Not only were the duties on a Nike Site filled with constant alerts, training, inspections, Radar Bomb Scoring, and other routine soldier duties like guard duty, K.P., painting and polishing, but there were inherent dangers, and I'll start the list. Any vets out there that want to add to the list just send your material to the webmaster@nikemissile.org.
Being crushed to death.
Electrocution
Attacked by a loose sentry dog
Falling into an open pit
New 2nd Lieutenants trying to get BCO qualified
Ignition of a booster by static electricity
Exposure to toxic fumes and chemicals
Red Fuming Nitric Acid
Asbestos
Caked ice on radar tower ladders and platforms
Cold metal sticking to your hands
Liver and onions
Electric shocks
Radiation exposure
High pressure hydraulic lines bursting
In the danger zone of a radiating antenna
Body parts sucked into cooling fans
German citizens taking pot shots at the IFC due to getting tired of the constant blip-blip-blip from the HIPAR
Finding a Nike Hercules' warhead armed itself after a power surge or drop.
Having to disarm the warhead
Those black, yellow and red Korean hornets
Avoiding the alligators on Key West when going out to the RF Test Set.
An armed Nike Hercules falling into an open pit. (It happened. Lucky it was an H.E.)
Falling down the ladder leading to the Panel Room, before they installed stairs.
Unzipping the door on the TTR radome only to find the rookie down in the van has the antenna pointed at you and it's on.
In the HIPAR building when and during a Klystron tube going "real" bad!
Any bored idiots with single digit IQs driving jeeps. How about 3 brand new 5/4s in one weekend! (wrecked to say the least)
Mosquitoes at HM-69 in the middle of Everglades National Park.
Ted Swanson wrote:Sticking a test probe into a missile tracking magnetron, (just turned on - not up). Thrown back against the dome door zippers - unconscious. Luckily spread eagle.William Vento wrote:
While in Omaha at B-6-43, our missiles were topside. That's right, topside, not underground! Anyway, they were covered by a vinyl air inflated tent. The missiles as well as the launchers were covered by these tents. We had to climb on top of the missiles after an ORE or TPI and get the covers back over the missiles. Imagine doing this with snow on the soles of your boots! Very slippery.Glen Talon wrote:
How about being thrown from a moving truck breaking bone's (compound fracture) this happened to a 16B whom was escorting with me at B3/71 (Turks welding covers)Nike Vet Glen Talon N.H. Chair CWVA
Or a head wound from the fins (Crew Chief)
Being a nube and forgetting to stomp up the steps of the tower (everyone)
Working down range at night and tower guards have not been told someone (people) is down range
Rebuilding berms and equipment turning over, with injuries to MPs an 16Bs (most sites)
Down range water so polluted sends MPs and 16Bs to 5th Gen hospital (those deemed sickest and could be spared)
Finding war head seal broken moving it up range for maintenance and doing it up wind (Black sargent turns white)
Ending up with an eye injury losing 10% of sight from metal fragments moving same war head (Me)
Having a security alert at night with gas masks and running through down range (two MPs injured)
Last being the MP whom was moving the ammo trailer that lost three fingers (fuel shortage had to take a cab)
Best thing working a Nike site some of the best DAMN people whom made it work :)
Cold War Veterans Assc.
UNDIQUE VENIMUS
Finding a rattle snake in your tent while on field exercises in the desert north of Fort Bliss.
On a hill with our radars, we were on hot status. Suddenly we heard a number of shots. We called for immediate backup! One of our MPs had fallen asleep in the guard shack with a full load of ammo in his M16. Life was never dull on the hill. Down range we had a MP who lost it and decided to shoot at our Nukes. He was escorted to the nearby hospital.CW2 Gale Dorman Retired
Carrol Tilley wrote:
Unsymmetrical Dimethyl Hydrazine - NIKE Ajax starter fluid
Terrorists
Armed military aircraft (nuclear?) continually strafing the site
600-800 pound wild boars in the forest
Getting "buzzed" by the HIPAR
Driving on the autobahn
Isolation
Hypothermia
SMLM vehicles
Magnesium IFC vans burn quick
Icy mountain roads that automotive vehicles slide on
Oktoberfest was last night and they had all this wine there and...
Rodney Rollins:
Working with nuclear weapons, high explosives, errant electric currents, arming magnetos, pissed off attack dogs, rifles and handguns, and a couple of guys nicknamed "Shaky" and "Blinky".
Subject: danger in the Everglades:
- Alligator poachers spotlighting our sentry dogs at A252 in the Everglades
- Cottonmouth and rattlesnakes between the security fences
- Rats scrounging for dog food in the kennel shacks
- Snakes crawling on window awnings at night, feeding on the insects that were drawn to the lights
- Alligators running across the road at night in front of motorcycles
- Dogs constantly getting bit by snakes while on patrol. Vets at Homestead AFB had to treat them- a tricky procedure for both the vet and the dog handler.
From: Jim Martensen
Re: Trichloroethylene
- Getting called to duty at 3AM to go and save two MPs who were on a site-seeing mission in a snow storm and their jeep got stuck. Had to hike down to them and bring their gear and then march them back to IFC whining all the way about how cold it was (-80 white out).
- Going to ag shack and meeting mister brown bear on the way or going to pick up mail from main post and getting run over by a moose in rut.
- While at 93 (C-2-51) in San Rafael and at 88 (B-2-51) in Marin, deer and raccoons would often be found wandering around the area, or in case of the deer, charging us when sited.