i> would make it impossible
to dig</i> <i> a network like this in secret.</i> <i> To get rid of all that debris,</i> <i> you'd need an endless parade
of dump trucks</i> <i> carrying the rubble away.</i> <i> Between that</i> <i> and the expansive work site
itself,</i> <i> enemies could easily monitor
a tunnel project</i> <i> from spy satellites.</i> <i> So, looking into this theory
that the U.S. government</i> <i> and military have
a top secret network</i> <i> of underground bases,</i> <i> they'd need to create
a very different technology,</i> <i> one that doesn't create
a mountain of debris</i> <i> on the surface.</i> <i> As far as I know,
there's no drill</i> <i> that can make rock and dirt
evaporate into thin air.</i> <i> Or is there?</i> "Method and apparatus
for tunneling by melting." Melting? <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> [rustic music]</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - Since the 1950s,</i> <i> the U.S. government has
built underground structures</i> <i> and kept them secret
from the public.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> In the last 70 years,
we've found out about a few.</i> <i> But the Cold War kid in me
wants to know</i> <i> what else they could be hiding
beneath our feet.</i> <i> We've seen that the method
of tunneling</i> <i> used for public projects</i> <i> would be impossible
to keep secret.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> So I'm meeting with up
with David Childress,</i> <i> an author and researcher
who's spent decades</i> <i> looking into the deepest,
darkest secrets</i> <i> of the U.S. government.</i> <i> David says he may have
the smoking gun</i> <i> that shows how the secret
underworld is being built.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> - All around
the Nellis Air Force Base and Area 51 is a vast network of tunnels, <i> and many of these tunnels
are in the base,</i> <i> but some of these tunnels
and entrances</i> <i> go outside the base.
Since the 1950s,</i> the locals in that area
have reported seeing convoys <i> of military vehicles
driving down the road</i> <i> and then just
suddenly disappearing.</i> <i> - Hmm.</i> On one hand,
it doesn't surprise me. It's a military base.
It's very secretive. - And it's huge, too.
- Right. What I want to know is, could someone create
a massive underground base without anybody
knowing about it? - They do have the technology. This is a 1972 patent
from DARPA. - "United States Patent,
September 26th, 1972. Method and apparatus
for tunnelling by melting." Melting? So they're using heat
to actually tunnel. - They're using heat to tunnel
through and melt rock. In a normal tunnelling device, you would have a lot of rubble
coming out the back. - Yeah, yeah. - And you would need tons
of trucks and things like that
to haul all this rubble out. - Of course, yeah. - But with the thermonuclear
tunneling device, you don't need that.
It's very clean. It doesn't create a lot
of waste and rubble. - It sounds
science fiction to me. I mean, this is sci-fi stuff. <i> So each mile of a tunnel
20 feet in diameter</i> <i> creates enough rubble
to fill 18 Olympic-sized</i> <i> swimming pools.
But according to this patent,</i> <i> which was purchased
by the U.S. government,</i> <i> huge tunnels can be dug deep
underground with zero debris.</i> <i> Here's how it works:</i> <i> the nuclear reactor inside
heats the drill tip</i> <i> to over 2,000 degrees
Fahrenheit.</i> <i> Six hydraulic cylinders
with 18 million pounds</i> <i> of thrust push the drill
through the earth,</i> <i> turning all of the rock
into glass</i> <i> that lines the walls
of the tunnel.</i> <i> This is absolutely
mind-boggling--</i> <i> if it actually exists.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> What you're suggesting,
thanks to this technology, is that there's a vastness to
this that we're not aware of, not to mention the depth,
and that it's totally secret, because there was no evidence
of this being done. - That's right.
It's a vast network that runs
throughout the entire U.S., from the East Coast
all the way to California. - What would be the purpose
of this? - You have a network
of underground bases, and then there are tunnels...
- Right. - That are connecting them,
starting in Washington, D.C. - No kidding.
- Yeah. <i> Even if Washington, D.C.
is a radioactive wasteland,</i> <i> these guys can still be
in charge and in touch</i> <i> with various parts
of the military...</i> - Mm-hmm.
- From these underground bases. - I mean, I still don't know
if it truly works, but here it is
in a United States patent. It's crazy. <i> - Yeah.</i> <i> - In theory, this drill
could create a massive network</i> <i> of subterranean tunnels
and bases in total secrecy.</i> <i> But that's in theory.
