Welcome to Nuclear Command: A look inside a bunker where America houses its most powerful form of Fr - Polidicks

[img]http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/07/25/nuclear-base-3_slide-0a444a069c35eae5f6329fee5cce944b62ab8b80-s40.jpg[/img] [quote]Outsiders are rarely allowed to see the missiles up close. But in the aftermath of a scandal earlier this year, the Air Force has allowed some media, including NPR, a rare glimpse at America's nuclear deterrence. Traveling to the missile fields isn't done by helicopter or Humvee. Instead, we're riding in a Ford Taurus with 168,000 miles on it. We pull off the highway and turn left. Past Dix, Neb., the road turns to gravel. Eventually we arrive at what looks like just another ranch house. At the gate, we're greeted by Tech. Sgt. Raymond Kaiser. "Mr. Brumfiel: Status? Are you under any form of duress?" he asks me. The question seems odd in the empty flatlands of western Nebraska. Kaiser is responsible for maintaining the aboveground portion of this command center. It looks surprisingly comfortable inside: There are a pool table, a workout room and television. This is where a cook, support staff and a heavily armed security force live. The controls to the missiles themselves are 60 feet underground. We pass through a final checkpoint and open the door to the elevator. At the entrance they've added a decorative touch: [b]a giant mural of Mario, the cartoon plumber from the video game. At the bottom, Mario stands next to a mushroom cloud.[/b] Missile crews are known for their dark humor.[/quote] [url=http://www.npr.org/2014/07/29/335293314/welcome-to-the-nuclear-command-bunker?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140729] Read more at NPR[/url] It's extremely insightful and to be honest sort of confirms a lot of what you would expect.

Great, interesting article. Something's real eerie about that mural though.

i didn't know missile crews were autistic. seriously though, it's weird to think that nuclear missile operations are so... casual.

That's a sick Mural. But Bowser's chest is kinda flabby

Wait... This is actually real? :v:

Nuke Crews have some real neat stuff, lot'sa cool patches and murals and etc. [IMG]http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/04/patch_bunny_slippers.jpg[/IMG] I'm not sure if this one's actually real but it's still pretty funny: [IMG]http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/files/storyphotos/minuteman_domino_door.jpg[/IMG]

I wonder if there is a missile base with a sonic mural

[QUOTE=Tmaxx;45550344]i didn't know missile crews were autistic. seriously though, it's weird to think that nuclear missile operations are so... casual.[/QUOTE] The security around it is far from casual but the act of manning the station itself... I mean, what else could it be? We've only ever been to Defcon 3 twice and we've never gone to Defcon 2 or 1. Nuclear Operators are there to be the final option, and until that option is needed they're really just... waiting. I remember a while back there was a Q/A thread somewhere with a Nuclear Operator answering questions and basically it's the cushiest job. You spend a few months in the facility and rotate out with other groups, you sleep in the bunker, you get to bring movies, books, whatever the hell you want. You're basically getting paid to threadshit on 4chan and, god forbid, be able to punch in a pre-written string if numbers and letters and turn a key. [editline]30th July 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=evilweazel;45550366]Nuke Crews have some real neat stuff, lot'sa cool patches and murals and etc. [IMG]http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/04/patch_bunny_slippers.jpg[/IMG] I'm not sure if this one's actually real but it's still pretty funny: [IMG]http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/files/storyphotos/minuteman_domino_door.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] Yup, that mural is real. I recognize it from the Q/A thread. That's the bunker the guy answering questions worked at.

[QUOTE=Telepethi;45550370]The security around it is far from casual but the act of manning the station itself... I mean, what else could it be? We've only ever been to Defcon 3 twice and we've never gone to Defcon 2 or 1. Nuclear Operators are there to be the final option, and until that option is needed they're really just... waiting. I remember a while back there was a Q/A thread somewhere with a Nuclear Operator answering questions and basically it's the cushiest job. You spend a few months in the facility and rotate out with other groups, you sleep in the bunker, you get to bring movies, books, whatever the hell you want. You're basically getting paid to threadshit on 4chan and, god forbid, be able to punch in a pre-written string if numbers and letters and turn a key. [editline]30th July 2014[/editline] Yup, that mural is real. I recognize it from the Q/A thread. That's the bunker the guy answering questions worked at.[/QUOTE] How does one obtain this job?

