Trump Said He Found The Greatest Room He’d Ever Seen Deep In The Pentagon, Here’s What He Meant

Updated Dec 1, 2019 6:39 AM EST

The 45th President of this great nation was on quite a roll yesterday during an exchange with the press that was part of a public portion of a cabinet meeting at the White House. There were some very interesting statements to unpack, to say the least, from a disjointed lesson on Russia’s failed excursion in Afghanistan to questionable proclamations regarding ex-Defense Secretary James Mattis’s tenure in Trump’s administration. But one part was especially interesting. Trump described a meeting with a large group of the military’s leadership in an ‘incredible’ technology-packed room at the Pentagon. What he was very likely describing is the seldom talked about and even less photographed National Military Command Center (NMCC).

“When I became President, I had a meeting at the Pentagon with lots of generals. They were like from a movie. Better looking than Tom Cruise and stronger. And I had more generals than I’ve ever seen, and we were at the bottom of this incredible room. I said ‘this is greatest room I’ve ever seen.’ I saw more computer boards than I think that they make today.”

You can watch his statement for yourself in the video below at time index 18:45:

Considering Donald Trump’s penchant for absolutely over-the-top ballrooms and living spaces, calling a bunker buried dozens of feet below the Pentagon “the greatest room I have ever seen” is really something. But it isn’t surprising that the NMCC would be highly impressive to Trump or anyone else that has no idea it even exists.

Basically, this facility was designed as a highly secure and command and control complex that serves as the nerve center and brain of the Pentagon, and by default, of the Department of Defense’s sprawling National Military Command System (NMCS) as a whole. This is the facility that contains the war rooms that have been notoriously over-hyped by Hollywood over the decades, including the iconic set used in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove.

The War Room set in Dr. Strangelove. , Colombia Pictures

The NMCC is a product of the early nuclear age. It was built out of the Joint War Room that preceded it during the Kennedy Administration. Till this very day, the facility directly supports the National Command Authority and its ability to rapidly order-up nuclear attacks. As such, the amazing communications capabilities the facility has at its disposal are really its greatest asset.

Beyond connecting the National Command Authority during a crisis, the NMCC also issues the Emergency Action Messages (EAMS) that go out to bomber units, nuclear ballistic missile submarines, and ICBM missile silos scattered throughout the central United States, as well as the command and control aircraft that also support these delivery systems and the National Military Command System overall. These EAMs can quickly start or avert the end of the world as we know it.

In addition, early warning and command and control nodes scattered around the globe are also linked into the NMCC, allowing it to share a common situational ‘picture’ with other command centers, and most importantly, with Strategic Command’s bunker at its headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. This makes it possible for fast-moving events, like potential enemy missile attacks, to be reacted to in a coordinated manner even though the principals involved with deciding how to respond may be separated by thousands of miles. As such, its existence serves as a key cornerstone of America’s nuclear deterrent.

Beyond its Cold War-esque nuclear role, the NMCC also has many other functions. These include monitoring world events in real time and consolidating important and actionable intelligence and conveying that intelligence to commanders in near real-time for potential exploitation or just to provide enhanced situational awareness. This also works hand-in-hand with the facility’s crisis management capabilities. The NMCC is primarily where the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs would run the Pentagon during a major emergency that could last for a prolonged period of time. In this sense, it actually has a wartime tactical command and control capability, as well.

But really, when we talk about the NMCC, it isn’t just one main war room, it is a labyrinth of rooms spread out over a number of levels buried below the Pentagon. A handful of primary areas are known to exist. These include the Current Actions Center (CAC), which provides command and control of ongoing military activities and monitoring of worldwide events in real time. This facility has much in common with today’s tactical operations centers and combined air operations centers overseas.

The CAC circa 1970s and 1980s. Just imagine what it looks like now in the information age!, National Archives

The Joint Chiefs Of Staff Conference Room is known more commonly by its nickname, “The Tank.” This extremely secure vault of a meeting space, basically a moderately decorated Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility (SCIF) , is used by the military’s top leadership to openly discuss highly classified and sensitive subjects, which can include wartime decisions. No notes are taken in this room and no recordings are made of what is discussed within its four walls. This is literally a safe space for the top rungs of the Pentagon’s military leadership to hash out the services’ most pressing issues.

