[Milsurplus] Cold War Nostalgia

[Mike Morrow]

John wrote:

> Question: Were those in charge of nuclear weapons chosen/trained to follow
> orders without question, or what?

This line of work was my job when I was young.  It is inconceivable to me
that a launch order received with the appropriate pedigree would not have
been executed.  As I wrote this morning:

> 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 Reliability Program,
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personnel_Reliability_Program ).

"Reliability" in this context includes especially that which assures duties
will be carried out fully.  And the complex mechanics of the process were 
tested several time each patrol by externally-initiated drill EAMs for
weapons system readiness tests.

In my era, there were no external command links that had to be satisfied
for a SSBN launch.  The SSBNs were the only leg of the Triad that did not
have that constraint, because of the difficulty of communications with an SSBN.
At any time, all the people and information required to launch were on board,
and no contact with external command authority was required.  It was also
theoretically possible to change the target package on board as well.  It's
remarkable that in thousands of patrols conducted for decades, the
responsibility of weapons release control rested independently with a handful
of officers on *each* of 41 fleet ballistic missile submarines, and it was
never dishonored or compromised.  After President Reagan set the stage for an
end to the the Cold War, a lot of that changed.  SSBN launch is no longer
possible without externally-supplied command link codes.  Peace allow control
that couldn't be justified under the war conditions of the earlier patrols.

As I stated, I never had a second's doubt it would work as designed, without
any more personnel hesitation than on a typical drill.  (BTW, "Crimson Tide"
was mostly Hollywood hogwash, through and through.)

> If the NCA said 'launch' would they have ever even considered not pushing
> the button?

Never.  Simply inconceivable.  Impossible.

BTW, it's not a button...more like a pistol grip and trigger on a coiled
cord taken from a locked compartment...at least in my era.

Mike / KK5F