Feature
America's Space Watch Squadron
Their closest petrol station is 30 miles away. The closest grocery store is nearly 90 minutes away. Yet some full-time Air National Guard airmen still want to be posted to this wilderness in the centre of Alaska.
Airmen from the 13th Space Warning Squadron 'The Space Sentinels', at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, provide early missile warning should Russia, China or North Korea attempt to launch a missile.
The Crew Commander of Missile Warning Operations Capt. Michah Hanauer explained why the Cold War dictated the base's location.
"Very early on strategic planners saw Alaska, they saw it's position in relation to Russia, China and over the pole. (They said) The threat's going to come from somewhere... we're going to need something to detect and track them."
The 13th SWS is a geographically separated unit from the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
Video produced by Tech. Sgt. David Salanitri.
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