The Tank., Globalsecurity.org

The Emergency Conference Room (ECR) is very much a ‘war room’ as we understand the concept from Hollywood. This is where principals and their aides meet for high-level military discussions and briefings. These can include critical meetings and command and control operations during an ongoing crisis. This auditorium-like room is dominated by a huge conference table with built-in communications terminals and supported by large-scale multi-media projection.

The ECR in the 1980s. , National Archives

ECR in the 1980s. , National Archives

This room and the CAC are what the President was most likely talking about yesterday. It is customary for Presidents to get tours of these facilities and to get acclimated to them very early on in their first term. They are likely to continue to receive briefings at the NMCC throughout their Presidency, although this is somewhat dependent on their management style.

The NMCC has been used to brief Presidents on ongoing operations and military issues for decades. Here Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld walks with President George W. Bush towards the main entrance to the facility in 2003 just before Bush received a regular briefing. , USN

There are many other spaces that make up the NMCC as well. These include smaller secure briefing and operations rooms, including those for each of the services, data and communications centers, and a large-scale intelligence fusion cell. The Cold War-era hotline between Washington D.C. and Moscow is also located in the NMCC.

Operations Deputy’s Conference Room in the NMCC., National Archives

The Pentagon’s elaborate command and control capabilities are duplicated multiple times over in various formats, and for good reason. The bunker isn’t likely to survive a major nuclear exchange. Really, no place is truly safe if the enemy wants to dedicate enough megatonnage to it as a target. So, during a full-force nuclear attack, when dozens of thermonuclear warheads would pummel the Pentagon, this facility’s main job would be to get the orders to counter-strike out before those warheads arrive. It is a dastardly grim thing to comprehend, but it is the nature of the deterrent’s original architecture and purpose—to execute the Single Integrated Operations Plan (SIOP) no matter what. Without potential enemies being absolutely certain that a counterstrike could occur, the deterrent’s effectiveness drops dramatically.

The primary backup operations site for the Pentagon is known as Raven Rock, or Site-R. It’s buried very deeply under a mounted near Blue Ridge Summit in Pennsylvania. This is where the DoD’s Alternate National Military Command Center (ANMCC) is located. This installation duplicates the NMCC’s capabilities as well as other Pentagon functions. It remains semi-operational at all times, ready to take over for its far higher-profile cousin should it evaporate in a nuclear strike or be forced offline in any other catastrophe.

In addition, the USAF’s four E-4B National Airborne Operation Center (NAOC) aircraft have many of the NMCC’s baseline capabilities—and in some cases additional ones as well—all shrunk into a 747-200 airframe. The Navy’s E-6B TACAMO aircraft also have some similar functions , although they are not primarily meant to fly the National Command Authority and key members of their staff during a crisis. Other U.S. military command sites can also support the DoD’s continuity of government operations during a crisis, as well.

Although we know many things about the NMCC, we really don’t have any imagery of it from the post-internet boom age. Pretty much everything available is from the mid-1990s or long before. In fact, this network news segment with Joan Lunden from the mid-1990s is the latest and best imagery I could find showing some of the NMCC’s elements:

We do know that the NMCC sprang into action as the horrible events of 9/11 unfolded and continued to operate even after American Airlines Flight 77 plowing into one of the pentagon-shaped building’s sides. Back in 2007, Colonel John Brunderman, Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisitions, gave a talk at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst about his experiences in the NMCC on that tragic day. It is an outstanding account not just of how things unfolded, but also of the critical capabilities the NMCC’s provides during a crisis:

Colonel Brunderman was working in the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. He shared his experiences from that day with those present at the Daedalian meeting. “We normally hear from World War II pilots and their war experience in the air, but this is a unique opportunity to hear some ground-war stories,” Lt. Col. Joseph Wolfer, 6th Airlift Squadron commander, said as he introduced Colonel Brunderman. According to Colonel Brunderman, the NMCC functions as the top of the pyramid for all command posts around the world. The NMCC staff provides continuous operation monitoring, reporting, training, maintenance management, and coordination for all communications-electronics activities and systems supporting the NMCC to ensure minimum essential National Military Command System connectivity for the Single Integrated Operational Plan execution, worldwide situation monitoring and crisis management. “The first indication was news reports of an explosion at one of the World Trade Towers,” Colonel Brunderman said. “We saw pictures of smoke coming out of the building against a clear blue sky backdrop, and we began immediate notification of a potential terrorist attack. While doing that, we saw live coverage of the second airplane hit the tower. In an instant, the attitude and energy changed to ‘Oh my gosh, the United States is under attack.'” On any given day there are 500 to 1,000 threat warnings, said Colonel Brunderman, but only a small percentage of those actually happen. “It’s hard to capture and explain the fog and friction of war,” he said. “When you’re looking for things that are abnormal, a lot of things appear abnormal.” While responding to the attacks on the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, where the NMCC is located, was attacked itself. Due to their location in the Pentagon, staff at the NMCC did not feel the impact, but Colonel Brunderman took the call notifying the NMCC that there had been an explosion at the Pentagon. “The NMCC never evacuated,” he said. “We were given paint masks and water because the smoke had penetrated the whole building.” Not only did Colonel Brunderman not evacuate, he ended up working 16 hours that day. The NMCC staff continued to work 12-hour shifts for the next eight months. “One of the proudest moments I have from that day was with all the chaos; you know you train for this everyday, it was amazing to see how quickly everything switched to a different mode. Everything went pretty much as it’s supposed to.” Although things went as practiced, there were some bumps and challenges along the way. “You find out all sorts of stuff when you’re actually doing things rather than practicing.” One such example was the increase in Defense Condition. DEFCONs are a very deliberate process, explained Colonel Brunderman. Normally, emerging conditions are taken into consideration and it could take days, if not weeks, to change the DEFCON. That was not the case on Sept. 11. “The Secretary of Defense walked into the NMCC and the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, ‘Sir, I think we need to go to DEFCON 3,'” Colonel Brunderman recalled. “The SECDEF said that he concurred and to execute. In about 30 seconds we went from peacetime to DEFCON 3.” The attacks of Sept. 11 may have taken some people by surprise, but it is for incidents like this that the military trains and exercises the way it does. “Overall, I think the military performed extremely well for a bolt out of the blue incident, which is what this was.”

Colonel Brunderman was working in the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. He shared his experiences from that day with those present at the Daedalian meeting.

“We normally hear from World War II pilots and their war experience in the air, but this is a unique opportunity to hear some ground-war stories,” Lt. Col. Joseph Wolfer, 6th Airlift Squadron commander, said as he introduced Colonel Brunderman.

According to Colonel Brunderman, the NMCC functions as the top of the pyramid for all command posts around the world. The NMCC staff provides continuous operation monitoring, reporting, training, maintenance management, and coordination for all communications-electronics activities and systems supporting the NMCC to ensure minimum essential National Military Command System connectivity for the Single Integrated Operational Plan execution, worldwide situation monitoring and crisis management.

“The first indication was news reports of an explosion at one of the World Trade Towers,” Colonel Brunderman said. “We saw pictures of smoke coming out of the building against a clear blue sky backdrop, and we began immediate notification of a potential terrorist attack. While doing that, we saw live coverage of the second airplane hit the tower. In an instant, the attitude and energy changed to ‘Oh my gosh, the United States is under attack.'”

On any given day there are 500 to 1,000 threat warnings, said Colonel Brunderman, but only a small percentage of those actually happen.

“It’s hard to capture and explain the fog and friction of war,” he said. “When you’re looking for things that are abnormal, a lot of things appear abnormal.”

While responding to the attacks on the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, where the NMCC is located, was attacked itself. Due to their location in the Pentagon, staff at the NMCC did not feel the impact, but Colonel Brunderman took the call notifying the NMCC that there had been an explosion at the Pentagon.

“The NMCC never evacuated,” he said. “We were given paint masks and water because the smoke had penetrated the whole building.”

Not only did Colonel Brunderman not evacuate, he ended up working 16 hours that day. The NMCC staff continued to work 12-hour shifts for the next eight months.

“One of the proudest moments I have from that day was with all the chaos; you know you train for this everyday, it was amazing to see how quickly everything switched to a different mode. Everything went pretty much as it’s supposed to.”

Although things went as practiced, there were some bumps and challenges along the way.

“You find out all sorts of stuff when you’re actually doing things rather than practicing.”

One such example was the increase in Defense Condition. DEFCONs are a very deliberate process, explained Colonel Brunderman. Normally, emerging conditions are taken into consideration and it could take days, if not weeks, to change the DEFCON. That was not the case on Sept. 11.

“The Secretary of Defense walked into the NMCC and the acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, ‘Sir, I think we need to go to DEFCON 3,'” Colonel Brunderman recalled. “The SECDEF said that he concurred and to execute. In about 30 seconds we went from peacetime to DEFCON 3.”

