STORIES PG 3

This story is just a little different than the others I’ve posted here. This is what some people call “faction.” That is, it is really a work of fiction, but is so close to the truth that it is almost fact. It depicts a typical response to a low level Security Alert Message (Situation 6) at a Minuteman Launch Facility. This sort of thing happened all the time to our cops, and led to a great deal of boredom and frustration. Read on and learn a bit of what it was like for the Security Alert Teams that guarded our missiles. The only real name in this story is my own.

Tango-Zero LCF, Friday 28 September 1979, 1955 hrs.

The relative peace and quiet was broken by the growl of the System Printer accompanied by the annoying "beep ... beep" of a routine alarm. MCCC Captain Mike Veres silenced the alarm and looked over to the Deputy's Console, where he saw that the status change light on Tango-47 was flashing. He went over and called up the sortie, finding that the Outer Zone (OZ) light was on. The printout showed nothing else out of the ordinary, so he called up to the Flight Security Controller (FSC) that there was Situation 6 on T-47. "Yes, sir," said Sgt. Brown, "I'll roust out the SAT." Veres consulted the squadron map that was posted on the LCFP rack. Damn, he thought, that one's a long ways off. Even though T-47 was only about thirteen miles away as the crow flies, it was a drive of some twenty-eight miles on the gravel back roads. Veres logged the event.

As a Staff Sergeant (E-5), Brown was one of the more senior Flight Security Controller's, a position normally held by a Buck Sergeant (E-4). The FSC is in charge of security for the entire flight, including the LCF. Posted topside at the LCF, he controls entry to the LCF, and to the below ground portion of the LCF. He also dispatches the Security Alert Teams (SAT) as needed throughout the flight of 10 LF's, directing their response to security alert messages from the MCC. Most flight areas encompass about 2500 square miles.

The FSC is backed up by the Flight Security Sergeant (FSS) and the Flight Security Officer (FSO). The FSS is a middle grade NCO who makes the rounds of the LCF's in a given squadron. He assists and advises as needed, and sets up security exercises for the FSC and SAT. The FSO is a junior officer, usually a First Lieutenant or Captain (O-2 or O-3) who supervises all security forces in a given section of the Wing (East or West). These guys carried a neat little weapon, the CAR-15, which is essentially a sawed-off M-16. It is particularly well suited for carriage and handling by one man in a pickup truck cab.

A few minutes later, Senior Airman Walker, the SAT team leader, called down to let Veres know that they were all saddled up and ready to go, and requested a safety briefing. Veres gave them the canned speech, trying to keep the boredom out of his voice without insulting their intelligence. He knew that he probably did not succeed in either attempt, but logged the fact that he gave the safety briefing. If they were to get into an accident, Veres would have to prove that he had briefed them in order to protect himself from blame. It was important to keep a thorough crew log, because, as the old saying went, it would all be entered into evidence at your court martial.

Two SAT teams are based at each LCF, one each scheduled for the day and night shifts. A SAT consists of two Air Force Security Policemen. They respond to Security Alert Messages from the MCC, usually by driving several miles out to the affected LF in a pickup truck. They are typically armed with M-16's, enough ammo to start a war; and carry flashlights, portable radios, helmets, and flak vests. They can also perform a few very simple maintenance tasks on the LF's, such as starting the diesel generator or resetting environmental alarms, by having the crew patch them in to job control by phone.

It would probably be forty minutes or so before the SAT arrived at 47. Veres went back to his book, but kept one ear tuned to the VHF radio to follow their progress. Presently, the OZ reset, as reported by the WSC sending this information to the printer and lights on the Deputy's Console. Probably just a gopher, he thought.

*****

Veres heard the SAT's radio call announcing their arrival at Tango-47. Sgt. Brown acknowledged their report and reminded them to follow their checklist. The next step was to load their weapons. About thirty seconds later, he called down on the SCC line to pass that word to Veres. "Yeah, thanks Sarge. I heard the radio call."

Veres continued to monitor the radio as the SAT and the FSC coordinated their actions to strike the site. The SAT reported that there were no vehicles or personnel visible on or nearby the site, and the gate was closed. Good, thought Veres, this is probably a milk run, likely caused by a gopher. There had been no further alarms since the original one had reset within normal system response time. This still could be a security exercise, though. Some of the FSS's were quite creative in concocting their exercise scenarios.

