[Milsurplus] Cold War Nostalgia

[Gene Smar]

A couple of my favorites on the subject:  "Failsafe" and "On the Beach."  Still unnerving to read, even today.
 

73 de
Gene Smar  AD3F
 


On 05/31/13, Mike Morrow<kk5f at earthlink.net> wrote:

Ray wrote:

> I have to wonder what the point is beyond lasting long enough to
> launch a massive retaliatory strike in having such complexes.

The decisions for that would be taken and dispatched long before
such facilities could be manned fully. These facilities gave some
chance that authority would survive in the aftermath to help get
society back again. And, in fact, studies indicated that a large
portion of the population of the contesting countries would survive
the immediate consequences of even a complete exchange. Someone
has to organize picking up the pieces and putting them back together,
getting Mayor Bloomberg's 16-oz Coke ban back in effect, making sure
firearms sold to the peasantry don't have bayonet lugs, making sure
the IRS is controlling the political enemies at home, etc., etc.

> At least under the doctrine of MAD, 

The nuclear deterrent strategy of 40 years ago wasn't just MAD. There
was some planning for measured, limited responses from our strategic
nuclear forces as well.

I made my living 38 years ago as an officer on the ultimate nuclear
weapons system, the only part of the Triad that would have been able
to accomplish much and potentially survive...the ballistic missile
submarine. What magnificent technology!

> you are going thru great efforts to keep the leaders of a society
> alive but all other elements would be destroyed and what are you
> left with? Politicians, the most useless elements of society.

True, in almost every particular, except that no analysis ever showed
that "all other elements would be destroyed". Far, far from it. Of
course, some disruption and inconvenience would be unavoidable. :-)

Still, if one were a medal hound in the military, he did not want to
be in the strategic nuclear forces. None of us figured that, were
we called upon to deliver our goods, there would be anyone back at
home who would be handing out World War III Victory Medals and
processing cemetery veteran's markers. :-)

I never doubted for a second...if the launch orders came, that almost
200 MIRVs on each boat would indeed be flying. Folks in the launch
chain were all periodically screened in the program that assessed
their reliability...the aptly-named PRP (Personnel Reliabilty Program,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personnel_Reliability_Program ). 

Somehow, things were more stable, more predictable then. I miss those
times. But they'll be back. Time to read "Alas, Babylon" again.

Mike / KK5F
ex SSBN-629
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