Last Friday Bruce was treated to a visit to one of his old work places while in the Air Force here in Tucson. We visited the Titan Missile Museum which houses the last Titan II ICBM missile system. Bruce served here in this an other sites around Tucson from 1975 to 1978 when he then transitioned to flying the crews out to the sites until 1979.

 
All the rest of the Titan II missile sites were destroyed per US-Soviet Union negotiations but fortunately this one has been preserved by private enthusiasts to exhibit the epitome of cold war force and deterrence.

Below was my view as I approached the missile site for 154 below ground alert cycles. The massive door is the light colored thing in the center. For the museum they have a bunch of vehicles that were there during some maintenance events but not during a normal alert.

A shot of the 9 megaton warhead the biggest ever produced and fielded in this country. 9 million tons of TNT would make a big hole and explosion, eh.

Here's the commander and his deputy at the launch console that only a few years ago would have and could have sent that weapon on its way to the USSR in about a minute to launch and 30 minutes to the target. This was serious business and I had to memorize every tube, relay, valve, button and switch in the massive control center and launch complex.

As I was a real live veteran of this actual complex the guide deferred to me for a couple of explanations and then the very interested young men on the tour wanted to be with me at the launch console as we went through a simulated launch sequence ... I think their grandma was also very interested in the subject as well.