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Holy Crap! False Alarm

Basil

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Holy cow - My Sister-in-Law and her friend are in Hawaii on vacation and just had to take cover due to a false alarm that had the people of Hawaii believing they were under nuclear attack! Scared the crap out of her!
 

AngliaGT

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I can only imagine,given what's going on in the World today.
 

Boink

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I have a sister that lives on the Big Island and they were in shock for about 15 minutes. Seems somebody pushed a wrong button.

oops.jpg
 

NutmegCT

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A bit un-nerving that Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's "incoming missile" alert messages go out, when just one person pushes a button during a shift change. No confirmation order before pushing the button? No time-delay? Someone could even accidentally drop a book on the keyboard (or phone) and a state-wide alert just "happens"?

And almost 40 minutes before the warning was rescinded? Sure hope there was no US military involvement.

yeesh
 

JPSmit

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A bit un-nerving that Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's "incoming missile" alert messages go out, when just one person pushes a button during a shift change. No confirmation order before pushing the button? No time-delay? Someone could even accidentally drop a book on the keyboard (or phone) and a state-wide alert just "happens"?

And almost 40 minutes before the warning was rescinded? Sure hope there was no US military involvement.

yeesh

all good questions, but, seriously, a book? who brings a book to the emrgency management agency - what is a book anyway? a phone? a coffee? :grin:
 
OP
Basil

Basil

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all good questions, but, seriously, a book? who brings a book to the emrgency management agency - what is a book anyway? a phone? a coffee? :grin:

I'd say their system needs some improvement. How's that for an understatement!
 

elrey

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Yikes! A trial run! :scared: It will be useful to know exactly what the inhabitants, including govt agencies, did upon receiving the alert [aside from swearing a blue streak, voiding their insides and BOAKTAG].
 
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Basil

Basil

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all good questions, but, seriously, a book? who brings a book to the emrgency management agency - what is a book anyway? a phone? a coffee? :grin:

As an aside, but a somewhat related topic, you may have heard of the >> North Warning System, << which replaced the aging "DEW Line" radar system to provide early warning of any airborne threats from over the pole. Back in the day, when I was a young Radar Engineer at the 1954th Radar Evaluation Squadron, Hill AFB. Utah, I was assigned to be part of a team (one of three teams) who surveyed locations for the radar systems that would comprise the NWS. One team was responsible for determining the locations of sites in northern Alaska, another team surveyed all across the length of the North West Territories and the third team (mine) surveyed locations along the coast of Baffin Island and Labrador, as far north as the Arctic Circle (Cape Dyer). Each team consisted of a radar evaluation engineer (like me), as well as experts from the US Army's Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL). We also had Canadian military logistics experts as part of the team. We flew all over different mountain tops on Baffin Island and Labrador in a contracted Canadian Bell helicopter and surveyed dozens of potential sites.

My job in this endeavor was to look at all the many sites we surveyed from an operational radar coverage perspective and determine which sites would be best for placing the new radar systems in order to provide the best over-all coverage. We surveyed the terrain from each mountain top - to include all intermediate terrain between the site and the horizon in a 360 degree pattern. Then, when I returned to Hill AFB, I took all that data and created radar coverage maps that showed where the "holes" in coverage were, then I determined which set of sites, in combination, provided the best overall coverage. I had to compile a report of my findings and recommendations. I then briefed both the US and Canadian military (briefing was conducted at the North Warning System Office in Ottawa) on my recommendations of where they should place the radar sites to maximize coverage. Of course accessibility to the sites and logistics concerns, etc., were also part of the equation. Here are a few pics of that most memorable 3-month trip.

Baffin Island-0057.jpg
On the C-130 flying from Hanscom AFB (Mass) to first staging base, Cape Dyer, Baffin Island


Baffin Island-0701.jpg
Somewhere over Baffin Island - not a place to be in winter

Baffin Island-0703.jpg
Twin Otter we used to fly from one staging camp to another. This was Brevoort Island I think.

Baffin Island-0702.jpg
Ice pack as seen from Twin Otter

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Ed Pruss (left) was our helicopter pilot. He was great nephew of Capt Max Pruss of Hindenberg fame (no kidding)

Baffin Island-0698.jpg

Crash site found during our surveys - Norther Labrador I think.

