Annie Jacobsen

Then there is the bunker beneath Cheyenne Mountain, which everyone has, you know, many people have heard of because it's been made famous in movies, right? That is a very real bunker. And then there is a third bunker, which people are not so familiar with, which is the bunker beneath Strategic Command in Nebraska. And so it's described to me this way.

Then there is the bunker beneath Cheyenne Mountain, which everyone has, you know, many people have heard of because it's been made famous in movies, right? That is a very real bunker. And then there is a third bunker, which people are not so familiar with, which is the bunker beneath Strategic Command in Nebraska. And so it's described to me this way.

The Pentagon bunker is the beating heart bunker. The Cheyenne Mountain Bunker is the brains, and the STRATCOM bunker is the muscle. The STRATCOM commander will receive word from the president, launch orders, and then directs the 150,000 people beneath him what to do, okay, from the bunker beneath STRATCOM. That's before...

The Pentagon bunker is the beating heart bunker. The Cheyenne Mountain Bunker is the brains, and the STRATCOM bunker is the muscle. The STRATCOM commander will receive word from the president, launch orders, and then directs the 150,000 people beneath him what to do, okay, from the bunker beneath STRATCOM. That's before...

The Pentagon bunker is the beating heart bunker. The Cheyenne Mountain Bunker is the brains, and the STRATCOM bunker is the muscle. The STRATCOM commander will receive word from the president, launch orders, and then directs the 150,000 people beneath him what to do, okay, from the bunker beneath STRATCOM. That's before...

He gets the orders, then he has to run out of the building and jump onto what's called the doomsday plane. We'll get into that in a minute. Let me just finish the, I mean, but again, these are the details. This is like, these are the systematic sequential details that happen in seconds and minutes. And reporting them, I never cease to be amazed by what a system it is.

He gets the orders, then he has to run out of the building and jump onto what's called the doomsday plane. We'll get into that in a minute. Let me just finish the, I mean, but again, these are the details. This is like, these are the systematic sequential details that happen in seconds and minutes. And reporting them, I never cease to be amazed by what a system it is.

He gets the orders, then he has to run out of the building and jump onto what's called the doomsday plane. We'll get into that in a minute. Let me just finish the, I mean, but again, these are the details. This is like, these are the systematic sequential details that happen in seconds and minutes. And reporting them, I never cease to be amazed by what a system it is.

You know, A follows B. It's just numerical, right?

You know, A follows B. It's just numerical, right?

You know, A follows B. It's just numerical, right?

Yeah. Okay, so imagine this. Imagine being the president. You got that six-minute win. You're looking at your list of strike options. You're being briefed by your chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and your SECTAF. And this other really spooky detail happens.

Yeah. Okay, so imagine this. Imagine being the president. You got that six-minute win. You're looking at your list of strike options. You're being briefed by your chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and your SECTAF. And this other really spooky detail happens.

Yeah. Okay, so imagine this. Imagine being the president. You got that six-minute win. You're looking at your list of strike options. You're being briefed by your chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and your SECTAF. And this other really spooky detail happens.

In the STRATCOM bunker, in addition to the nuclear strike advisor who can answer very specific questions if the president's like, wait a minute, why are we striking that and not that? There's also a weather officer.

In the STRATCOM bunker, in addition to the nuclear strike advisor who can answer very specific questions if the president's like, wait a minute, why are we striking that and not that? There's also a weather officer.

In the STRATCOM bunker, in addition to the nuclear strike advisor who can answer very specific questions if the president's like, wait a minute, why are we striking that and not that? There's also a weather officer.

And this is the kind of human detail that kept me up at night because that weather officer is in charge of explaining to the president really fast how many people are going to die and how many people are going to die in minutes, weeks, months, and years from radiation fallout.

And this is the kind of human detail that kept me up at night because that weather officer is in charge of explaining to the president really fast how many people are going to die and how many people are going to die in minutes, weeks, months, and years from radiation fallout.

And this is the kind of human detail that kept me up at night because that weather officer is in charge of explaining to the president really fast how many people are going to die and how many people are going to die in minutes, weeks, months, and years from radiation fallout.