Saturday, March 16, 2013

GREENBRIER BUNKER NOTIFICATION: PROS AND CONS

McPhee Memo Excerpt

In late 1957 ground had not yet been broken on the United States Congress’s elaborate bunker (then known as Project X and soon thereafter as Project Casper) planned for construction beneath a luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Indeed, the lease agreement for the government to utilize the Greenbrier hotel’s property as an emergency relocation site was not even signed until November 26, 1958 (and the facility would not be finished until 1962). But a general understanding between the Congress and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, owner of the Greenbrier at the time, had been reached in 1956, so it wasn’t too early for the Continuity of Government planners to begin thinking about how to notify legislators of where they were to go in the event of a crisis.[1]

McPhee Portrait_Refined

So it was that on November 19, 1957 Henry Roemer McPhee, Assistant Special Counsel to the President, summed up in a memo the pros and cons of various methods of congressional notification for the benefit of Gordon Gray, the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization.

Gordon Gray Portait

The document is remarkable for its wariness in entrusting any sensitive information to rank and file lawmakers. In fact, it is quite apparent that Mr. McPhee is doing his best to dissuade Mr. Gray from taking on the burden of regularly briefing incoming congresspeople about the location of their shelter. Moreover, the young lawyer points out that such a policy would mean that an “ever increasing number of former Members of Congress would know the whereabouts of the relocation site.” Perhaps most damning is Mr. McPhee’s assumption that “in an emergency some Members…would probably not remember the location of the site and would have to seek further instruction.”[2]

Suggestions

The author goes on to propose two possible solutions to avoid the possibility of loose-lipped or forgetful legislators: (a.) Have the President of the United States provide the site’s address in his emergency proclamation (or in a subsequent broadcast) or (b.) direct law makers to visit their local FBI office to obtain the location of the shelter. The FBI field office representative would then, according to the plan, produce the address from a sealed envelope after the congressperson had adequately identified him or herself. Of course, in 1957 not even the FBI was clear on the name of the relocation site. In a memo dated June 28, 1957 it is noted that J. Edgar Hoover himself had to offer a correction to the name of the site erroneously identified in a previous communication as “Sweetbriar.” “Don’t they mean ‘Greenbriar’ [sic],” the FBI Director is quoted as asking.[3]

Hoover Note copy

In the end, it would appear that only key government leaders were kept abreast of where the legislative branch was to evacuate to if World War III broke out. John Londis, who worked as a communications and cryptography specialist at the Greenbrier bunker for sixteen years, told CONELRAD in a recent interview: “Except for the leadership, I don’t think the Congress knew where they were to go. That would have been last minute information.”[4]

Henry R. McPhee Memo RE: Congressional Notification of Bunker by Bill Geerhart

NOTE: CONELRAD reached out to Henry Roemer McPhee by phone and in writing for additional details on his memo, but he did not respond to our inquiries.

Sign-Off


[1] For the definitive chronology of the construction of the Greenbrier Congressional Bunker, see Robert S. Conte, The History of the Greenbrier: America’s Resort [Charleston, West Virginia: Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, 1998], pp. 193-217.

[2] Memo from Henry Roemer McPhee to Gordon Gray dated November 19, 1957. Dwight David Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Harlow, Bryce N. : Records, Box 5, File: Civil Defense (1955-60) (2).

[3] FBI memos dated June 27 and June 28, 1957 were provided to CONELRAD.com by GovernmentAttic.org, the organization responsible for obtaining the 2010 declassification of the documents.

[4] Telephone interview with John J. Londis conducted by Bill Geerhart, December 3, 2012. For additional confirmation that only a select few members of the legislative and executive branches of government knew about the bunker, see Kenneth Cooper, “Hill Leaders ‘Regret’ Reports of Bomb Shelter Site,” Washington Post, May 30, 1992, P. A1

Secret

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This very good and useful article is very helpful for knowledge for people who still don't know

Visit Site Caramenangtaruhanbola.com Is a Information website online gambling that provides reviews of Online Gambling Sites, Ball Betting, Online Poker, Dominoqq, Togel Gambling, Soccer Agents, Online Soccer Betting, How to win Soccer Gambling in Indonesia that reviews tips and tricks for playing online gambling.

