WEBVTT

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Welcome to history shorts . I'm

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Courtney Short and today I'm snuggled

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in with a cup of tea . Back when the

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310th Space Wing was the 310th

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Bombardment Wing in the 1950s, we

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spent a lot of time in England . Let me

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tell you that story . The dropping of

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the atomic bombs in 1945 ushered in a

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new era , the nuclear age and with it ,

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the Cold War as the United States was

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pitted against the Soviet Union in the

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pursuit of global stability , the

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national mission became containing

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communism and deterring enemy

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aggression by posing a viable nuclear

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threat . The newly formed United States

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Air Force and Strategic Air Command had

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the important mission of delivering

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nuclear weapons in a retaliatory second

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strike capability should deterrence

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fail . Central to the mission was the

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use of overseas bases . The B-47's

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for deployed to such places as England

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Morocco and the Arctic . I am

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inside a B 47 . 1 of the few , if

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not the only B-47's in the state

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of Colorado at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum

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Aircraft Museum . Now our 310th

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Bombardment Wing and their own B-47's

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were at the strategic forefront

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of this mission . And our 310th Airmen

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really took seriously their important

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role in preventing nuclear warfare .

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Initially through 90-day deployments to

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Upper Hayford and RAF Green Common in

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England in 1955 and 1956

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the 310th Bombardment Wing brought

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over their entire wing and started

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maintaining a constant state of

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readiness . By 1958 the

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wing expanded its deterrence mission as

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a part of reflex action , an operation

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that dispersed the US bomber fleet

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across an increased number of bases and

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adopted a three week-rotation program

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for the US bomber detachments . The

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310th Bombardment Wing returned to RAF Greenham

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Green Ham come and later , RAF Mildenhall

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but this time with less aircraft ,

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but they stood ready on the flight line ,

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fully fueled , armed with nuclear

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weapons and ready to be airborne within

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15 minutes just like the 310th

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Bombardment Wing before it today . The

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310th Space Wing has a cutting edge

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mission that is a national priority .

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Our 310th Space Wing forces are combat

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ready to fight tonight and tomorrow in

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the space domain , a domain that

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critically impacts and enables

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operations on land at sea and in the

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air .