Inside the mountain: with the right mix of today's high-tech virtual reality and good-old nuts and bolts-type training, SUBSCOL continues to provide the Navy with highly-trained, knowledgeable Sailors of the "silent service" - Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center

All Hands, April, 2002 by Craig Strawser

When you think about Sailors, where do you picture them serving our national interests? Your image of Sailors in action probably includes some form of a haze gray steel hull on salt water. For some, the waves are replaced with blue sky and clouds, and others work and alive amid palm trees, desert sand or snowcapped mountains.

For fewer still, Navy service is inside a mountain, under 2,000-feet of granite in a secure space that is protected behind three heavy steel vault-like doors.

More than a quarter-mile inside Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs, Colo., sits the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (CMOC). This complex, built within five acres of tunnels and chambers, consists of more than a dozen separate underground buildings, some of which are three stories tall.

It's here, in this cavernous fortress, that about 35 to 40 Sailors are assigned to work alongside their counterparts from the U.S. and Canadian military services. Their duties are varied, but their experiences in such a different geographic and "purple" environment are similar in terms of excitement and appreciation.

Chief Information Systems Technician (AW/NAC) Jay McEntarffer, leading chief for the mountain's Command Center operations and who oversees a joint enlisted crew, says his is a truly unique job. "The Command Center keeps all the things running, and its Emergency Action Controllers have to know where all the top-level folks are at all times.

Besides keeping tabs on the location of the nation's leadership and top military brass, the center serves as the nucleus of all operations inside Cheyenne Mountain. There, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) monitor, process and interpret missile, space or air occurences that could threaten North America or operationally affect our military forces.

The Command Center integrates data from all of the other centers in the complex and passes it on to the Secretary of Defense and, the President of the United States and to Canada, as well as regional command centers overseas.

The other paths of information that feed the mountain's mission include the Air Warning Center, Missile Warning Center, Combined Intelligence Watch, Weather Support Unit and Systems Center.

All housed inside Cheyenne Mountain, these critical military operational centers are well-prepared in case of attack or natural disaster. Each building within the CMOC caverns is made of thick steel and sits on large steel springs. These precautions guard the structures from the shock waves of a high-powered bomb or an earthquake.

And while at the frontlines, the Sailors and other service members who serve in the mountain are very much involved in the war on terrorism.

"This job has a high national importance. We are an active part of [Operation] Enduring Freedom," said Operations Specialist 1st Class (SW) John Kerns. While things can be intense at times, he noted that life under the granite is "a nice break from sea duty.

Kerns works at Cheyenne's Missile Warning Center, where a worldwide network of sensors and communication provides warning of missile attacks launched against either North America or U.S. and allied forces overseas.

Working alongside Kerns, OS1(SW) Vernon Brandt said he likes knowing the effect his job has on the fleet. "Coming from the fleet, I know how what we do here gets used out there."

That sentiment of understanding the Navy "big picture" by serving outside the box in a joint command was echoed by Yeoman 2nd Class (SS) Bernard Whitney. "I was assigned to a boomer before I came here. Now I know the whole picture."

That ability to get a first-hand look at a different aspect of their job is one reason duty at Cheyenne Mountain can be so beneficial for a Sailor's professional development. YNC(SW/AW) Ed Perez emphasized that, "By coming to this command, Sailors are able to get an overall perspective and a better understanding of how the Navy does business.

"When a Sailor is stationed on a ship he sees the day-to-day operations of that ship. Here, you see how Navy life, and the Navy's job, is integrated into the entire defense system."

Life at CMOC not only means dealing with unusual surroundings, but Sailors there also have to adjust to working alongside different kinds of shipmates. Serving at a joint service command, with Soldiers, Airmen and Marines, as well as Canadian military personnel, gives them an "insider's look" at how they operate.

Perez said, "Most Sailors tend to have a pre-conceived notion of how the Air Force and the other services operate, but once they get here and work side-by-side, they realize that they're hard workers as well -- they just do things differently."

Whitney, who is at his first joint command, said he was surprised at the good communication and how closely everyone worked together. "The people here are a lot closer than at any other command I've been at. To be honest, at first, I didn't really see the Air Force as being 'military.' Since I've been here, my opinions have changed. They do things very professionally [just like us]. Working with the Air Force guys has been interesting. I've learned that they're real fast and efficient, and I look forward to going to another joint command."