Dominoq
Agen Bola
Trik Judi
Judi Togel
Panduan Judi
Poker Online
Informasi Judi
Info Judi Online
Review Bandar Judi
Review Bandar Judi Pokerqq
Review Bandar Judi Bola
Review Bandar Judi Togel
Cara Menang Judi Bola
Taruhan Bola Online
Cara Menang Taruhan Bola
Cara Menang Taruhan Bola Online
Cara Menang Taruhan Bola Poker Online
Cara Menang Taruhan Bola Judi Togel
Informasi Situs Judi
Info Situs Judi Bola Resmi
Informasi Situs Agen Sbobet
Info Bandar Bola Terpercaya
Info Bandar Judi Bola Online
Informasi Situs Judi Pokerqq
Info Situs Poker Online Resmi
Informasi Bandar Ceme Terbaik
Info Agen Judi Bola Terpercaya
Info Situs Judi Bola Terpercaya
Panduan Bermain Judi Bola Online
Informasi Agen IDN Poker Terpercaya
Informasi Situs Judi Qiu Qiu Online
Daftar Bandar Bola Online Terpercaya

yessy haryanto said...

Haloo pak^^

Kami dari SENTANAPOKER ingin menawarkan pak^^

Untuk saat ini kami menerima Deposit Melalui Pulsa ya pak.

*untuk minimal deposit 10ribu
*untuk minimal Withdraw 25ribu

*untuk deposit pulsa kami menerima provider
-XL
-Telkomsel


untuk bonus yang kami miliki kami memiliki
*bonus cashback 0,5%
*bunus refferal 20%
*bonus gebiar bulanan (N-max,samsung Note 10+,Iphone xr 64G,camera go pro 7hero,Apple airpods 2 ,dan freechips)

Daftar Langsung Di:

SENTANAPOKER

Kontak Kami;

WA : +855 9647 76509
Line : SentanaPoker
Wechat : SentanaPokerLivechat Sentanapoker

Proses deposit dan withdraw tercepat bisa anda rasakan jika bermain di Sentanapoker. So… ? tunggu apa lagi ? Mari bergabung dengan kami. Pelayanan CS yang ramah dan Proffesional dan pastinya sangat aman juga bisa anda dapatkan di Sentanapoker.

Anonymous said...

Golden Nugget Casino Danbury - shootercasino m88 m88 planet win 365 planet win 365 カジノ シークレット カジノ シークレット 9865Expert Spread Picks nfl - StillCasino.com

Customer Support | Live Chat Service said...

How to Fix ATT.net email not working in 2022?

Suppose you are one of the many Americans that rely on ATT as your internet service provider. In that case, you may be having trouble with your email or even logging in to your email from anywhere other than the computer you use daily. There could be various reasons for this, but here is a quick solution to solve the issue of ATT.net email not working 2022. First, delete all cookies, cache, history and temp files- To do this in most browsers, go to the settings menu and find the option to clear your browsing data. Next, select All time and check the boxes for cookies, cache, and history. Once you've done this, restart your browser and try re-accessing your email.

WHY DOES MOZILLA FIREFOX KEEPS NOT RESPONDING?

Firefox offers a more simplified interface and quicker download speeds than Internet Explorer, the most widely used Web browser. Mozilla Firefox can have an issue with the browser files if Firefox is not responding. This issue may also be brought on by low memory due to an excessive number of open tabs. Choose Task Manager by performing a right-click or Ctrl+Shift+Esc on a space on the Windows taskbar. When the Windows Task Manager displays, choose the Processes tab after that. Click End Process after selecting the item for firefox.exe. Select Yes when the "Task Manager Warning" dialogue box displays.

How to Change my Spectrum WiFi Password?

Many Spectrum users are asking how to change my spectrum WiFi password. So, open your web browser, enter your router's IP address into the address box, and then click Enter. You must log in using your Spectrum router's username and password. Then select "Advanced." Next, select the Basic tab. Type a new network name in the "SSID" column to change the Spectrum WiFi password. Next, type a new WiFi password and retype it to confirm. At last, click the 'Apply' button.

Lucy Carvin said...

Greenbrier Bunker Notification is an emergency alert system designed to keep citizens informed about potential threats. This system has both pros and cons that need to be weighed when deciding whether or not to use it.
English Assignment Help