For four decades, the North American Air Defense Command’s complex deep inside Cheyenne Mountain near Colorado Springs was an icon of the Cold War. Now, the Pentagon plans to put it on a standby status that also symbolizes a new era where less apocalyptic threats to America’s security now can come from a bewildering variety of sources.
Cheyenne Mountain was a movie director’s dream. During its construction in the 1960s, more than 693,000 tons of granite were blasted out to create a 4 1/2-acre cavern 60 feet high, sheltered by giant blast doors. Watchers in buildings mounted on 1,319 giant springs to cushion the shock of nuclear blasts eyed green screens monitoring activity in the atmosphere and outer space.
Eventually, the NORAD citadel outlived the Soviet Union. Its ability to direct a devastating retaliatory strike of hundreds of nuclear warheads is useless as a deterrent against terrorists who may release nerve gas in a subway or hijack airliners.
That’s why the U.S. Northern Command was established in 2002 after the Sept. 11 attacks to fight terrorism. It’s based at Peterson Field near Colorado Springs, which also hosts NORAD’s headquarters. Admiral Tim Keating, who commands both agencies, believes moving most of the 1,100 people who now work for NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain to Peterson will lead to faster and more coordinated responses to post-Soviet threats. During the Sept. 11 attacks, the NORAD commander at the time, Air Force Gen. Ralph Eberhart, was caught shuttling from headquarters at Peterson to the mountain command post and couldn’t receive telephone calls as senior officials weighed how to respond.
Cheyenne Mountain won’t be put in mothballs, however, because unpredictable events in the future might again pit America against an adversary that relies on nuclear weapons, not suicide bombers. Thus, the Cheyenne Mountain facility, remodeled in recent years at a cost of more than $700 million, will be maintained on a “warm standby” status that will allow it to resume its traditional role on an hour’s notice. That, coupled with a pledge that the reorganization won’t lead to any job losses, probably precludes any cost savings. But if it truly does foster more effective coordination of homeland security efforts, the change should be worthwhile.
Efficiency and economy aren’t what Cheyenne Mountain is all about, however. It is essential in shifting operations from inside the mountain that the facility’s unique characteristics be maintained and the nation’s nuclear deterrent remain intact.
