12/8/2023 0 Comments Double deck pinochle near meThe Munitions Control Room was a masterpiece of local design. ![]() Stepped off the driver's seat and opened his parka savoring the warmth of the heated vehicle bay before heading over to Munitions Control. It gave a look of flocked garland to everything it touched, and at night it was magical, every light reflected a spike of light that shot straight up to the sky, and the moon had a circular halo, a moondog.Ī Strata Blue metro van pulled into the vehicle bay of building 579, the Weapons building and pulled into a diagonal parking spot in front of the weapons loading office. Everything was covered with hoarfrost, every tree branch and every barbed wire fence, even the chain link fences topped with coils of razor wire looked festive. ![]() The air looked foggy, but it was too cold for fog, the air was obscured by a fog of tiny ice crystals, the humidity had frozen and was hanging in the air. The temperature was -26° with a slight breeze blowing the sandy snow around on the flightline. It seemed like news reporters were waiting for her to land after every mission. He didn't care if Deanna Ingler was a he, she, or it, just as long as he, she, or it could fly the heaviest bomber in the world like Eddie Rickenbacker, and she could make that airplane sing. Colonel Lars Gulbrandsen was aching to see his men and woman in action, but he wasn't excited about taking over a B-52 wing with the first female bomber pilot. The 360th Bombardment Wing stood ready for the call that everyone hoped and prayed didn't come. The yield of that bomb will be classified for decades after it's no longer used, but it is guaranteed to make Fat Man and Little Boy look like cherry bombs. ![]() Ahead of the SRAMs hung four B83 gravity bombs. The Short Range Attack Missile carried its W69 nuclear warhead in any direction at supersonic speed. Each aircraft carried twelve AGM-86/B cruise missiles (six on each wing pylon), in the aft portion of the bomb bay hung eight AGM-SRAM missiles on a rotary launcher. Air crews sat on ready alert 24/7 waiting for the call to come to launch the bombers and head north with their deadly loads. At Bailey AFB, six B-52H's loaded with twenty-four nuclear warheads each sat ready to take to the air at a moment's notice. The SAC (Strategic Air Command) Nuclear Alert was a real thing and games were not played. Preface: Bailey Air Force Base near Culbertson Montanna about 35 years ago was experiencing one of the coldest winters it had in decades, it was a cold base fighting the cold war. This story was crafted for the Winter Holidays Story Contest 2023. ![]() There is no Bailey Air Force Base near Culbertson Montanna, there's only 750 people in Culbertson Montanna and I don't think they want a big noisy base nearby. Names, unit numbers and other identifiers have been changed to amuse the innocent. I tossed a few real-life occurrences together to create this story. This story has its roots in a few actual circumstances, some of which got very ugly in real life. If you see this story on any website other than, it has been copied without the author's permission. This story or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions.
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