Title: Raven Rock
Author: Garrett M. Graff
Graff, Garrett M. (2017). Raven Rock: The Story of The U.S. Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself-While The Rest of Us Die. New York: Simon and Schuster
LCCN: 2017004895
Summary
- “The eye-opening truth about the government’s secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil–even if the rest of us die–a roadmap that spans from the dawn of the nuclear age to today”–Provided by publisher.
Contents
- Project S-1 — Mr. Rance Campbell — The Beard Lot project — Apple Jack alert — The spirit of Camp David — The New Frontier — Cuban Missile Crisis — Angel is airborne — The Tyler precedent — The madman theory — Mount Pony — The unlikely hawk — War games — Designated survivor — Nine naught eight — 9/11 — The days after — Doomsday prepping.
Subjects
- Civil defense–United States–History.
- Crisis management in government–United States–History.
- Emergency management–Government policy–United States–History.
- Military planning–United States.
- Nuclear warfare.
- Cold War.
- United States–Defenses.
Date Posted: May 11, 2017
Reviewed in The Intelligencer[1]
This is the government’s secret plans to survive a catastrophic attack on US soil—even if the rest of our citizens die. Every day in Washington, DC, the blue-and-gold 1st Helicopter Squadron, codenamed “MUSSEL,” flies over the Potomac River. As obvious as the Presidential motorcade, most people assume the squadron is a travel perk for VIPs. While the helicopters provide transport, the unit exists to evacuate high-ranking officials in the event of a terrorist or nuclear attack on Washington, DC. Select officials would be whisked by helicopters to a ring of secret bunkers around Washington; citizens are left to fend for themselves. No doubt this is a practice employed by most nations worldwide.
For sixty years, the US government has been developing secret Doomsday plans to protect itself, and the multibillion-dollar Continuity of Government (COG) program takes numerous forms—from its plans to evacuate the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to the plans to launch nuclear missiles from a Boeing-747 jet flying high over Nebraska. In Raven Rock, Graff sheds light on the inner workings of the 650-acre compound (called Raven Rock) just miles from Camp David, as well as dozens of other bunkers the government built its top leaders during the Cold War, from the White House lawn to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado to Palm Beach, Florida, and the secret plans that would have kicked in after a Cold War nuclear attack to round up foreigners and dissidents and nationalize industries. Equal parts a presidential, military, and cultural history, Graff tracks the evolution of the government plan and the threats of global war from the dawn of the nuclear era through the War on Terror.
[1] Reviewed in The Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies (22, 3, Winter 2016-17, p. 138).