Could it actually work?</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> I've reached out
to the smartest man I know,</i> <i> world-renowned geologist
Eric Drummond.</i> You got it all going on here. - Yeah, we got a rock here,
brought in from the field, got a drill here,
and we'll do some drilling. <i> - I sent Eric
the nuclear drill patent,</i> <i> and he designed an experiment
to see</i> <i> if it could possibly work.</i> So, we're gonna compare basically old drilling
versus new drilling? - Yes. - All right,
let's get down to it. <i> First, we'll replicate</i> <i> traditional
hard-rock drilling,</i> <i> like the kind we saw back
at Three Rivers,</i> <i> using an extremely
scaled-down drill bit</i> <i> and a scaled-down
chunk of rock.</i> - I got a charley horse. [both laugh] <i> ♪ ♪</i> - There we go.
- Nice. - We've made a tunnel,
and we made a mess. - Yes, you did. - If this was a mountainside,
and this was a big tunnel, I mean, this is just piles
and piles of the stuff. - Yeah. - If you're gonna try
to be sneaky about it, if you're just sort of doing it
under the radar, this is not the way to go. - Right. <i> - Now we'll try to do
a scaled-down version</i> <i> of the nuclear drill
that leaves no rubble behind.</i> So what do we have here?
What is that? - It's a plasma torch. <i> - We'll fire up
the plasma torch</i> <i> to around 2,200 degrees
Fahrenheit,</i> <i> the temperature of the
patented nuclear drill bit.</i> <i> I want to see
if that technology</i> <i> can create a tunnel</i> <i> that leaves no evidence.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Whoa! Oh, man!
- That's it? That was almost too easy.
That's amazing. I mean, it went right
through that rock. And I don't see any kind
of debris around it. Look how clear that is. - Yeah, got the glass. - That's the glass. - What impressed me was Andrea went through this
in mere seconds, like that. - Exactly.
- It took us, I don't know, 20 minutes to do
with the conventional drill. <i> ♪ ♪</i> - So there you go. I mean, that sells it
pretty well to me. You can scale this up
very easily--in my mind, anyway--that this could create
massive tunnel systems in a fraction of time
with no debris. <i> I mean, out of sight,
out of mind.</i> <i> You could be doing this
all over the place,</i> as long as
that technology exists. - Yeah.
- I mean, that's the leap. Assuming that a nuclear drill
has been developed, then we've got our answer. That basically proves it
right there. - Yeah. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> [dramatic music]</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - it's no secret
that the U.S. government</i> <i> has underground facilities</i> <i> they built
during the Cold War.</i> - It's a nine-megaton bomb, which is equivalent
to 9 million tons of TNT. <i> - But some people believe the
U.S. has a secret underground</i> <i> that's much more expansive
than we know.</i> - It's a vast network that runs
through the entire U.S. <i> - In 1972, the government
bought a patent</i> <i> for a nuclear drill</i> <i> that would allow them to dig
underground spaces</i> <i> incredibly fast
and without anyone knowing</i> <i> what was happening
deep beneath the surface.</i> [torch hissing] - Ooh! It went right through
that rock in mere seconds. [train horn whistling] <i> - But here's the big question:
why would they do this?</i> <i> And what would this secret
underground even look like?</i> <i> To find out,
I'm headed to West Virginia.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - Hey, Don.</i> - Wow.
- How are you today? - This place is amazing.
Incredible. - Yeah.
- It dazzles the eyes. <i> - That's right, that's right.</i> <i> - Welcome to the Greenbrier,
a five-star luxury resort</i> <i> in White Sulphur Springs.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> It's still grand,
but back in the day, this was one
of the premier places. - Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeah. <i> - This hotel was a hotspot
for celebrity weddings</i> <i> and high society types.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> But for years,</i> <i> it had a big secret</i> <i> hiding
beneath its shiny exterior.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> [elevator music playing] [clears throat] ♪ ♪ <i> To find out what it is,</i> <i> you need to go over 700 feet
into the ground.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> The Greenbrier
was built in 1913. <i> But in 1948, the resort
entered into an agreement</i> <i> with the United States
government,</i> <i> and a new construction began.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> The hotel would add
another wing,</i> <i> complete with new rooms
and an exhibition hall.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> But meanwhile, underneath,
the government would covertly</i> <i> construct
a secret fallout shelter</i> <i> for high-ranking
government officials</i> <i> that no one in the public
would know about</i> <i> until over 30 years later,</i> <i> when, in 1992, a journalist
exposed the secret.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> This humongous
two-story bunker</i> <i> is the length
of two football fields,</i> <i> extending 718 feet</i> <i> deep into the
West Virginia countryside.</i> [elevator bell dings] - You come out, it just looks like
a regular part of the hotel. - Sure.
