October 17, 2003 Missile defense unit mobilizing in Springs
By JOHN DIEDRICH - THE GAZETTE
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 Alaska 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.
