I have the coolest job in the Air National Guard.

[Ura-Ki]

Welcome aboard Fellow Fly-Boy, Old PJ here! I grew up at PDX Yankee Starbase ONE PANG 142nd during the F-4 Years and into the F-15 transition, those were some fun times to be a kid! Retired in 2008 after 20 years as a PJ, lots of fun, lots of heartache, wouldn't trade a single day of it for anything!

The 142nd still holds the Record for time to intercept, from engine start to airborn, a record that has never been matched by any other FG/FW through out the Air Force, starting in 1948, and continues to this day!

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

That's pretty damn cool. Thank you for your service.

 

[Josh Bassett]

Welcome aboard Fellow Fly-Boy, Old PJ here! I grew up at PDX Yankee Starbase ONE PANG 142nd during the F-4 Years and into the F-15 transition, those were some fun times to be a kid! Retired in 2008 after 20 years as a PJ, lots of fun, lots of heartache, wouldn't trade a single day of it for anything!

The 142nd still holds the Record for time to intercept, from engine start to airborn, a record that has never been matched by any other FG/FW through out the Air Force, starting in 1948, and continues to this day!

Thank you for your service! I never knew the 142nd held that record. That's pretty cool. Just a few years ago we scrambled them on a Dash 8 Q400 that some ground mx worker stole out of Seattle. The guy did a barrel roll and blew an engine before crashing in the south Puget sound.

 

[Josh Bassett]

That's pretty damn cool. Thank you for your service.

You're most welcome! I'm certainly proud of the job we do.

 

[gmerkt]

Decades ago, I worked in the Army National Guard Technician Program. When the Nike Missile Program was defunded, some of their former installations became available for the mainstream Army National Guard. One of our infantry brigade HQ took over a former Nike Missile command site. They had one of those blast bunkers you describe. The electronics were gone, but it still had a room with a big gallery of wet cell batteries for back-up power.

The US Gov't has spent a lot of money on defensive structures of this kind. For example, the Minuteman Missile Program has hundreds of command, comm. and launch structures built underground. As I understand it, the current Minuteman has a central squadron command facility with remote control over the several launch sites. Unlike the Titan, which had a live crew with every missile.

 

[Josh Bassett]

Decades ago, I worked in the Army National Guard Technician Program. When the Nike Missile Program was defunded, some of their former installations became available for the mainstream Army National Guard. One of our infantry brigade HQ took over a former Nike Missile command site. They had one of those blast bunkers you describe. The electronics were gone, but it still had a room with a big gallery of wet cell batteries for back-up power.

The US Gov't has spent a lot of money on defensive structures of this kind. For example, the Minuteman Missile Program has hundreds of command, comm. and launch structures built underground. As I understand it, the current Minuteman has a central squadron command facility with remote control over the several launch sites. Unlike the Titan, which had a live crew with every missile.

So much history; and so much of it is unknown to most people.

 

[gmerkt]

o much history; and so much of it is unknown to most people.

The Nike Missile Program alone had 264 sites across the country:

Nike Missile Site Locations by State

You can still run across some of these former installations as you drive around. A lot of concrete and money sunk into the ground.

 

[skywag]

Welcome fellow FANG member.

I was in the Oregon AIr Nat'l Guard from 1967-1973

We first had F-102 Delta Daggers and transitioned to F-101 VooDoos.

 

[Josh Bassett]

Welcome fellow FANG member.

I was in the Oregon AIr Nat'l Guard from 1967-1973

We first had F-102 Delta Daggers and transitioned to F-101 VooDoos.

View attachment 1817013

Dang, that's old school!

 

[NMCB 133]

Welcome, Ke-mo Sah-bee