The attacks of Sept. 11 may have taken some people by surprise, but it is for incidents like this that the military trains and exercises the way it does.

“Overall, I think the military performed extremely well for a bolt out of the blue incident, which is what this was.”

The ECR circa the mid-1970s., DoD

After the chaos of 9/11, it became glaringly clear that major investment into America’s aging command and control architecture was direly needed. America’s continuity of government plans and the facilities and communications capabilities that support them went through a relatively drastic overhaul.

Maybe the best examples of this are the ongoing communications upgrades to Air Force One and the entirely new and quite huge bunker built deep below the White House lawn to replace, or at least drastically augment, the decades-old and very inadequate President Emergency Operations Center (PEOC). You can read all about both of these bunkers in this past feature of mine .

It is certain that the NMCC has gone through a dramatic technological transformation compared to how we see it in the pictures and video in this post. In fact, large and elaborate top-level command control facilities are very hot acquisition items among America’s most powerful rivals in recent years. Both Russia and China have invested heavily in this space and have publicized these facilities to a fairly astonishing degree.

A news clipping from 1971 detailing plans to renovate the NMCC. The facility has been remodeled on multiple occasions, mainly due to a need to integrate new technology and to resolve deficiencies in its design., CIA.GOV

With all this in mind, as well as the facility’s near Hollywood-like setting and atmosphere, it isn’t surprising that Trump was awed by the most powerful military on the planet’s most important facility and all the technology now packed inside of it.

One can also imagine that it would be pretty hard for any President to escape from the dark reality that they could very well find themselves in that cavernous and windowless space making plans for what comes after the imminent destruction of the country. While all the while also knowing that it’s very possible that nothing would come at all.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2019年12月1日上午6:39

昨天，这位伟大国家的第45任总统在白宫内阁会议的公开环节中与媒体进行了交流，期间他发表了不少言论。毫不夸张地说，他的一些发言颇为耐人寻味，从对俄罗斯在阿富汗失败的行动语无伦次的解释，到对前国防部长詹姆斯·马蒂斯在特朗普政府任职期间的质疑性言论，都值得我们细细品读。但其中有一部分尤其引人注目。特朗普描述了他在五角大楼一个“令人难以置信”的、配备先进技术的房间里与众多军方领导人会面的情景。他很可能指的是鲜为人知、更难被拍摄到的国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）。

“我当上总统后，在五角大楼和很多将军开会。他们就像电影里走出来的一样，比汤姆·克鲁斯还帅，也更强壮。我见过的将军比这还多，我们当时在一个非常棒的房间的最底层。我说‘这是我见过的最棒的房间’。我看到的电脑主板比现在市面上生产的都多。”

您可以在下方视频中，从 18 分 45 秒开始观看他的声明：

考虑到唐纳德·特朗普对极尽奢华的宴会厅和起居空间的偏爱，称五角大楼地下数十英尺的掩体为“我见过的最棒的房间”确实令人震惊。但对于特朗普或任何不知道其存在的人来说，国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）令人印象深刻也就不足为奇了。

基本上，这座设施被设计成一个高度安全的指挥控制中心，作为五角大楼的神经中枢和大脑，并自然而然地成为整个国防部庞大的国家军事指挥系统（NMCS）的核心。这里设有作战室，几十年来，好莱坞对作战室的过度渲染屡见不鲜，其中包括斯坦利·库布里克电影《奇爱博士》中标志性的场景。

《奇爱博士》中的作战室布景，哥伦比亚影业

国家核指挥中心（NMCC）是核时代早期的产物。它由肯尼迪政府时期的联合作战室改建而成。时至今日，该设施仍然直接支持国家指挥当局及其快速下令发动核打击的能力。因此，该设施所拥有的卓越通信能力无疑是其最大的优势。

除了在危机期间连接国家指挥机构外，国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）还负责发布紧急行动指令（EAM），这些指令会发送给遍布美国中部的轰炸机部队、核动力弹道导弹潜艇和洲际弹道导弹发射井，以及为这些运载系统和整个国家军事指挥系统提供支持的指挥控制飞机。这些紧急行动指令能够迅速启动或阻止世界末日的到来。