The OZ alarms caused by gophers were particularly annoying to the SAT troops, who had to drive many miles, often at night or in bad weather, to investigate the security alarm at the LF's. Some of the cops even carried their own .22 caliber pistols to eliminate the pesky critters. Using their own guns was preferable to using the standard issue M-16 because they had to account for the government ammunition at the end of their tour, and firing an M-16 was forbidden unless their life or the security of an LF, LCF, or certain other government property was threatened.

Launch Facility Tango-47, Friday 28 September 1979, 2304 hrs.

Having given the site the once over from a distance, the SAT walked the outside perimeter of the fence. Walker did this while his teammate, Airman Roberts, covered him from the pickup. Damn, it's chilly tonight, thought Walker as he did the perimeter check. It was a clear night, with lots of stars visible in a black sky, but no moon. He could hear the sound of the LF's Environmental Control System fans, and smelled a trace of that odor that all of these missile sites had, sort of a mix of ozone and oil.

Walker was halfway around the back of the fence, looking into the site, when he heard the tall grass on his right rustling and saw some movement close to the ground out of the corner of his eye. "Jesus...!" he yelled, and swung his rifle towards the noise, chambering a round. His first concern was that he had disturbed a rattlesnake, but he instantly calmed down when he saw the bouncing white tail of a jackrabbit disappearing into the grass.

"What?" Cried out Roberts, straining to see through the barbed wire topped hurricane fence. "You O.K, John?"

"Yeah, Steve. Just a goddam jackrabbit. Thought it was a rattler at first. Damn near blew it away." Walker took a deep breath and verified that the safety was still on. He continued his inspection, cringing at the thought of the hassle that would have come his way if he had pulled the trigger. They sure wouldn't make me an FSC after that, that's for damn sure, he thought.

Tango-Zero LCF, Friday 28 September 1979, 2308 hrs.

The perimeter check completed, the SAT called the FSC to tell him they were ready to enter the site. "Roger, Tango SAT, go on in," Sgt. Brown said over the radio. Veres punched the SCC button and told Brown, "I copy that Sarge, go ahead."

"Thank you, sir," replied Brown, relieved to know that he had a crew that was on the ball. Brown knew that there were many different types of capsule crews, as the cops called them. Some knew little about the cops or their problems, others tried to micromanage them to death. Still others were just plain jerks who made a cops' life miserable. A few were OK. At least this guy seems to care, thought Brown, hoping that he was not a micromanager.

When the SAT opened the gate and drove in, Veres saw OZ alarm come on again. Expected indication, he thought. The OZ of security was the first line of defense at the LF's. It consisted of a radar system that was very sensitive. Birds and gophers would always set off the alarm. Sometimes even a heavy rain or snowfall would sound the alarm, which was received in the LCC. These created a lot of nuisance alarms, but made it unlikely that an actual intruder would go unnoticed.

Launch Facility Tango-47, Friday 28 September 1979, 2310 hrs.

The SAT thoroughly checked the topside of the LF, and found nothing out of the ordinary. They carefully backed each other up, with M-16's at the ready. They knew that the chances of finding a bomb or being ambushed by terrorists were slight, but that's why they were here - to protect the missile and warheads. Besides, Walker thought, the FSS could be watching with binoculars from behind a stand of trees that he knew was a couple hundred yards down the road - maybe we should have driven by and checked it first. If the FSS can watch from there, bad guys could ambush us from there, too. He filed that thought away for future reference. They opened the hatch leading down to the Equipment Building, which was similar to the LCEB. Walker shown his flashlight beam into the darkness, then turned on the light. Seeing nothing wrong, he sent Roberts down the ladder. "Be careful Steve. I've heard that sometimes snakes go down there."

"Gee, thanks," said Roberts wryly.

Since no inner zone (IZ) alarm had been reported, it would not be necessary to open the Equipment Building door, which would itself set off the IZ. Walker remained topside to cover his teammate. The IZ of security was basically anything below ground. Entry to the below ground portions of an LF required that coded authentications be correctly accomplished. Anyone wishing to gain entry to an LF had to authenticate. A misauthentication would result in a security situation requiring response by the SAT.

At LF's, there was a timer associated with the entry to the launcher to delay unauthorized entry. Security teams controlled the "A-side" codes. The Security teams would open up the the small "security pit" with one combination, which would gain access to yet another small vault with it's own combination. This lock would be opened by the maintenance team chief. Neither knew the combination to the other's lock.

Roberts found nothing wrong downstairs, so he came back up. Walker radioed the good news to Brown. In accordance with procedure, Brown requested, and then received, an authentication from Walker. Brown told Veres that the authentication was good, thus officially terminating the security situation. All that remained was for the SAT to get off the site, lock the gate, and wait for the OZ to reset before leaving.

