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n the 1983 movie, “War Games,” a computer whiz-kid inadvertently set in motion a global thermonuclear war scenario when he hacked into a Department of Defense supercomputer. To the computer, this “war” was nothing more than a game, and firing a nuclear missile at the Soviet Union was the same as moving a pawn across a chessboard. In real life, though, the thought of nuclear missiles being fired at the U.S. is anything but entertaining – and it’s one the Air Force takes very seriously. The service hasn’t entrusted its missile warning and defense capabilities to the whims of a supercomputer – it enlists the help of several radar sites scattered across the globe and numerous satellites orbiting high above the Earth to protect the nation from just such an attack. While the Cold War may be over, the threat of a missile attack is no less serious today than it was 30 years ago. Because of this, these radars and satel- lites, and the Airmen who run them, work around the clock as the nation’s front lines for missile warning and defense. “We’re here to protect America,” said 1st Lt. Bryony Veater, deputy chief of the Operations Support Flight, 7th Space Warning Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, Calif., “24/7, 365 days a year.” Proffesionals run radar sites Protecting north america from missile attack story By staff sgt. matthew Bates J Photos By lance cheung design By g. Patrick harris www.airmanonline.af.mil 16
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16-19 Missile Defense