- But then it turns out-- - Oh, there you go. <i> ♪ ♪</i> Now this looks like
a nuclear bunker. So this is the door
that protects it all, huh? - Yeah, 25 tons of steel
and concrete. - That's impressive.
So this is the Cold War. Let's say the Cuban
Missile Crisis happens. Huge emergency event. They would show up
at this place. - Right. - And they're stashed in here <i> for an indefinite period
of time,</i> <i> and at that point,
they're sealed shut.</i> <i> - Oh, yeah.</i> <i> - Well, this would be
a very, very bad day.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> Insane. All right.
So this is where you really get a sense
of the scope of this operation. - Yes, yes.
This is the part <i> that the government
had exclusive control over.</i> [alarm blaring] <i> - Beyond that big door,</i> <i> only people
with top-level clearances</i> <i> would be allowed in
by the U.S. military,</i> <i> who controlled the facility.</i> <i> This tunnel leads to a complex
that would house</i> <i> more than 1,000 people
for over six months.</i> <i> The bunker had 18 dormitories
crammed with bunk beds...</i> <i> - It's just room after room.</i> <i> - Along with a power plant
with purification equipment,</i> <i> three 25,000-gallon
water tanks, and an infirmary.</i> How many people
were gonna live down there? - 1,100.
- Interesting. I mean, they didn't know
about this plan, they were just told
at the very last minute, "Sorry, this is where
you're going. Come with us."
- Yes. - Whew, my Lord. Wow, what's this place? - So, if somebody
had been exposed, you take your clothes off,
and they go in here, and then they're
going to burn them. - Okay. - And then all you need
is high-pressure water <i> to just wash that off.</i> - It's like a car wash.
- Exactly. And then this room
had all the supplies. So everybody's gonna be
in fatigues. <i> - To imagine coming down
to this level</i> <i> of wearing fatigues
and--you know,</i> <i> quite a shock
to the system psychologically.</i> - Yes, yes. - And they're not
with their families. - Right.
- They're worried about their health.
- Right. - Everything precious
has possibly been lost. Who knows, maybe the country
is occupied at this point. - Right, and that uncertainty. You don't really know
what's going on out there. <i> - It's quite an amazing
situation to imagine.</i> <i> - Yes.
It is a terrifying scenario.</i> <i> - Yeah.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> It's refreshing to know that
smarter people than myself</i> <i> have contingencies worked out</i> <i> for even the most devastating
of circumstances.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> But who exactly was this
elaborate shelter built for?</i> Oh, that's amazing.
Look at that. There are hundreds
of seats in here. - There are 435 seats in here. - There are 435 seats in here. - 435, the amount of... - The House of Representatives.
- There you go. - Right.
- So this is for the Congress. - Yes.
And then there's a smaller room on the other side
for the Senate. This was
an emergency relocation center <i> for the legislative branch
of the federal government.</i> This was one component of the continuity
of government program. ♪ ♪ <i> - At the onset
of the Cold War,</i> <i> President Harry Truman
signed into law</i> <i> a program that directed
all branches of government</i> <i> to form an emergency plan
in case of nuclear attack.</i> <i> He ordered each branch
to prepare a secure location</i> <i> that would permit
the continued operation</i> <i> of government</i> <i> in a time of crisis.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> So the separation of powers
is behind this whole thing. Even in the face
of nuclear disaster, the U.S. government
still has to be maintained as the structure
that's in the Constitution. - Exactly. <i> - So the story of this place</i> <i> is really hiding
in plain sight,</i> in the biggest sense
of the word. - For sure. <i> - And right under
everyone's nose,</i> <i> this bunker remained a total
secret for over 30 years,</i> <i> until 1992, when, at the end
of the Cold War,</i> <i> it was decommissioned
and declassified.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> But it's a glimpse into how
these underground facilities</i> <i> are designed</i> <i> and the government's
anticipation of their need,</i> <i> emergency or otherwise.</i> <i> And given the revolutionary
advancements of science</i> <i> and engineering
over the last 70 years,</i> <i> maybe even
with nuclear-powered</i> <i> drilling technology,</i> <i> what would the secret nuclear
facilities of today look like?</i> <i> How advanced, and how much
more massive, could they be?</i> <i> [dramatic music]</i> <i> - From underground
nuclear missile silos,</i> <i> test sites, and bunkers</i> <i> designed to move the entire
government underground,</i> <i> there is already an underworld
right here in the U.S.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> But how many sites are there?</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> To find out, I'm meeting up
with Todd Harrison,</i> <i> who analyzes
the defense budget every year.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Could there be something
in the budget</i> <i> that tells us the scope
of the secret underground?</i> What percentage of budgets
eventually get seen? - Very few, actually.
