Nukes

I had no real intention to blog about this; just something that automatically came to mind at the time. But what the hell. I’m on an afternoon roll.

I’ll make it short. I would not expect you to be aware, but as a young and fresh Navy ensign, one of my collateral duties was the security over eight nuclear weapons on the USS REEVES (CG-24). If you don’t know how the security over nukes works, here’s a brief primer: two-man control. In the U.S., there is never less than two people in the presence of a nuclear weapon at any time.

Both have loaded and un-safed sidearms in readily accessible holsters at all times. Had I ever wanted, I could have created one hell of an international shit storm. So could and can to this very day thousands of others. In a sense, your life hangs on their whim.

Analogy: commercial airliners: two-man control.