Homeland defense is eternal vigilance

I remember my first sight of homeland defense in action. I was on a Navy ship pulling into Kao-hsiung, Taiwan and gunners were on anti-aircraft mounts at the harbor entrance defending against a possible air attack from mainland China. My second occasion was similar, except it was at one end of the main runway at Balikesir, Turkey and they were waiting for a Greek air attack. Lest we think we Americans are different, I also remember being a tourist on a guided tour of a Nike anti-aircraft site near Woodbridge, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. It turns out there were well over 100 Nike sites, to include St. Louis and Kansas City.

To go back, I have visited 20th century coastal artillery defense sites on the hills over Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as one in Hong Kong, China, and one in Alexandria, Virginia.

Having lived in Oahu, Hawaii when it was a Territory, monthly air raid drills were part of my life. Getting under school tables, or hearing all the dogs howl was normal at the time.

To come to the present, find in Google Earth the Iranian nuclear facility vicinity Esfahan, Iran and then go find the anti-aircraft sites around the area. They are there on today’s Google overheads.

Throughout the world, people have worried about their defense. Some have used appeasement, most have used defense, and some have used deterrence.

We Americans have organized our home defenses around a Department of Homeland Security and elements of the Department of Defense. Probably many of the efforts of the Americans who man these organizations will end up as seemingly wasted efforts like coastal artillery sites. But that is hindsight, not fair, and disingenuous for some. Whether they work or not will never be known, nor can it be. That’s one of the costs of eternal vigilance.