But you can see some. If you look at
the budget documents today... - Yeah. - You can actually see
which line items are going
for classified programs. And there's about
$50 billion dollars out of that defense budget
that is marked as being for classified programs
and activities. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - Some people call this
$50-billion secret fund</i> <i> "The Black Budget."</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Sounds mysterious, right?</i> <i> I actually thought
it more likely to be fodder</i> <i> for conspiracy theory
chat rooms,</i> <i> rather than a reality.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> Is there such a thing
as a Black Budget? - There is.
That's the classified budget. It's black.
You can't see in there. You can't see all
of the details unless you have
the proper clearances. <i> You can see lots
of interesting code names,</i> <i> like tractor rut,</i> <i> a lot of them
that begin with "tractor."</i> [both laugh] But you can't see precisely
what it's being used for. What we can tell is, you know,
like 40, 50 years ago, things have been declassified
now, and we now know that we were
investing a lot of money <i> into figuring out how to build
and operate a spy satellite.</i> <i> - Interesting.</i> I'm thinking about
what's happening underground. Advanced military technology, Black or otherwise--have you
ever heard of such a thing as a nuclear-powered drill?
I mean, a big-time drill? - I have not,
but that's not that different than a nuclear weapon that's designed to penetrate
the ground before it detonates. We have those. - Sure. - They could take
that technology and, through classified programs, try to apply it
to the subterranean world. - Sure.
Nuclear-powered drills, man. Christmas is coming. - Maybe. <i> - Could we have spent some
of that $50 billion</i> <i> of secret money</i> <i> on a nuclear drill
for building</i> <i> a massive underground
through other methods?</i> <i> Todd's research
may not be able</i> <i> to confirm that just yet.</i> <i> But we are learning that,</i> <i> as more and more intel
is declassified,</i> <i> it's clear that virtually
all Black Budget spending</i> <i> is for weapons and defense.</i> <i> And while we know that a lot
of the military brass</i> <i> in the 1950s</i> <i> had their eyes to the sky,
Paul Scharre,</i> <i> VP and Director of Studies
at the Center</i> <i> for a New American Security,</i> <i> believes the battlegrounds
of today</i> <i> are in the underworld.</i> How much is tunneling
a part of the new strategy here on the home front? <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - The U.S. built underground
command and control complexes</i> <i> to survive a nuclear war
with the Soviet Union,</i> but the Army
has been reinvigorating that <i> for urban warfare.
We certainly saw ISIS</i> <i> and al-Qaeda in Iraq
go underground.</i> <i> The Army is preparing
for more urban conflicts,</i> <i> and that's going to be
something the military</i> is gonna have to be prepared
for against major threats, like North Korea or Iran, <i> that have the ability
to build big,</i> <i> tall complexes under these
very large cities,</i> <i> very, very difficult terrain
to fight in.</i> - Mm. <i> Paul says that North Korea
alone</i> <i> has at least 4,800
underground military bases.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> And geographically,
the United States</i> <i> is almost 100 times larger.</i> <i> So it makes sense
that the U.S.</i> <i> would have hundreds,</i> <i> if not thousands,
more underground facilities</i> <i> besides the ones
that we know about.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> The tunnels, the undergrounds
have always given a fighting force
a, a massive advantage. It's only gonna get larger now that it's easier
to build these things on a much bigger scale. So we've got to be ready.<i>
- That's right.</i> <i> There's no question
that underground</i> <i> is gonna be part
of warfare in the future.</i> And certainly, the U.S. Army
has been investing heavily in finding ways
to prepare for that. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - America has always been
in competition</i> <i> with both our enemies
and our allies.</i> <i> From the Space Race
to the nuclear arms race,</i> <i> if someone else has it,</i> <i> the U.S. wants a bigger
and better version.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> So if other countries are
building thousands of bases</i> <i> connected by elaborate
underground tunnel systems,</i> <i> it seems obvious to me</i> <i> that we've got
a whole lot more than we know</i> <i> hiding in the underworld.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> [dramatic music]</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - What started as a look
into something</i> <i> that seemed like
a conspiracy theory...</i> - A network of underground
bases and tunnels that are connecting them,
starting in Washington, D.C. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - Led me to learn
that the U.S. government</i> <i> has been building underground
military facilities</i> <i> since the 1950s.