[t]http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/07/25/dsc00204-edit_slide-98801273c2e270f515f5fb19630a50e301244ed2-s40.jpg[/t] What chill looking dudes. Like if the duo from Scrubs were Missile operators instead of nurses. [editline]30th July 2014[/editline] In fact that would make an interesting Dark Comedy Sitcom.

just chilling, playing call of duty, if any nerds get mad at you you can let them know you don't need a 25 killstreak seems like a pretty good job imo

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;45550497]just chilling, playing call of duty, if any nerds get mad at you you can let them know you don't need a 25 killstreak seems like a pretty good job imo[/QUOTE] Yeah. Besides the being stuck in a cramped bunker for a week, and then the whole having your marathon of Golden Girls getting interrupted by being told to launch doomsday.

[QUOTE=Pvt. Martin;45550507]Yeah. Besides the being stuck in a cramped bunker for a week, and then the whole having your marathon of Golden Girls getting interrupted by being told to launch doomsday.[/QUOTE] well i sit in my cramped room for weeks at a time, and i get my golden girls marathons interrupted by my mom asking me to bring in the groceries so its basically the same thing

[QUOTE=Nifae;45550388]How does one obtain this job?[/QUOTE] By passing through a rigorous selection and training process that fails that vast majority of applicants.

[QUOTE=Nifae;45550388]How does one obtain this job?[/QUOTE] Join the USAF and hope they decided its the job for you.

You have to be pathologically laid back and have a dark sense of humor when you have total genocide at your fingertips.

[QUOTE=notlabbet;45550962]You have to be pathologically laid back and have a dark sense of humor when you have total genocide at your fingertips.[/QUOTE] i think i would be pretty perfect for this job

[QUOTE=OvB;45550704]Join the USAF and hope they decided its the job for you.[/QUOTE] And make sure to cheat on the exams they hold once every six months, too!

that mario is posing a whole lot like sonic

[QUOTE=Nifae;45550388]How does one obtain this job?[/QUOTE] Go through Air Force ROTC and put Space and Missile at the top of your dream sheet. Sitting in a bunker in Bumfuck, South Dakota isn't a particularly popular career so its not particularly hard to get into, from what I've been told. A lot of people in missile bunkers use that time to work on getting their master's degree and then transfer to a more interesting command. There's not much to distract you and you've got all the time in the world, so its a pretty good place for academics

[QUOTE=Nifae;45550388]How does one obtain this job?[/QUOTE] have to be under a certain height, have to be fit incase the door needed shutting manually, and you have to pass a shitton of psych evaluations [editline]31st July 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=notlabbet;45550962]You have to be pathologically laid back and have a dark sense of humor when you have total genocide at your fingertips.[/QUOTE] i'd probably get fired for trying to sit ontop of the missile

[QUOTE=Alan Ninja!;45554952]Go through Air Force ROTC and put Space and Missile at the top of your dream sheet. Sitting in a bunker in Bumfuck, South Dakota isn't a particularly popular career so its not particularly hard to get into, from what I've been told. A lot of people in missile bunkers use that time to work on getting their master's degree and then transfer to a more interesting command. There's not much to distract you and you've got all the time in the world, so its a pretty good place for academics[/QUOTE] This, pretty much. If you convey you really want it, they'll give it to you. It's a little like someone volunteering to take the black in game of thrones. I had a buddy that went to a summer program where he tagged along with missilers for a month, he basically said they spend all day working to get their masters and killing time. It's a shame the force has gotten such a bad reputation, but it is kind of a shit job that breeds demotivation. I hope with that fact in the limelight, there will be more active steps to rectify that.

So could someone launch a missile from there if they really wanted to? Or would someone higher up need to have a part in it.

[QUOTE=Scot;45555648]So could someone launch a missile from there if they really wanted to? Or would someone higher up need to have a part in it.[/QUOTE] Not without launch codes from the President. [url]http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_football[/url]

[QUOTE=Nifae;45550388]How does one obtain this job?[/QUOTE] sounds pretty chill but you are basically a horseman of the apocalypse. You gotta live with the fact that one day you might have to a part of humanity's ultimate destruction. But apart from that, yeah decent job

[QUOTE=OvB;45555669]Not without launch codes from the President. [url]http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_football[/url][/QUOTE] I thought the launch codes were all 0s by default.

[QUOTE=Psychokitten;45555766]I thought the launch codes were all 0s by default.[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6iW-8xPw3k[/media]

They have pretty much the easiest job in the entire world. Their whole job is "sit here until we tell you we need you, but if all goes well we'll never actually need you."

who preps the president for that sort of thing i wonder. does the previous president sit them down and give them a run down on all the secret presidential things?

[QUOTE=Nifae;45550388]How does one obtain this job?[/QUOTE] IIRC it's an air force job. You have to have a 90+ on the ASVAB, they prefer college education, and you have to undergo rigorous psychological analyzing. It seemed pretty intense, the dude said a lot of people wash out from the psych tests because of one or two 'wrong' answers.