Saturday, August 31, 2013

Cape Cod AS, Massachusetts

The claim: Buzzards Bay, 22

What it really is: Cape Cod Air Force Station is an Air Force facility that's used for tracking space debris, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

Presque Isle AFB, Maine

The claim: Presque Isle, ?

What it really is: Presque Isle Air Force Base was closed in 1961. The site now contains an airport, a college, residual areas, and an industrial park.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine

The claim: Kittery, 278

What it really is: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is used by the US Navy for remodeling and repairing submarines. The shipyard is also used by the Coast Guard as a home port for several cutters.

The shipyard is also registered as a National Historical Place.

Loring AFB, Maine

The claim: Limestone, 11,165

What it really is Loring Air Force Base was closed in 1994.

The site of the base has been converted into public use, and is now the Loring International Airport and the Loring Commerce Center.

Barksdale AFB, Louisiana

The claim: (50 B61-7 gravity bombs; 90 B83 gravity bombs; 300 W80-1/Air-Launched Cruise Missiles; 100 W80-1/Advanced Cruise Missiles) Bossier City, 22,000

What it really is: Barksdale Air Force Base is an Air Force Base located right next to Bossier City, LA. which would make it difficult to hide a prison camp from the public. Also looking at the base via Google Maps I could not find anything that would not be found on a typical Air Force base.

The base itself has several bomber squadrons, so having such weapons there wouldn't be that unusual either.

Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Maine

The claim: Cutler, East Machias, 2,850

What it really is: The actual name for the facility is VLF Transmitter Cutler. The facility is a very low frequency shore radio station used by the Navy to provide one-way communications with submarines.

The facility itself has two identical umbrella arrays. The reason for this is because if one has to be taken offline for repairs and maintenance, the other one can remain operational.

NAS Brunswick, Maine

The claim: Brunswick, 3,221

What it really is: Naval Air Station Brunswick was closed in 2010.

In 2011 the airport was reopened as the Brunswick Executive Airport. The rest of the property is also under redevelopment for public use as well

Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Kentucky

The claim: Paducah, 3,422

What it really is: Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is the only operating uranium enrichment facility in the US, and produces low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.

The facility is operated by United States Enrichment Corporation, a subsidiary of USEC Incorporated, a publicly traded corporation.

Schilling AFB, Kansas

The claim: Salina, ?

What it really is: Schilling Air Force Base was closed 1965 with the only military presence left being the Kansas Air National Guard whom still uses the bombing range and some of the buildings.

The former base is now a quiet place that houses a few private businesses, as well as Kansas State University at Salina and Salina Area Technical College

Forbes Field, Kansas

The claim: Topeka, 193

What it really is: Forbes Field is a Air Force base that was closed in 1973 and is now a public airport.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Burlington AEC Plant, Iowa

The claim: Burlington, ?

What it really is: The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant is a munitions plant that builds large caliber ammunition for the Army (i.e. big bullets that has to be fired out of a cannon).

The plant itself only employs 20 military personnel, but over 5,800 civilians and 8,300 contractor personnel.

Ames Laboratory, Iowa

The claim: Ames, 10

What it really is: Ames Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory that conducts unclassified research into various areas of national concern.

The laboratory is located on the campus of Iowa State University, and is affiliated with the school.

Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois

The claim: Rock Island, 946

What it really is: Rock Island Arsenal is one of the oldest munitions plants in the country, and is a national historical landmark.

The facility also has 6,000 civilians working there, and only 250 military personnel working there. The site also has it's own museum.

Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois

The claim: Argonne, 1,704

What it really is: Argonne National Laboratory is the first science and engineering research national laboratory in the United States. It's five major areas of focus are: Conducting basic scientific research, operating national scientific facilities, enhancing the nation's energy resources, developing better ways to manage environmental problems, and protecting national security.

The facility is also open to anyone 16 years old or older to take guided tours.

Mountain Home AFB

The claim: Mountain Home, 9,112

What it really is: Mountain Home Air Force Base is a Air Force base that (after looking at it on Google maps) is out in the middle of nowhere.

The only thing there are some farmer fields that surround the base, mountains, housing for base personal and their families, and some buildings that are common with Air Force bases in order to support and maintain the aircraft there.

Robins AFB, Georgia

The claim: Warner Robins, 8,800

What it really is: Robins Air Force Base is a major Air Force Base that hosts the Warner Roberts Air Logistics Center that is used not only for the maintenance of Air Force air craft, but also employs almost 13,000 civilians.

The base also has it's own museum as well, which has around half a million visitors annually.

Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base/Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic, Georgia

The claim: (1,600 W76/Trident I warheads; 400 W88/Trident II warheads; 160 W80-0/Sea-Launched Cruise Missiles) Kings Bay, 16,000

What it really is: Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is a major Navy base that is the home port for the U.S. Atlantic Fleet's ballistic missile nuclear submarines which are armed with Trident missile nuclear weapons. Whether the base actually keeps any nuclear missiles on site is unknown as such information would most likely be considered top secret, but even if the base did have nuclear weapons on site, it wouldn't be unexpected considering the base does support ballistic missile nuclear submarines.

While the base does cover 16,000 acres, 4,000 of those acres are protected wetlands.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

The claim: Idaho Falls, 571,800

What it really is: Idaho National Laboratory is a large laboratory facility controlled by the Department of Energy and operated by Battelle Energy Alliance. The facility it self is used in the development of energy systems, including nuclear energy.

West Loch, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

The claim: Oahu, 12,191

What it really is: West Loch was the site of a disaster that occurred on May 21, 1944, and kill 163. The exact cause of the explosion that caused the disaster remains unknown to this day.

Most wreckage has since been removed and salvaged, but LST-480 still remains. A memorial is also located at the site as well.

Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station, Hawaii

The claim: Wahiawa, Oahu, ?

What it really is: Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific is the provider for the operational direction and management to all Pacific Naval Telecommunication System users. 

To put it in layman's terms, it's the largest communications relay facility for the US Navy in the Pacific.

Pearl Harbor Naval Station, Hawaii

The claim: Oahu, 2,319

What it really is: Naval Station Pearl Harbor is a major Navy base locate next to the city of Honolulu.

The base is a National Historical Landmark, with portions of it open to the public, including the USS Arizona and Utah memorials (which were sunk by the Japanese Imperial Navy on December 7, 1941, and couldn't be raised up), and the USS Missouri.

Kahoolawe Island, Hawaii

The claim: Kahoolawe Island, 28,800. Until 1994, the entire island was off limits to civilians and used for bombardment practice, including simulated nuclear weapons.

What it really is: In 1990 the US Navy ended live fire training on the island of Kaho'olawe. In 1994 the island was transferred to the state of Hawaii.

In 1981 the island was added to the National Register of Historic Places due to its archaeological sites. In 1993 the state legislator established the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve, turning the entire island into a nature reserve.

The island itself has no permanent population due mostly to the fact that the island lacks fresh water.

Hickam AFB, Hawaii

The claim: Honolulu, 2,761

What it really is: Hickam Field is an Air Force facility that shares runways with Honolulu International Airport. The base was merged with Pearl Harbor Naval Base and is now part of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range Facility, Hawaii

The claim: Kauai, 1,925

What it really is: The Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands, is a Navy facility that is also the world's largest instrumented, multi-dimensional testing and training missile range.

While it's location along the coast makes it ideal for missile testing, the fact that it's next to sugar cane fields (which could be accessed by the public), and in is on flat land, would make it very hard location to hide a FEMA camp on.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Pinellas Plant, Florida

The claim: St. Petersburg, 90

What it really is: Pinellas Plant (now known as the Young-Rainy Star Center) use to be a nuclear weapons manufacturing facility operated by the Department of Energy, but is now a high-technology and manufacturing center owned by Pinellas County.

Patrick AFB, Florida

The claim: Cocoa Beach, 2,341

What it really is: Patrick Air Force Base is an Air Force Space Command base.

The base is used to launched unmanned rockets and satellites for the US military, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Security Agency, as well as scientific payload launches in support of NASA, weather satellite launches in support of NOAA, payloads in support of international customers such as the European Space Agency, and commercial payloads for various corporate communications entities.

Mayport Naval Station, Florida

The claim: Mayport, 3,000

What it really is: Naval Station Mayport is a Navy base that currently undergoing infrastructure changes and construction of new facilities in order to be suitable to harbor nuclear powered carriers.

NAS Jacksonville, Florida

The claim: Jacksonville, ?

What it really is: Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport, and is actually one of two naval bases located in Duval County, Florida.

All the buildings located there are basically what would be typically expected at a facility that was both an airport and a military air base. Also, there are multiple civilian facilities surrounding the base (including houses and businesses). It would be highly unlikely that a prison camp could be hidden there for very long without a lot of people seeing it.

Eglin AFB, Florida

The claim: Fort Walton Beach, 463,452 (Only 752 acres used for evaluating nuclear base security systems are counted toward the total)

What it really is: Eglin Air Force Base is a fairly large Air Force Base. The claim that only 752 acres of the base are actually counted is completely false. In fact it is official knowledge that the base covers 463,128 acres.

The base is also surrounded by towns and cities, has military family housing units, and has scheduled passenger airline service as the Northwest Florida Regional Airport, which is co-located on the base property.

NAS Cecil Field, Florida

The claim: Jacksonville, 21,000

What it really is: Navel Air Station Cecil Field was closed in 1999 and is now the Cecil Commerce Center and Cecil Airport.

The only military presence left there is the Florida National Guard.