And we're not the only ones.</i> - We certainly saw ISIS and al-Qaeda in Iraq
go underground. <i> - Russia and North Korea</i> <i> have thousands
of underground military bases.</i> <i> And it seems likely</i> <i> that we do, too,
right under our feet.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> I've been given access to
a military training facility</i> <i> in Indiana
that's teaching our soldiers</i> <i> how to fight battles
in the new frontier:</i> <i> the underworld.</i> <i> Combat below ground brings
a whole new set of challenges,</i> <i> requiring a whole
new set of technologies.</i> <i> I'm psyched to see just how
important fighting underground</i> <i> has become to
our modern military.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> - We train for
the harshest environment. - Yeah.
- We train for an extreme that may
or may not ever happen. - Yeah.
- When new information comes back,
or tactics change... - Yeah. - We have to be able
to innovate and change in a moment's notice. <i> - This 1,000-acre facility
prepares our military</i> <i> for underground fighting</i> <i> both abroad and at home,</i> <i> if our enemies invaded
our underground spaces</i> <i> and used them against us.</i> - It's not just fighting.
It's searching for people. - Yeah. - It's searching
for weapons caches. We train for everything. [blows whistle]
- [soldiers grunt] <i> - Today, a small unit
is running</i> <i> a search-and-rescue drill.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> They've agreed to let me
live out my childhood dream</i> <i> of being G.I. Joe.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> Ready for duty. all: Hoo-rah! <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Sergeant,
what are we gonna go? - Our situation we're
coming into, we have a casualty in the vicinity of
the subterranean complex here. We're going to make entry
into the sub-t environment via this east entrance. We're going to locate
and extract our casualty. <i> ♪ ♪</i> Our enemy situation
is unknown. We really don't know
what we're going into, so we're ready for anything.
It might be a smooth day. [gun cocks] Could be a little hairier
of a day. <i> - Knowing many
other countries</i> <i> are prioritizing
underground warfare,</i> <i> these training exercises
help our soldiers</i> <i> learn the new skills and tech</i> <i> they'd need
on the new battlefront.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Now, what makes this exercise
a test is,</i> the crew must safely find <i> and recover
an injured civilian</i> <i> in less than 60 seconds.</i> - Go! Go! Go! <i> ♪ ♪</i> - There could be booby traps
down there, so we use things
like night vision <i> to make sure that we're
not tripping over things.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - In addition to night vision,
soldiers are training</i> <i> with a state-of-the-art
fighting tool</i> <i> designed specifically
for underground warfare:</i> <i> bat-vision--a technology
using echolocation</i> <i> to guide them
through the dark,</i> <i> the exact same way
a bat flies.</i> <i> It has heat sensors
to locate booby traps</i> <i> otherwise impossible to detect
in a pitch-black tunnel.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> They're also training dogs</i> <i> to drop supplies
from the surface,</i> <i> and of course, using all sorts
of top secret tech</i> <i> that my nonexistent
military clearance</i> <i> prevents me from seeing.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Got a casualty. - How many?
- One. <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Gonna be all right. - Put your arm around him,
will you? <i> ♪ ♪</i> - Going up. <i> ♪ ♪</i> - All right. Mission accomplished.
The man is rescued. Great work. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> - This strategic commitment
to building this underground</i> tracks back to the Cold War, protecting us against this
ultimate threat from abroad. <i> ♪ ♪</i> Maybe this underground
will keep this aboveground world safe. We can only hope. <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> Whether or not
the U.S. government</i> <i> ever developed
the nuclear drill</i> <i> for secret tunneling,
we'll never know.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> But it's clear
that governments</i> <i> all over the planet</i> <i> are building a brand-new world</i> <i> belowground,</i> <i> and there's every reason
to believe the U.S.</i> <i> would be
at the forefront of it all.</i> <i> ♪ ♪</i> <i> So does that mean
a secret military base exists</i> <i> 200 feet below your house</i> <i> or below the streets
you stroll on every day?</i> <i> Sorry, I can't answer that,
or they might have to kill me.</i>
