Eric Schlosser - Command and Control

cause of, 339–40, 345

malfunctions during emergency, 340–45

victim lawsuits, 386

Titan II launch complexes

backup crew, role of, xx, 7

blast doors, 21–22

and concurrency practice, 219

construction materials of, 219

control center, 26–27, 33, 428–29

credit card, breaking in with, 230–31

entrance security, 20–21

explosives/flammables in, 6–7

layout of, 22, 26, 29

locations of, 18–20, 27, 227

maintenance procedure, standardized, 7

safety features of, 7, 21, 33–34

training of personnel for. See Training

two-man policy, 7, 28, 30

ventilation system, 29

water tanks in, 31, 66

weapons policy, 7

Townes, Charles H., 455–56

Townley, Robert, Major, 310

Toxic corridor mapping, 59, 215

Training

accidents during, 169–70, 191, 310–11, 324, 339–46

of combat crew, 11–12, 18

Dash-1 manual, 11, 57

of instructor crew, 11, 18, 22, 30

of PTS teams, 5, 103–4, 338, 339, 346

shortcomings and accident risk, 5, 23, 89, 160, 261, 338, 366–67

in weapons deactivation, 415–18

Travis, Robert F., Brigadier General, 169–70

Trident submarines, 441, 470–71

Trinity test, 36, 40–44, 47–48, 52, 94, 205, 329

Tritium, 127, 128

Tritium meters, 417

TROJAN, 85

Truman, Harry S.

arms control issue, 75–82

atomic bomb approval by, 47–48, 52

command-and-control dilemma, 77–78, 87–88, 94, 125–26, 157

and hydrogen bomb development, 124–26

preventive atomic blitz on Soviets, 82–89, 130–31

Truman Doctrine, 80–81, 96

Tsar Bomba, 286

Tulloch, Walter S., Major, 245

Twining, Nathan, General, 203

Two-man policy

PTS member violation of, 116–18, 217, 438

scope of, 7, 28, 30, 298

U-2 spy planes, accident risks, 462–63

Ulam, Stanslaw, 127

Uncertain Trumpet, The (Taylor), 250

United Nations (UN), 74, 482

Uranium

composite core with plutonium, 99

number of protons of, 38

safety versus plutonium, 164

type for nuclear reaction, 39

U.S. Air Force (USAF). See also Strategic Air Command (SAC)

command-and-control system (2009– ), 474–75

Eisenhower-era power of, 132–33

founding of, xxii

Navy rivalry with, 84–87, 182, 203–4

nuclear weapons safety lapse (2003– ), 472–74

U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), xxii, 45

U.S. military defenses. See also specific armed forces

bombers, number of (1960), 150

counterforce strategy, 131, 133, 201, 205, 267, 302, 434, 483–84

deficiency (1949), 85–87

deficiency (1953), 132

deficiency (1980s), 13

demobilization, post–World War II, 80, 81, 86, 88

nuclear arsenal. See Nuclear weapons; specific weapons by name

nuclear attack order. See Command and control

nuclear weapons of (2013), 477

presidential actions. See specific presidents

Soviet attack, warning of. See Warning systems

Sputnik, buildup following, 176–79, 221–22

U.S. Navy

atomic blitz opposition to, 87

Eisenhower-era, 133

Polaris system, 182, 200–201, 265–66, 273, 313–14

rivalry with Air Force, 84–87, 182, 203–4

storage of weapons on ships, 158–59

Trident submarines, 441, 470–71

USS Casimir Pulaski , 350

USS Liberty , 356

USS Nathan Hale , 350

USS Pueblo , 356

USS Ticonderoga , 312

USS United States , 86, 87

V-2 missile, 182, 225

Vandenberg Air Force Base, 220, 222, 462, 484–85

Vanderberg, Hoyt, General, 126

Vanguard rocket, 177

VanKirk, George, 382–84

Vapor-detection system

functions of, xxi

and Titan II accident, 33–34, 57–59

Victory Through Air Power , 85

Vietnam War, 304–5, 348–49, 358

W-25 warhead, 376

W-47 warhead, 313–14

W-49 warhead, 196–97

W-53 warhead

deactivating, 423, 425–27, 432

power of, 3, 346

programming explosion, 226

reentry vehicle with, 425–26

retrofit plan, 376, 385–86, 444

safety mechanisms, 215

safety record, 385–86

W-76 warhead, 470

W-87 warhead, 471

W-88 warhead, 470–71

Walker, John, 464–65

Wallace, George C., 304–5

Wallace, Ronald O., Sergeant, 24

Wallace, Wayne, Major

at Titan II accident site, 390

Titan II explosion, 397, 401

Walske, Carl, 325–26

Walters, Barbara, 16

Warheads. See entries under W, for example, W-53 warhead

Warning systems

Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), 178, 252–53

computers, use in, 152–53

Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, 151–53, 252

flaws of, 252–55, 286–87, 290, 365–68, 447–48

North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), 152, 365–68

satellites in, 269, 303

Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE), 153–54, 252

Water tanks, in launch complex, 31, 66

Watkins, James D., 454–55

Watson, Thomas J., Jr., 253

Weak link/strong link safety, 331–32, 372, 377, 449–50, 455–56, 468

Weapons deactivation

Titan II accident, 422–23

training in, 415–18

Weapons labs, scientists and engineers of, xvii

Weapons Systems Evaluation Group (WSEG)

function of, xxiii

Report No. 50, 251–55

Webb, James, 88

Webster, Douglas M., Lieutenant, 312

Weinberger, Caspar, 434–35, 443–44

Weisskopf, Victor, 36, 43

Wells, H. G., 37

Wells, Jackie, Captain, 214

Wendorf, Charles J., Captain, 315

Wessel, Glen H., Senior Airman, 341–43

Whirlwind computer, 152–53

White, Frank, 115

White, Thomas D., General, 267

White House, bomb shelter of, 155

Wiesner, Jerome, 265, 270

Wiley, Jimmy D., Sergeant, 391

Willinghurst, Richard D., 29, 58

Wilson, Charles E., 165–66

Wilson, Frank, 418

Window of vulnerability, 363–64

Winner, Langdon, 464

Wohlstetter, Albert, 149

Women’s Peace Camp, 445

Wong, Danford M., 342

Wooden bombs, 160

Wooten, Melvin, Technical Sergeant, 310

World Peace Council, 183

World Set Free, The (Wells), 37

World War II

beginning of, 44–45

bombing patterns during, 44–46

and Soviet Union, 76–77

World Wide Military Command and Control System (WWMCCS), xxiii

communication issues, 303, 355, 448

elements and operation of, 272–75

end of, 474

Yangel, Mikhail, 270

Yeltsin, Boris, 478

You and Titan II, 23

Yount, David A., Captain, 24

Zink, Jeffery A., Lieutenant Colonel, 377–81, 384–85

Zone of the interior (ZI), xxiii, 150, 151, 158

Fast Food Nation

Reefer Madness

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First published by The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2013

Copyright © 2013 by Eric Schlosser

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