Post-Attack Command and Control System

Post-Attack Command and Control System. It was a comprehensive network of airborne, ground-based, and sea-based assets designed to ensure the survival of national command authorities and the execution of retaliatory nuclear strikes following a devastating Soviet first strike during the Cold War. Developed primarily under the auspices of the United States Department of Defense and Strategic Air Command, its core mission was to guarantee continuity of government and maintain a credible second-strike capability as a cornerstone of the doctrine of mutual assured destruction. The system integrated advanced communications technology, hardened facilities, and dedicated aircraft to provide a survivable command structure for the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a post-apocalyptic scenario.

Overview and Purpose

The primary purpose was to preserve a functioning chain of command for the National Command Authority after a nuclear exchange, enabling the execution of war plans like the Single Integrated Operational Plan. This was deemed essential for credible deterrence theory against the Warsaw Pact. The system aimed to solve the critical vulnerability identified after the Cuban Missile Crisis, where fixed command centers like The Pentagon were seen as susceptible to decapitation. It operated on the principle of redundancy, dispersing command nodes across platforms including the Looking Glass aircraft, the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, and mobile ground stations to complicate Soviet Armed Forces targeting efforts. This architecture was a direct response to the evolving threat posed by ICBMs and SLBMs fielded by the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces.

Historical Development

Development accelerated in the early 1960s following the Gaither Report and lessons from the Berlin Crisis of 1961. The United States Air Force established the initial National Emergency Airborne Command Post program, which evolved into a more robust network. Key milestones included the commissioning of the EC-135 Looking Glass by Strategic Air Command in 1961, providing constant airborne alert, and the hardening of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex under North American Aerospace Defense Command. The Vietnam War era saw further expansion with systems like the Post Attack Command and Control System, Fixed ground stations. The 1970s introduced the more advanced E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post, while the Reagan administration's military buildup led to significant upgrades under initiatives like the Strategic Defense Initiative, enhancing connectivity with Trident submarine fleets and Minuteman III launch control centers.

System Components and Infrastructure

The architecture comprised several key elements. The airborne segment was centered on the EC-135 and later the E-4 Boeing aircraft, which served as flying command posts equipped with AN/FRC-109 and AN/FRC-117 radios for Very Low Frequency communication with Ballistic missile submarines. Ground infrastructure included the hardened Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado, alternate command centers like Site R at Raven Rock Mountain Complex, and a nationwide network of Emergency Rocket Communications System transmitters. Mobile command posts included the National Emergency Command Post Afloat on vessels like the USS Northampton and the Worldwide Military Command and Control System for data fusion. Communications relied on satellites like the Defense Satellite Communications System, hardened landlines, and the Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network.

Operational Procedures and Protocols

Standard protocol involved the constant airborne alert of a Looking Glass aircraft overseen by a general officer from Strategic Air Command. Upon warning of an attack from sensors like the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, designated command authorities would be evacuated to pre-staged aircraft or hardened facilities under the support of the White House Military Office. The system utilized a series of Emergency Action Messages authenticated via Permissive Action Link codes to direct forces. Exercises such as Global Shield and Ivy League tested the handover of command between nodes like the E-4, the National Military Command Center, and Strategic Air Command Headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base. Procedures were tightly integrated with the Nuclear Command and Control System and required positive control from the National Command Authority to execute orders.

Legacy and Decommissioning

The system's relevance began to wane with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The constant Looking Glass airborne alert mission was terminated in 1990 following the Malta Summit. Many ground stations were deactivated in the early 1990s as part of post-Cold War drawdowns coordinated by the United States Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Agency. Its core concepts and infrastructure, however, were inherited by the modern Continuity of Operations program and the E-6B Mercury Take Charge and Move Out aircraft, which assumed the strategic communications mission. The hardened Cheyenne Mountain Complex remains a active NORAD and United States Space Command installation. The system is studied as a seminal, if sobering, example of Cold War technological escalation and the lengths undertaken to manage the risks of nuclear proliferation.

Category:Continuity of government in the United States Category:Cold War military history of the United States Category:Strategic Air Command Category:Nuclear command and control of the United States