Walker and Roberts unloaded their weapons and stowed them in the gunrack. They climbed inside the pickup, pulled off the site, and closed the gate. They sat there with the engine running, waiting for word that the OZ had reset. They had only been waiting a couple of minutes when they saw a pickup truck come down the road towards them, slow, and then turn into the long access road. Walker told Roberts, "Get on the radio and tell Brown what is going on, then cover me. And keep the mike in your hand."

"Right, John," responded Roberts as he reached for the radio microphone. Walker switched off the cab light, then opened the door and pulled his M-16 out of the gun rack. He quickly loaded it and crouched behind the door, the barrel of his rifle between the door and body of his truck, and pointed towards the intruder. He turned on the headlights. Roberts made the radio call, then did the same as Walker, on his own side of the truck. Neither man chambered a round, waiting to see what developed.

Tango-Zero LCF, Friday 28 September 1979, 2328 hrs.

At Tango, both Veres and Brown dropped their textbooks and gave full attention to the radio when they heard Robert's call. His voice had just a little edge to it. "Tango, Tango SAT. We have an unidentified pickup truck approaching our position. It just turned into the access road. We're taking up the standard defensive posture by our truck."

Veres punched up SCC and snapped, "I copy Sarge," then punched in VHF to increase the volume. He grabbed a greasepencil to write notes on the plexiglas for later reference.

Launch Facility Tango-47, Friday 28 September 1979, 2328 hrs.

The strange pickup stopped at the end of the road, and it's headlights went out. The two vehicles were about one hundred feet apart, facing each other.

Another VHF transmission: "Tango SAT, this is Security 3. I'm at the end of the Tango-47 access road looking at you. I see you guys are awake, now relax and acknowledge. I'm coming out."

The occupant of the truck opened the door and slowly got out, moving around to the front of his truck with his hands in view. Walker and Roberts could see him clearly illuminated by their own truck's headlights. Walker saw that the man was Technical Sergeant Fred Jones, the FSS. "O.K. Steve," said Walker, "That's Jones. Acknowledge the call."

Roberts made his call, "Security 3 and Tango, Tango SAT. We recognize the FSS, Sgt. Jones, at our location."

Tango-Zero LCF, Friday 28 September 1979, 2329 hrs.

Brown acknowledged the transmission, "Tango SAT, Tango, I copy your visitor is the FSS."

Veres told Brown that he heard the call, adding, "That's a relief, eh, Brown?"

"Yes sir, I feel better now," said Brown.

Launch Facility Tango-47, Friday 28 September 1979, 2329 hrs.

Walker and Roberts got up from their defensive positions and unloaded their rifles while Jones walked to their truck.

“Evenin' gents.” Said Jones, “That was a real nice job of running that SAM.” Jones paused to relight his cigar, sending out a huge volume of sweet smoke. Jones was about forty, with silvery hair and a bit of a paunch. “And I like the way you greeted me, too.” Smiling, he added, “Better to be careful.”

"Thanks, Sarge," said Walker, a little bit puzzled. Roberts nodded in agreement. Walker figured that since Jones was here, this SAM had been an exercise; and he and Roberts had missed the usual fake bomb or crank letter that FSS's usually planted on such occasions. They had not even seen so much as an empty Coke can or an unusually large rock.

"I'd like to know though," Jones continued, "What got you guys so jumpy when one of you was around the backside of the site?"

Walker explained about the rabbit.

"Oh." said Jones. "That could be what brought you boys out here."

Walker and Roberts just looked at each other. Walker broke the silence, "Once we knew it was you in the truck, I figured this was an exercise, and we blew it by missing whatever you planted."

"I'm not running an exercise." said Jones. "Although I was goin' to, until I heard you guys on the radio on the way out here. So I figured that I would just hole up in those trees over yonder" Jones pointed with his chin in the general direction of the stand of trees Walker had thought about earlier "that I had `scoped out on my last tour. I figured this is better than any exercise that I could run."

Just then the SAT's radio squawked with Brown's voice, "Tango SAT, Tango. Be advised the OZ has reset. You can leave now."

Jones decided this was a good time for him to leave, too, and said his good-bys, adding that "It's time I set up my next victim." Walker acknowledged the call from Brown, as well as Veres's safety briefing which immediately followed. Walker and Roberts climbed into their truck and began the long drive back to Tango-Zero.

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