Raven Rock

They’re only half right: while the helicopters do provide transport, the unit exists to evacuate high-ranking officials in the event of a terrorist or nuclear attack on the capital. In the event of an attack, select officials would be whisked by helicopters to a ring of secret bunkers around Washington, even as ordinary citizens were left to fend for themselves. For sixty years, the US government has been developing secret Doomsday plans to protect itself, and the multibillion-dollar Continuity of Government (COG) program takes numerous forms—from its plans to evacuate the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to the plans to launch nuclear missiles from a Boeing-747 jet flying high over Nebraska. In Raven Rock, Garrett M. Graff sheds light on the inner workings of the 650-acre compound (called Raven Rock) just miles from Camp David, as well as dozens of other bunkers the government built its top leaders during the Cold War, from the White House lawn to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado to Palm Beach, Florida, and the secret plans that would have kicked in after a Cold War nuclear attack to round up foreigners and dissidents and nationalize industries. From the Cold War through the War on Terror, Graff tracks the evolution of the government plan and the threats of global war. Equal parts a presidential, military, and cultural history, Raven Rock reveals how the United States never stopped worrying—and never learned to love the bomb. In these Doomsday plans, each governmental agency had its own secret mission—from the Park Service, which would run refuge camps, to the Post Office, which would be in charge of dealing with those killed in the attack. Based on thousands of once-classified documents, as well as personal interviews, and travel to a number of COG facilities, Graff takes us through the back channels of government to understand exactly what is at stake if our nation is attacked, and how we’re prepared to respond.