此外，遍布全球的预警和指挥控制节点也与国家导弹防御协调中心（NMCC）联网，使其能够与其他指挥中心共享统一的态势感知，尤其重要的是，还能与位于内布拉斯加州奥马哈的战略司令部总部共享信息。这使得即使决策者相隔千里，也能对诸如潜在敌方导弹袭击等快速变化的事件做出协调一致的反应。因此，NMCC的存在是美国核威慑力量的关键基石。

除了冷战时期的核指挥角色外，国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）还承担着许多其他职能。这些职能包括实时监测世界局势，整合重要且可操作的情报，并近乎实时地将这些情报传递给指挥官，以便进行潜在利​​用或增强态势感知。这与该中心的危机管理能力相辅相成。在可能持续较长时间的重大紧急情况下，国防部长和参谋长联席会议主要通过NMCC来指挥五角大楼。从这个意义上讲，它实际上也具备战时战术指挥控制能力。

但实际上，当我们谈到国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）时，它并非仅仅指一个主作战室，而是一个迷宫般的系统，由分布在五角大楼地下多层的多个房间组成。目前已知的主要区域包括：当前行动中心（CAC），它负责指挥和控制正在进行的军事行动，并实时监控全球事件。该设施与当今海外的战术作战中心和联合空中作战中心有很多共同之处。

这是上世纪七八十年代的CAC。想象一下，在信息时代，它现在会是什么样子！——国家档案馆

参谋长联席会议厅更为人熟知的绰号是“坦克”。这个戒备森严的会议室宛如一座金库，本质上是一个装饰较为简朴的敏感信息隔离设施（SCIF），供军方高层领导公开讨论高度机密和敏感议题，其中可能包括战时决策。会议室内不做任何笔记，也不对讨论内容进行任何录音。这里是五角大楼最高军事领导层讨论各军种最紧迫问题的安全空间。

The Tank，Globalsecurity.org

紧急会议室（ECR）很像好莱坞电影里描绘的“作战室”。这里是高层军事指挥官及其助手进行高级别军事讨论和简报的场所。这些讨论和简报可能包括危机期间的关键会议和指挥控制行动。这个类似礼堂的房间内最引人注目的是一张巨大的会议桌，桌子内置通讯终端，并配备了大型多媒体投影设备。

20世纪80年代的欧洲保守派联盟（ECR）。，国家档案馆

20世纪80年代的ECR。，国家档案馆

昨天总统很可能指的是这间房间和CAC。按照惯例，总统在第一任期初期就会参观这些设施，熟悉情况。他们很可能在整个任期内继续在NMCC接受简报，但这在一定程度上取决于他们的管理风格。

海军军事指挥中心（NMCC）几十年来一直用于向总统汇报正在进行的军事行动和相关问题。图中，国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德陪同乔治·W·布什总统走向该中心的主入口，时间是2003年，就在布什总统即将接受例行汇报之前。（美国海军）

国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）还包括许多其他空间，例如规模较小的安全简报室和作战室（包括各军种的作战室）、数据和通信中心，以及一个大型情报融合中心。冷战时期连接华盛顿特区和莫斯科的热线也位于NMCC内。

国家档案馆，NMCC运营副主任会议室

五角大楼复杂的指挥控制系统以多种形式多次复制，这并非没有道理。掩体不太可能在大规模核战争中幸存下来。事实上，如果敌人愿意投入足够多的核弹头作为目标，那么没有哪个地方是真正安全的。因此，在一次全面核攻击中，当数十枚热核弹头猛烈轰击五角大楼时，这个设施的主要任务就是在这些弹头到达之前发出反击命令。这令人难以接受，但这正是威慑力量最初架构和目的的本质——无论如何都要执行单一综合作战计划（SIOP）。如果潜在敌人无法完全确定反击会发生，威慑的有效性就会急剧下降。

五角大楼的主要备用作战基地被称为“渡鸦岩”（Raven Rock），或简称“R基地”。它位于宾夕法尼亚州蓝岭山峰附近一座山峰的深处。美国国防部的备用国家军事指挥中心（ANMCC）也设于此。该设施不仅具备国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）的所有功能，还承担五角大楼的其他职能。它始终保持半运行状态，随时准备在国家军事指挥中心因核打击而损毁或因其他灾难被迫停止运行时接管其功能。

此外，美国空军的四架E-4B国家空中作战中心（NAOC）飞机具备国家机动指挥中心（NMCC）的许多基本能力，在某些情况下甚至还具备额外的能力，所有这些都集成在747-200的机身内。海军的E-6B战术空中机动（TACAMO）飞机也具备一些类似的功能，尽管它们的主要用途并非在危机期间运送国家指挥机构及其关键人员。其他美国军事指挥机构也可以在危机期间为国防部政府运作的连续性提供支持。

