The Ground-Mobile Command Center was, or is, a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

program to develop and deploy hardened and secure, mobile command posts for use by the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

to command retaliation and counterattack by the U.S. armed forces in response to a catastrophic assault against North America.

Development and purpose

The Ground-Mobile Command Center program was initiated in 1981. A predecessor program, the National Mobile Land Command Post (NMLCP), had been considered as far back as the 1960s, but was shelved. Developed by

TRW Inc. TRW Inc. was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, Automotive industry, automotive, and Credit bureau, credit reporting.http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/TRW-Inc-Company-Hist ...

under a government contract awarded during the administration of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, ground-mobile command centers were, or are, an army counterpart to the better-known "Nightwatch", the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

National Emergency Airborne Command Post The Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post (AACP), the current "Nightwatch" aircraft, is a series of strategic command and control military aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The E-4 series are specially modified from ...

, a fleet of hardened aircraft designed to allow the president to remain airborne and mobile during a severe crisis to minimize the possibility of a

decapitation strike Decapitation is a military strategy aimed at removing the leadership or command and control of a hostile government or group. In nuclear warfare In nuclear warfare theory, a decapitation strike is a pre-emptive first strike attack that aims ...

. Ground-mobile command centers were, or are, 18-wheel tractor-trailers outfitted with defensive systems and sophisticated communications equipment that permits the president or his successor to directly command American nuclear retaliation against another nation while "on the road" in an irradiated and devastated post-attack environment. They were, or are, hardened to protect against

electromagnetic pulse An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also referred to as a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. The origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic field, as an ...

attack.

Operation

Colloquially known as "doomsday trucks", ground-mobile command centers were reportedly put into service and positioned in locations around the United States that were considered unlikely to be targeted in an initial nuclear volley launched by a warring state. According to one report these locations were in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. They would be supported by co-located fuel depots and spare parts. As intended, the vehicles would not be the primary transportation mode for the president, but would rather be used only after the air evacuation of the National Command Authority from an area of danger at which point they would "gradually take over full command operations in the post-attack period".

Similar programs

The

United States Northern Command The United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for Civil authority, non-military authorities in t ...

(USNORTHCOM) operates a "mobile consolidated control center" (MCCC) for use by the combatant commander (CCDR) as an "alternative HQ" for coordination of emergency and counteroffensive operations following a

mainland invasion of the United States Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or demogr ...

. The MCCC consists of a convoy of trucks described as a "survivable, road-mobile backup" from which the CCDR can command U.S. military forces in repelling an attack, should primary and secondary facilities be destroyed or overrun.

References

{{US Posts for Continuity of Operations United States Army equipment United States nuclear command and control Disaster preparedness in the United States Continuity of government in the United States

Development and purpose

Operation

Similar programs

See also

References