History
Planning for the site began in 1948. After the Soviet Union 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 DoD 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.
Read more about this topic: Raven Rock Mountain Complex
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