The road to Site Summit after the Sno-Go had a crack at it. The banks of
snow were higher than our jeep. (11K)
Installing Nike Hercules Missiles in Alaska - Page 2
The road to Site Summit after the Sno-Go had a crack at it. The banks of
snow were higher than our jeep. (11K)
Installing the launcher wiring. The
launchers required many power and signal cables. One problem was that they were
sized for an underground site - it took a bit of doing to make them match up to
our location. There was another problem - the contractors had laid concrete pipes
under the slab for the cables to go through, but they hadn't put in a rope with
which to pull the cables. We had to use a "fish" (a steel cable) but
it kept getting hung up on rough concrete in the joints. Very frustrating. At
one point we considered using a cat with string attached to its tail. (19K)
The IFC (Integrated Fire Control) area. There were two tracking radars - one to track the target, the other the missile. The data was fed into a computer and corrective maneuvering commands were fed to the missile, which were effected by moving small fins near the nose. (17K)
A closer view of the clamshell dome covering a radar antenna, unique to Alaska and necessary due to the often violent weather. It was opened during operation. (17K)
Some very cold troops in the back
of the truck. I had driven trucks during and after Basic Training. An advantage
was that I could sit in the heated cab; not so good was arriving at the motor
pool after a late night call (sometimes we were on site all night, but the cooks
were wonderful. They would cook excellent food for us any hour of the day or
night) and having to round up someone with the keys. (19K)
SP4 Bolen: "Hey, Sarge, there seems to be something missing on this
one". (17K)
Ski lessons were part of our training. One learned to ski very quickly if they thought a moose was chasing them. Some were better skiers than others. (20K)
There was entertainment in Anchorage,
such as dog sled races down the main street (5th St.). (24K)
Another favorite was the Indian
Blanket Toss. A number of people snapped the blanket, tossing the rider high in
the air. We had no Eskimos that far south, but there were many Indians.