Site R
Encyclopedia
The Raven Rock Mountain Complex (RRMC) is a United States
government facility on Raven Rock, a mountain in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
. It is located in Liberty Township, Adams County
, about 14 km (8.7 mi) east of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
, and 10 km (6.2 mi) north-northeast of Camp David, Maryland. It is also called the Raven Rock Military Complex, or simply Site R. Other designations and nicknames include "The Rock", NMCC-R (National Military Command Center
Reservation), ANMCC (Alternate National Military Command Center), AJCC (Alternate Joint Communications Center), "Backup Pentagon
", or "Site RT"; the latter refers to the vast array of communication towers and equipment atop the mountain. Colloquially, the facility is known as an "underground Pentagon".
The facility runs more than 38 communications systems for its users. The Defense Information Systems Agency
computer operations staff provides computer services to the National Command Authority
, the Joint Chiefs of Staff
, the Office of the Secretary of Defense
and other United States Department of Defense
agencies.
Its largest tenant is the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
. RRMC also houses the emergency operations center
s for the Army
, Navy
and Air Force
.
On May 25, 2007, the Federal Register
published a Defense Department policy declaring that it is unlawful for any person "entering in or on the property ... to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map or graphical representation of the Raven Rock Mountain Complex without first obtaining the necessary permission."
detonated its first nuclear weapon in 1949, a high priority was established for the Joint Command Post to be placed in a protected location near Washington, D.C.
, for swift relocation of the National Command Authorities
and the Joint Communications Service. The selected site is near Camp David
(then known as "Shangri-La
"). In 1950, President Harry S Truman approved making Raven Rock part of Camp Albert Ritchie, Maryland
. This new site was named the Alternate Joint Communications Center (AJCC) Site R. Construction of the facility began in 1951, and in 1953 it became operational.
In 1977, the Department of Defense
created the Special Projects Office (later to become the Protective Design Center) to work on the classified Alternate National Military Command and Control Center Improvement Program, which sought to design a deep-underground, hardened command and control
center. The plans envisioned separate structures for command personnel, power, fuel, and water; more than three miles (5 km) of air entrainment tunnels; and access shafts to the surface. The program was cancelled in 1979.
The RRMC was one of the "undisclosed locations" frequently used by Vice President
Dick Cheney
following the September 11 attacks.
The army support unit for the RRMC has been moved around the army hierarchy several times. Between 1953 and 1971, it reported directed to the army's Joint Support Command. In 1971, as part of the Strategic Communications Command move to Fort Ritchie
, the communications unit was redesignated as the Directorate of Telecommunications, and placed under the Fort Ritchie garrison commander. In 1976, the unit was redesignated the USACC Site R Telecommunications Center, a direct reporting element to the 7th Signal Command. And in 1978, the unit was moved back under the command of the Fort Ritchie garrison, as the Directorate of Telecommunications.
In October 1981, USACC Site R Telecommunications Center was reorganized and redesignated as USACC Site R under Headquarters, 7th Signal Command. In May 1984, USACC Site R was redesignated as USAISC-Site R, remaining as a direct reporting unit to 7th Signal Command. In October 1988, USAISC-Site R was redesignated as the 1111th U.S. Army Signal Battalion and placed under the 1101st U.S. Army Signal Brigade, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., as the Army support battalion responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and communications of the AJCC Site R.
In October 1993, the 1111th U.S. Army Signal Battalion was placed under the 1108th U.S. Army Signal Brigade, Fort Ritchie, Maryland. Most base operations activities were removed from the battalion’s mission, leaving communications as the primary unit mission.
The 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission directed the relocation of U.S. Army Signal Command units and some Base Operations support personnel from Fort Ritchie to Fort Detrick
, which became the home of East Coast long-haul communications. These units included the 21st Signal Brigade (formerly the 1108th U.S. Army Signal Brigade), the 114th Signal Battalion (formerly the 1111th U.S. Army Signal Battalion) and Information Systems Engineering Command-Continental United States. The 1110th U.S. Army Signal Battalion, already at Fort Detrick, is now the 302nd Signal Battalion and is assigned to the 21st Signal Brigade. More than 1,140 military members and civilian employees were transferred under the order. Site R and its personnel came under control of the Fort Detrick commander October 1, 1997. The actual movement of units began October 1, 1996, and Fort Ritchie was closed by September 30, 1998, well ahead of schedule.