尽管我们对国家军事文化中心（NMCC）了解颇多，但我们几乎没有互联网时代之后关于它的任何影像资料。几乎所有现存的资料都来自上世纪90年代中期或更早。事实上，我能找到的最新、也是最好的NMCC影像资料，是琼·伦登在上世纪90年代中期接受的一段新闻报道：

我们知道，在9·11恐怖袭击事件发生后，国家军事危机应对中心（NMCC）立即启动运作，即使在美航77号航班撞入五角大楼一侧后，NMCC也继续运转。早在2007年，时任空军采购部长约翰·布伦德曼上校在麦圭尔-迪克斯-莱克赫斯特联合基地就他在NMCC的经历发表了演讲。这篇演讲不仅出色地描述了事件的经过，也精彩地展现了NMCC在危机中提供的关键能力：

2001年9月11日，布伦德曼上校在五角大楼的国家军事指挥中心工作。他在“代达罗斯会议”上与与会者分享了当天的经历。“我们通常听到的是二战飞行员讲述他们的空战经历，但这次有机会听到一些地面作战的故事，实属难得，”第六空运中队指挥官约瑟夫·沃尔弗中校在介绍布伦德曼上校时说道。据布伦德曼上校介绍，国家军事指挥中心是全球所有指挥机构的顶端。中心工作人员负责对所有支持中心运行的通信电子活动和系统进行持续的运行监控、报告、培训、维护管理和协调，以确保国家军事指挥系统能够维持最低限度的基本连接，从而执行单一综合作战计划，进行全球态势监控和危机管理。“最初的迹象是新闻报道世贸中心双塔之一发生爆炸，”布伦德曼上校说道。 “我们看到大楼冒出浓烟，映衬着湛蓝的天空，于是立即启动了恐怖袭击预警。与此同时，我们看到了第二架飞机撞击世贸中心的现场画面。瞬间，气氛和情绪都变成了‘天哪，美国遭到袭击了！’”布伦德曼上校说，每天都会有500到1000条威胁预警，但其中只有一小部分最终成真。“战争的迷雾和摩擦难以捕捉和解释，”他说，“当你寻找异常情况时，很多事情看起来都异常。”在应对世贸中心袭击的同时，五角大楼——国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）所在地——也遭到了袭击。由于NMCC位于五角大楼内，工作人员没有感受到爆炸的影响，但布伦德曼上校接到了五角大楼发生爆炸的通知电话。“NMCC没有进行疏散，”他说。 “我们领到了防毒面具和水，因为烟雾已经渗透到整栋大楼里。”布伦德曼上校不仅没有撤离，那天他还工作了16个小时。接下来的八个月里，海军机动指挥中心（NMCC）的工作人员一直轮班工作，每次12小时。“那天最让我感到自豪的时刻之一，就是在一片混乱中；你知道，我们每天都在为这种情况训练，但看到一切迅速切换到另一种模式，真是令人惊叹。一切都基本按计划进行。”虽然事情进展顺利，但过程中也遇到了一些波折和挑战。“当你真正去做而不是演练的时候，你会发现各种各样的事情。”其中一个例子就是国防警戒级别的提升。布伦德曼上校解释说，国防警戒级别的提升是一个非常谨慎的过程。通常情况下，我们会考虑新出现的情况，而调整国防警戒级别可能需要几天甚至几周的时间。但9月11日那天情况并非如此。“国防部长走进国家军事指挥中心，参谋长联席会议代理主席说：‘长官，我认为我们需要进入三级战备状态，’”布伦德曼上校回忆道。“国防部长表示同意并立即执行。大约30秒内，我们就从和平状态进入了三级战备状态。”9·11袭击事件或许让一些人措手不及，但正是为了应对此类事件，军方才进行如此系统的训练和演习。“总的来说，我认为军方在应对这样一起突如其来的事件时表现得非常出色。”

2001 年 9 月 11 日，布伦德曼上校在五角大楼的国家军事指挥中心工作。他在代达罗斯会议上与在场人员分享了他当天的经历。

“我们通常听到的是二战飞行员讲述他们在空中作战的经历，但这是一个难得的机会，可以听到一些地面战争的故事，”第6空运中队指挥官约瑟夫·沃尔弗中校在介绍布伦德曼上校时说道。

