July 29, 2006 :: Washington Post :: News
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will transfer its surveillance operations from Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to an office building near Peterson Air Force Base several miles away. The Washington Post reports that Cheyenne Mountain will be placed in “warm standby,” which means that it could be reopened in hours should the need arise. Despite the fact that the Pentagon spent about $700 million in early warning upgrades to Cheyenne Mountain following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Navy Admiral Timothy J. Keating, commander of NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, created a group in February 2006 to consider moving the NORAD surveillance operation to Peterson AFB. The study recommended the move for operational and budgetary reasons, said a Northern Command statement yesterday. The purpose for housing the NORAD center underground was of course to shield the vital center from strategic attack.
According to The Washington Post, “the military concluded that it no longer needed to be concerned about an intercontinental nuclear missile”—a remarkable statement. (Article)
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