I took a tour of a SAGE relay site in the late 1960’s. It was outside a very small town in North Carolina, and was completely underground – or at least technically, since it appeared to have been built on the side of a hill and then covered with dirt. It was a fascinating place, and filled with novelties. Aside from the racks of electronics that enabled you to walk through the computer, the doors were incredibly massive, and barely opened halfway before starting to close again. Everything was insulated from the floor. The toilets were mounted on big springs.

The number of radar sites, antiaircraft missile batteries (both Army and Air Force), and jet interceptor units spread all across the countryside back then was astonishing. I read of one occasion where it was thought the balloon had gone up, for real, and F-86D pilots were ordered as they scrambled to expend all their rockets and then ram any enemy bombers left. And the pilots thought this entirely reasonable; a nuclear WWIII was thought to be a one-act play.

Now, today – On 9/11/01 when the mass hijackings occurred and airliners started hitting buildings, even in Wash, DC the Air Force literally had to scramble to scramble even a few fighters. The first F-16’s launched to cover the Capital had no missiles on board. 20MM gunfire would probably be ineffective at stopping a jumbo jet so they figured they would have to ram. Kamikaze actions had gone from last resort to first.

And, do you realize that Cheyenne Mountain is closed? That big NORAD facility is expensive to operate, so the magnificent mountain fortress has been replaced by some ordinary buildings. Go to Peterson AFB and you will see the original facility, a nondescript building that is horribly vulnerable. Now we are back to that, full circle. And stand by to ram.