![]() “A Titan 2 missile site is a lot like an iceberg,” says Morris. On the surface there is little to see behind the barbed-wire fence except a few low metal structures, the concrete launch doors, aerials and a staircase that disappears into the ground. ![]() The dusty slopes are dotted with cactus plants and there are signs warning of the danger of rattlesnakes. Half-a-mile or so from the main highway south to Mexico, the silo lies beneath a low mound surrounded by desert. “That doesn’t mean,” she adds, “things can’t change in the blink of an eye, but in order to be effective at your job you have to let the possibility of Armageddon sit at the back of your brain.” “We were given excellent security briefings and so most days when I was driving out to the missile site, I was able to say to myself ‘today’s probably not going to be the day’.” “I have to tell you, I slept better when I was on crew than I did today,” says Morris. It was a snapshot of the state of the world. “If we didn’t make it in three minutes, the crew underground assumes there is some sort of security situation topside.”Ĭrews came on duty for 24-hour shifts, or alerts, and began the day with a top secret security briefing at nearby Davis-Monthan airbase. ![]() “The three minutes to get to the silo is a built in security protocol,” Morris explains. Time stopped here in 1982, preserving the site – complete with decommissioned missile – as a chilling reminder of Cold War preparations for the end of the world. Today, only one silo remains – preserved as the Titan Missile Museum, a national monument with Morris as director. Their location meant this would have been a prime Soviet target. From the early 1960s to the mid-80s, the city of Tucson was circled by 18 Titan 2 nuclear missile silos.
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