The site has been declared part of the Pentagon Reservation per .
.
In the TV series Jeremiah
, Raven Rock is known as Valhalla Sector, the main antagonist group in Season 1
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government facility on Raven Rock, a mountain in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. It is located in Liberty Township, Adams County
Liberty Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania
Liberty Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,063 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 16.2 square miles , of which, 16.2 square miles of it is land and 0.06%...
, about 14 km (8.7 mi) east of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Waynesboro is a borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, located northwest of Baltimore, Maryland, 67 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The population within the borough limits was 9,614 at the 2000 census. When combined with the surrounding...
, and 10 km (6.2 mi) north-northeast of Camp David, Maryland. It is also called the Raven Rock Military Complex, or simply Site R. Other designations and nicknames include "The Rock", NMCC-R (National Military Command Center
National Military Command Center
Located in the Pentagon, the National Military Command Center houses the logistical and communications center for the National Command Authority of the United States of America. The facility, which is composed of several war rooms, is the principal command and control center of the Department of...
Reservation), ANMCC (Alternate National Military Command Center), AJCC (Alternate Joint Communications Center), "Backup Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
", or "Site RT"; the latter refers to the vast array of communication towers and equipment atop the mountain. Colloquially, the facility is known as an "underground Pentagon".
The facility runs more than 38 communications systems for its users. The Defense Information Systems Agency
Defense Information Systems Agency
The Defense Information Systems Agency is a United States Department of Defense agency that provides information technology and communications support to the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, the military Services, and the Combatant Commands.As part of the Base Realignment and...
computer operations staff provides computer services to the National Command Authority
National Command Authority
National Command Authority is a term used by the Department of Defense of the United States of America to refer to the ultimate lawful source of military orders. The NCA comprises the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense jointly, or their duly deputized successors, i.e...
, the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
, the Office of the Secretary of Defense
Office of the Secretary of Defense
The Office of the Secretary of Defense is a headquarters-level staff of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. It is the principal civilian staff element of the Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out authority, direction and control of the Department...
and other United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
agencies.
Its largest tenant is the Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency is an agency within the United States Department of Defense and is the official Combat Support Agency for countering weapons of mass destruction . DTRA's main functions are threat reduction, threat control, combat support, and technology development...
. RRMC also houses the emergency operations center
Emergency operations center
An emergency operations center, or EOC, is a central command and control facility responsible for carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness and emergency management, or disaster management functions at a strategic level in an emergency situation, and ensuring the continuity of operation...
s for the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
Disclosure of information
Many of the facility's activities are classified, and distribution of most unclassified information about the facility is discouraged by the government.On May 25, 2007, the Federal Register
Federal Register
The Federal Register , abbreviated FR, or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies...
published a Defense Department policy declaring that it is unlawful for any person "entering in or on the property ... to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map or graphical representation of the Raven Rock Mountain Complex without first obtaining the necessary permission."
History
Planning for the site began in 1948. After the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
detonated its first nuclear weapon in 1949, a high priority was established for the Joint Command Post to be placed in a protected location near Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, for swift relocation of the National Command Authorities
National Command Authority
National Command Authority is a term used by the Department of Defense of the United States of America to refer to the ultimate lawful source of military orders. The NCA comprises the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense jointly, or their duly deputized successors, i.e...
and the Joint Communications Service. The selected site is near Camp David
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
(then known as "Shangri-La
Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains...
"). In 1950, President Harry S Truman approved making Raven Rock part of Camp Albert Ritchie, Maryland
Fort Ritchie
Fort Ritchie was a military installation south of Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania in the area of South Mountain . The installations's closure under the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure was nearly complete by 1998: "Out the Gate, by 98" .-History:In 1815, the Buena Vista Ice Company constructed two...
. This new site was named the Alternate Joint Communications Center (AJCC) Site R. Construction of the facility began in 1951, and in 1953 it became operational.
