The Gazette October 17, 2003
U.S. missile defense unit mobilizing in Springs
By John Diedrich
Colorado Springs will house the nerve center of the United States' fledgling missile defense system, further solidifying its role as the hub of homeland defense.
The city is home to NORAD, the nation's early warning missile system, and Northern Command, charged with defending the United States against attack.
In September, the first unit charged with defending the nation against missile attack will begin operations.
Called the Missile Defense Brigade, it was activated Thursday at Peterson Air Force Base.
"What a historic event. Another chapter as we prepare to defend our homeland," said Lt. Gen. Joseph Cosumano Jr., commander of Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
Sixty soldiers will sit on alert at command centers inside Cheyenne Mountain, at Peterson and elsewhere in Colorado Springs.
Troops in the mountain already watch for missile launches using information from satellites and ground radar, but the nation has no way to defend against an attack. The new missile defense soldiers would alert troops in Alas- ka and California, who would launch missiles that are supposed to shoot down incoming missiles.
The troops on watch here will be full-time Colorado National Guard soldiers, a nod to the Guard's longtime role as defenders of the nation and evidence of a stretched military where the reserves are counted on more.
President Bush ordered the military to install groundbased defensive missiles at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in 2004.
The roughly $22 billion program will field 10 missiles next year and 10 more the year after, said Rick Lehner, spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency.
The military also is moving ahead with defensive missiles on Navy ships and an airborne laser mounted on a converted 747 airliner intended to shoot down missiles.
Lehner said the military has proven an incoming missile can be shot down with another missile, despite some failed tests.
Critics such as John Pike disagree. Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a defense think-tank, said missile defense technology "has been known to work on occasion."
The military showed it is "physically possible," not that it can work in a realistic attack scenario, he said.
Missile defense could give U.S. leadership a false sense of confidence they can fight a nation such as North Korea and not worry about a nuclear strike, Pike said.
"The consequences of failure are catastrophic," he said. "If the only thing standing between an American city and a North Korean missile is this (technology), we are in trouble."
Pike said the billions being poured into missile defense would be better spent making airliners less suspectable to terrorists' shoulder-fired missiles.
Col. Gary Baumann, commander of the new missile defense unit in Colorado Springs, said his job is not to debate where the threat may be coming from, just to prepare for the mission.
The military did a nationwide search for the soldiers who will serve in the unit here. Half are in place and participating in training at Schriever Air Force Base.
The hours have been long and will get longer once the mission begins, when the troops are on constant watch, Baumann said.
"We are prepared for any threat that will come our way," he said.
© Copyright 2003, The Gazette, a division of Freedom Colorado Information