布伦德曼上校指出，国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）是全球所有指挥所的顶层指挥机构。NMCC人员负责对所有支持NMCC的通信电子活动和系统进行持续的运行监控、报告、培训、维护管理和协调，以确保国家军事指挥系统具备执行单一综合作战计划、进行全球态势监控和危机管理所需的最低限度必要连接。

布伦德曼上校说：“最初的迹象是新闻报道世贸中心一座大楼发生爆炸。我们看到大楼冒出浓烟，背景是湛蓝的天空，于是我们立即启动了恐怖袭击预警。与此同时，我们看到了第二架飞机撞击大楼的现场画面。瞬间，所有人的态度和情绪都变成了‘我的天哪，美国遭到袭击了！’”

布伦德曼上校说，每天都会有 500 到 1000 条威胁警告，但其中只有一小部分会真正发生。

他说：“战争带来的迷雾和摩擦很难捕捉和解释。当你寻找异常现象时，很多事情看起来都很异常。”

在应对世贸中心袭击事件的同时，国家军事指挥中心（NMCC）所在的五角大楼也遭到袭击。由于NMCC位于五角大楼内，工作人员并未感受到爆炸的影响，但布伦德曼上校接到了五角大楼发生爆炸的电话通知。

他说：“NMCC从未疏散过。我们只领到了防毒面具和水，因为烟雾已经渗透到整栋大楼里。”

布伦德曼上校不仅没有撤离，反而当天工作了16个小时。接下来的八个月里，海军医疗中心的工作人员也一直轮班工作，每次工作12小时。

“那天最让我感到自豪的时刻之一，就是在一片混乱中；你知道，你每天都在为这一刻训练，看到一切如此迅速地切换到另一种模式，真是太神奇了。一切都几乎按计划进行。”

虽然事情进展顺利，但过程中也遇到了一些波折和挑战。

“当你真正去做而不是练习的时候，你会发现各种各样的事情。”

其中一个例子就是国防警戒级别的提升。布伦德曼上校解释说，国防警戒级别的提升是一个非常谨慎的过程。通常情况下，我们会考虑新出现的情况，调整国防警戒级别可能需要数天甚至数周的时间。但在9·11事件中，情况并非如此。

“国防部长走进国家军事指挥中心，参谋长联席会议代理主席说：‘长官，我认为我们需要进入三级战备状态，’”布伦德曼上校回忆道。“国防部长表示同意，并指示执行。大约30秒后，我们就从和平状态进入了三级战备状态。”

9·11 袭击事件或许让一些人感到意外，但正是为了应对此类事件，军队才进行这样的训练和演习。

“总的来说，我认为军方在应对这起突如其来的事件时表现得非常出色。”

20世纪70年代中期的ECR，国防部

9·11事件后的混乱局面，使人们清楚地认识到，美国亟需对老化的指挥控制系统进行大规模投资。美国的政府连续性计划以及支撑这些计划的设施和通信能力都经历了相对彻底的改革。

也许最好的例子就是空军一号正在进行的通信升级，以及在白宫草坪深处建造的全新巨型掩体，它是为了取代，或者至少大幅增强，使用了几十年且严重不足的总统紧急行动中心（PEOC）。你可以在我之前的这篇文章中读到关于这两个掩体的详细介绍。

可以肯定的是，与本文图片和视频中展示的相比，NMCC已经经历了翻天覆地的技术变革。事实上，近年来，大型且精密的顶级指挥控制设施一直是美国最强大的竞争对手竞相争夺的目标。俄罗斯和中国都在这一领域投入巨资，并且对这些设施进行了相当广泛的宣传。

1971年的一份新闻剪报详细介绍了NMCC的翻新计划。该设施曾多次改建，主要原因是需要整合新技术并解决其设计缺陷。（CIA.GOV）

考虑到所有这些因素，以及该设施近乎好莱坞式的环境和氛围，特朗普对地球上最强大的军队最重要的设施以及其中现在包含的所有技术感到敬畏也就不足为奇了。

人们也可以想象，任何一位总统都很难摆脱这样的残酷现实：他们很可能身处那空旷寂寥、没有窗户的空间，为国家即将毁灭之后的事情做着筹划。与此同时，他们也清楚，或许根本什么都不会发生。

联系作者：Tyler@thedrive.com

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