In 1977, the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
created the Special Projects Office (later to become the Protective Design Center) to work on the classified Alternate National Military Command and Control Center Improvement Program, which sought to design a deep-underground, hardened command and control
Command and Control (military)
Command and control, or C2, in a military organization can be defined as the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commanding officer over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission...
center. The plans envisioned separate structures for command personnel, power, fuel, and water; more than three miles (5 km) of air entrainment tunnels; and access shafts to the surface. The program was cancelled in 1979.
The RRMC was one of the "undisclosed locations" frequently used by Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
following the September 11 attacks.
Army support
The army unit that currently runs communications for the RRMC is the 114th Signal Battalion.The army support unit for the RRMC has been moved around the army hierarchy several times. Between 1953 and 1971, it reported directed to the army's Joint Support Command. In 1971, as part of the Strategic Communications Command move to Fort Ritchie
Fort Ritchie, Maryland
Fort Ritchie is a census-designated place in Washington County, Maryland, United States, just south of the Pennsylvania state line. The population was 276 at the 2000 census. Fort Ritchie is a former U.S. military base that closed in September 1998 pursuant to the 1995 Base Realignment and...
, the communications unit was redesignated as the Directorate of Telecommunications, and placed under the Fort Ritchie garrison commander. In 1976, the unit was redesignated the USACC Site R Telecommunications Center, a direct reporting element to the 7th Signal Command. And in 1978, the unit was moved back under the command of the Fort Ritchie garrison, as the Directorate of Telecommunications.
In October 1981, USACC Site R Telecommunications Center was reorganized and redesignated as USACC Site R under Headquarters, 7th Signal Command. In May 1984, USACC Site R was redesignated as USAISC-Site R, remaining as a direct reporting unit to 7th Signal Command. In October 1988, USAISC-Site R was redesignated as the 1111th U.S. Army Signal Battalion and placed under the 1101st U.S. Army Signal Brigade, Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., as the Army support battalion responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and communications of the AJCC Site R.
In October 1993, the 1111th U.S. Army Signal Battalion was placed under the 1108th U.S. Army Signal Brigade, Fort Ritchie, Maryland. Most base operations activities were removed from the battalion’s mission, leaving communications as the primary unit mission.
The 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission directed the relocation of U.S. Army Signal Command units and some Base Operations support personnel from Fort Ritchie to Fort Detrick
Fort Detrick
Fort Detrick is a U.S. Army Medical Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland, USA. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center for the United States' biological weapons program ....
, which became the home of East Coast long-haul communications. These units included the 21st Signal Brigade (formerly the 1108th U.S. Army Signal Brigade), the 114th Signal Battalion (formerly the 1111th U.S. Army Signal Battalion) and Information Systems Engineering Command-Continental United States. The 1110th U.S. Army Signal Battalion, already at Fort Detrick, is now the 302nd Signal Battalion and is assigned to the 21st Signal Brigade. More than 1,140 military members and civilian employees were transferred under the order. Site R and its personnel came under control of the Fort Detrick commander October 1, 1997. The actual movement of units began October 1, 1996, and Fort Ritchie was closed by September 30, 1998, well ahead of schedule.
The site has been declared part of the Pentagon Reservation per .
Popular culture
Raven Rock appears as the east-coast headquarters of the remnants of the US Government, the Enclave, in the video game Fallout 3Fallout 3
Fallout 3 is an action role-playing game released by Bethesda Game Studios, and the third major installment in the Fallout series. The game was released in North America, Europe and Australia in October 2008, and in Japan in December 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
.
In the TV series Jeremiah
Jeremiah (TV series)
Jeremiah is an American television series starring Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner that ran on the Showtime network from 2002 to 2004. The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where most of the adult population has been wiped out by a deadly virus.Developed by Babylon 5 creator J...
, Raven Rock is known as Valhalla Sector, the main antagonist group in Season 1
See also
- Continuity of governmentContinuity of governmentContinuity of government is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of nuclear war or other catastrophic event....
- Mount Weather
- Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center
- Operation Looking Glass
External links
- "Site-R Raven Rock Alternate Joint Communications Center (AJCC), Federation of American Scientists
- Raven Rock Underground Command Center (Site R)
- Cryptome's aerial photos of Site R