Cold War Era – Reports & Records

Cold War Era Reports and Records, released to the public on June 21, 2016, through The Black Vault. This document is a systematic study of Air Combat Command's Cold War material culture, archived at https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/cold-war-era-reports-records/. Provenance: This document was released through The Black Vault, a website that provides access to declassified government records. The canonical PDF is available at https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/coldwarera/acccoldwarstudy.pdf. A Systematic Study of Air Combat Command Cold War Material Culture Introduction to the Report Series on Compact Disk Study Background The end of the Cold War in 1989 brought with it a restructuring of the Department of Defense. The Air Combat Command came into existence on June 1, 1992, incorporating assets from the Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command, and Military Airlift Command. During the Cold War, SAC and TAC had the primary responsibility of enforcing United States policies around the world through the deployment of air power, especially to contain and deter communism. Air Defense Command and SAC had the primary responsibility for deterrence and air defense of the continental United States; TAC supported this mission. The bulk of the USAF Air Combat Command real property holdings are related to SAC, ADC, and TAC activities. Although the USAF missile program was transferred to the United States Space Command, under the operational authority of the North American Aerospace Defense Command in July 1993, the missile fields remain under the administration of ACC through the individual bases. In the late summer of 1992, Vandenberg AFB, then a part of ACC, began a program to modify some of its missile systems. The base consulted with the State Historic Preservation Office in California to determine whether any effects to historic properties from the Cold War era were involved. In the course of resolving this action, the matter of Cold War era historic properties came to the attention of Mr. Gary Vest, then Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health. On October 9, 1992, Mr. Vest asked the USAF Civil Engineer to coordinate with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to develop a policy regarding Cold War resources and scientific and technical equipment. SAF/MIQ also directed USAF bases to consult with SHPOs under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act until a coordinated policy could be fully implemented. After consulting with numerous agencies, the Air Force issued interim guidance for the treatment of Cold War historic properties in June 1993. Immediately thereafter, ACC embarked on a command-wide baseline assessment of its potential Cold War historic resources. Context: The study was funded by ACC with general oversight provided by Dr. Paul Green, HQ ACC, Langley, Virginia. Additional limited funding for selected study components was provided by the Department of Defense Legacy Program. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. The document is available at https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/coldwarera/acccoldwarstudy.pdf.