Norad leaves the mountain

The threat of all-out nuclear war just isn't there these days, I suppose. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad) is moving most of its operations out of the underground lair in Colorado, according to this New York Times article and this Washington Post article. Most personnel will move into nearby (above-ground) buildings.

Russia and China still most likely have the capability of reaching us, so it's good the mountain's command center - 2,400 feet underground - isn't being sealed up. Some personnel will still stay there, although it ain't the same as the old days.

The bunker mentality was a significant part of the Cold War, at least as it was reflected in literature and film. Herman Kahn started it all, I believe, and was later the person on whom the character "Dr. Strangelove" was based. Kahn was a nuclear strategist who worked at RAND.

A little history, from the Norad website:

In 1956, the idea of a hardened command and control center was conceptualized as a defense against Soviet bombers. The Cheyenne Mountain Complex became completely operational April 20, 1966. The Army Corps of Engineers supervised the excavation and construction, using 1.5 million pounds of dynamite to excavate approximately 700,000 tons of granite.

For the engineers:

The actual operations complex is a series of 15 buildings, 12 of which are three stories tall. The entire operations complex is mounted on 1,319 springs, each weighing 1,000 pounds, that allow the complex to sway up to 12 inches horizontally in any direction. The tunnel structure is reinforced by 110,000 rock bolts six to 32 feet in length that function like molly bolts, pushing outward on the walls to prevent implosion or cave-in. The two main blast doors are 25 tons, 3½-feet-thick baffled steel.

Anyway, some images Hollywood has drawn from the famous Norad location:


"Dr. Strangelove," 1964. However: the "war room" shown here is almost certainly not meant to represent Norad. The war room is similar to a facilities in Virginia and West Virginia, which are proximate to D.C and meant to house VIPs during an attack. But the characters do extensively discuss underground bunkers and surviving nuclear holocaust.

This movie really opened many Americans' eyes to the realities of nuclear war. It also made the concept funny, which might have led many to dismiss those who discussed nuclar combat as paranoid right-wingers. This is unfortunate.


"WarGames," 1983. Kid (Matthew Broderick) hacks into Norad's mainframe.


"Spies Like Us," 1985. Key elements of set: multiple phones, including a Red Phone - obviously a direct line either to Moscow or the White House; chess board - they're in for a long stay; blinking lights in background - huge mainframe present; Air Force guy in background - mostly an Air Fore operation, though all four branches and some Canadians work at Norad.

The best part is how Chevy Chase and Dan Akroyd access the bunker. Unlike Norad's 3-foot-thick doors in the side of the mountain, this bunker is entered by ordering a Pepsi in an abandoned drive-in theater. The floor then turns into an elevator, shooting down multiple floors.


"Deep Impact," 1998. Ok, this has even less to do with Norad, and more to do with the survival bunkers described in "Dr. Strangelove." One could say it's directly taken from that film: elites, and some random people, are put into bunkers while the masses await certain death. "Deep Impact" was about a comet, though. Overall, a pretty boring movie. Except for the prospect of global annihilation.

Fun fact: Every Christmas, Norad tracks Santa.