The 300: The Inside Story of the Missile Defenders Guarding America Against Nuclear Attack

by Daniel Wasserbly

Overview

Military and security expert Daniel Wasserbly introduces the elite unit tasked with protecting the nation from long-range weapons of mass destruction.

Comprised of just three hundred soldiers, the United States Army’s 100th Missile Defense Brigade and 49th Missile Defense Battalion utilize sophisticated and cutting-edge technology to monitor the skies and seas surrounding the country and shield three hundred million Americans against any potential nuclear threat. Named for the number of Spartan warriors who defended Greece at the Battle of Thermopylae, these vigilant individuals endure rigorous, always-evolving regimens to maintain peak efficiency in the event of an actual nuclear strike.

Assigned to extraordinary locations at Fort Greely, Alaska and Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, the 300 are responsible for the highest levels of homeland security. They not only maintain a never-ending watch via radar and sensor arrays, but receive continuous training in operating advanced interceptors designed to home in on and destroy in-flight ballistic missiles. It’s a complex—and occasionally unreliable—defense system that scientists and engineers are always improving and upgrading.

With unprecedented access to the highly classified strategic nerve centers of U.S. Northern Command in Cheyenne Mountain, years of research, and dozens of exclusive interviews with normally inaccessible missile crews, Wasserbly reveals the incredible true story behind the 300’s essential defense operations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250221858
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/04/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	311
Sales rank:	140,695
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

DANIEL WASSERBLY is the editor of Jane’s International Defence Review, a global publisher of military and security news and open-source intelligence. He has appeared as a military expert for BBC World Service and NPR's Marketplace, and has discussed missile defense and security issues on the Korean peninsula. He has appeared on CNN, CBC Television, BBC, CBC Radio One, and in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and other publications.

Table of Contents

Table of contents
Cast of Characters
Prologue
Chapter 1: The 300
Chapter 2: Weekend Warriors
Chapter 3: Island of Misfit Toys
Chapter 4: The Old Fort
Chapter 5: Going Live
Chapter 6: Origin story
Chapter 7: Fail
Chapter 8: Anomaly
Chapter 9: Icefog
Chapter 10: Taepodong-2
Chapter 11: Glancing Blow
Chapter 12: Bad Vibrations
Chapter 13: The Culling

Chapter 14: Management by Blowtorch and Pliers

Chapter 15: Useful Failures
Chapter 16: Yeoman’s Work

Chapter 17: Flight Test Ground-06b
Chapter 18: Pyongyang A-Gogo
Chapter 19: ICBM-range
Chapter 20: 24/7/365
Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

Wasserbly's narrative is not only compelling, but also informative and, at times, downright scary. While some will no doubt be impressed by his mastery of the technology for such work — this after all is rocket science — it is the stories within the story of real-life American heroes that makes this tale so "illuminating and unforgettable.” –Michael Fabey, author of Crashback: The Power Clash Between the U.S. and China in the Pacific

"A true insider account. If you have the slightest interest in missile defense, The 300 is the book for you." —Sean Naylor, New York Times bestselling author of Relentless Strike

“One of the core premises of nuclear warfare was that once in flight, missiles could not be stopped. Until 2004 this premise was inviolable. Then the 100th Missile Defense Brigade was establish in Alaska and Colorado, tasked with the mission of proving this premise wrong. In his valuable and illuminating book, Daniel Wasserbly chronicles this crucial but little-known development, which signals the end of an era in warfare, and the beginning of the next.” –George Friedman, author of The Storm Before the Calm: America's Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond

"Wasserbly is eminently qualified to write about missile defense...The depth of his experience and quality of his research are readily apparent." —AUSA Book Review

From the Publisher

2020-03-15
A detailed history of the Missile Defense Agency, a little-known task force created to intercept nuclear missiles.

Wasserbly, editor of Jane's International Defence Review, focuses on the personnel at Fort Greely in northern Alaska, the main launch site for the interceptors, chosen because its location allows a clean shot at ICBMs coming over the Pacific or the North Pole. The base, closed down in 1999, reopened in 2001 when President George W. Bush decided to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Reconstruction took another two years while crews trained to operate the sophisticated equipment. The base was initially manned by full-time National Guard troops. At the same time, at Schreiver Air Force Base in Colorado, a command center tracks incoming missiles and passes information and orders to the teams at Greely. The book follows a couple dozen people, from agency directors to crew members and military police charged with keeping intruders out of the base. As you might expect in Alaska, the latter are more often moose and bears than human. The author deals with such issues as changing the length of shifts, but there are also colorful stories of daily life at Greely—and some humor. Wasserbly attempts, without much success, to generate narrative tension as the crews work to test their equipment, especially in live tests against incoming missiles. At first, the tests were jinxed by technical problems, and the Pentagon responded by cutting funds. Eventually, the glitches were fixed, and the crews are confident of success—though there’s really no way to simulate an actual attack. Without a suspenseful conclusion, the book is ultimately anticlimactic.

For die-hard military buffs who want a look at the people who operate an important element of America’s anti-missile defense. (8-page color photo insert)

Kirkus Reviews