Baffin Island-0712.jpg
Breevort - contracted with oil company to stay here as one of our 4 staging bases.

Baffin Island-0697.jpg
The "facilities" at Brevoort. Nothing like sitting on a freezing cold wooden seat!

Baffin Island-0710.jpg
Gordon - a team member and cold region expert from CRREL in New Hampshire

Baffin Island-0706.jpg
Nain, the northern most permanent settlement in Labrador. We stayed in the "Nain Hotel" - a double wide trailer.

Baffin Island-0700.jpg
Yes, that's me - on the job on some mountain top on Baffin Island, I think.



 

elrey

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What a splendid adventure you had. Thank you for your efforts. My traffic controller friend in Honolulu said that they just kept on keeping on and did nothing different except for mentally saying goodbye to friends and relatives. Air traffic control lies in a hardened bunker with filtered air. They assume that any missle sent would be aimed at them anyhow. Were he at home he indicated that there is not much to be done save fill the bath with water, tape the windows and vents and set a bottle of rum by the chair
 
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Basil

Basil

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What a splendid adventure you had. Thank you for your efforts. My traffic controller friend in Honolulu said that they just kept on keeping on and did nothing different except for mentally saying goodbye to friends and relatives. Air traffic control lies in a hardened bunker with filtered air. They assume that any missle sent would be aimed at them anyhow. Were he at home he indicated that there is not much to be done save fill the bath with water, tape the windows and vents and set a bottle of rum by the chair

It was a very fun trip. I only wish I had been more into photography back then instead of just having an el-cheapo camera.

As for your friends. it's Hawaii - he could always mix a batch of Mai Tais :cool-new:
 

NutmegCT

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LOL - love it.

"Alexa - Please tell people to use their brains."

Alexa: "I'm sorry Dave. I can't do that. They've forgotten how."

Edit: oops.

Well, it's the thought that counts.
 

apbos

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Basil
"which replaced the aging "DEW Line" radar system". My father-in-law surveyed the DEW Line. It was the great adventure of his youth! You were following his footsteps!
Paul
 
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Basil

Basil

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Basil
"which replaced the aging "DEW Line" radar system". My father-in-law surveyed the DEW Line. It was the great adventure of his youth! You were following his footsteps!
Paul

How cool is that! I imagine I visited some of the same places since some of the original DEW Line sites were re-purposed as NWS sites.
 

apbos

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Sadly David "Zane" MacInnis passed in 2016. But his wife and three daughters stilll recall those stories he told of his time in the Canadian North. I'm sure you were in the same sites.
P
 
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Basil

Basil

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Sadly David "Zane" MacInnis passed in 2016. But his wife and three daughters stilll recall those stories he told of his time in the Canadian North. I'm sure you were in the same sites.
P

Very possible. Most of my work was alone the north east coast of Labrador and Baffin Island. We had another team doing surveys along the northern part of Canada proper and yet a 3rd team in Northern Alaska and parts of north western Canada.
 

JPSmit

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In my last church I had a parishioner who had been (I understand) second in command to J Edgar Hoover. By then he was into advanced Alzheimers but could remember his connection with the DEW line - and I remembered enough from my military time for us to discuss it - a very special conversation.
 
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Basil

Basil

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In my last church I had a parishioner who had been (I understand) second in command to J Edgar Hoover. By then he was into advanced Alzheimers but could remember his connection with the DEW line - and I remembered enough from my military time for us to discuss it - a very special conversation.

In addition to the "DEW" Line (Distant Early Warning) which was waaaaay up north, there was also the Mid-Canada line of radars and then the "Pine Tree" line that ran along much of the western US-Canadian boarder, then into Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. I once conducted a radar evaluation/optimization of the radar at CFS Barrington, NS. Now THAT was a beautiful place!

Much of the data form these radars fed the NORAD SAGE system, for which I was a maintenance man back in the 70s.
 

DrEntropy

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Nasty bit of business, that. Warning systems will be re-evaluated now.
 

DrEntropy

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Not much else to think, under those circumstances!
 
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