Berries, Mushrooms and Missilemen 29

Yesterday I had a chance to walk in the forests in and around Lulu Island. There are lots of blackberries still on the bushes. And in some places they form colorful ensemble with ashberries:

Death-caps are everywhere:

This means that good mushrooms are somewhere too. And, yes, you can see flat-cap mushroom close to this fly-agarics:

Going further in the forest I found these ten honey-logs and couple of toadstools:

It looks like next weekend I will be busy. But now, Missilemen 29

After sticking stars into should-straps we attached these military attributes to our shirts, jackets and topcoats, to the dresses that had to be used for our afternoon visit to the headquarter. Then we went out and made photos on the background of vacant plot of land not far from our hostel. From this moment we started to get used to very strange motion of our right hands in head direction, what military saluting is. We made this several times on our way to the buffet for lunch, and then from the buffet to the headquarter. Now we have to wave our right hands so strange way every time when we meet somebody in military uniform.

In the headquarter they showed us a documentary film about ground variant of the 8K65 preparation to launch starting from permanent alarm state. When the film was finished a gentleman in fop civilian suit with colorful tie entered the hall.

“Captain Isaev” – He introduced himself and took the sit by very imposing way with one lag on the other settling back as much as the shaky chair allowed him. He looked at us staying still in front of him and continued with unconcealed pleasure:

“Your task is to launch rocket at any conditions, but my task is to prevent you to do this” – and, after keeping pause, having fun looking at our surprised faces, proposed:

“Sit down, please. I will explain everything now”.

This officer, as we learned later, had a good education and was a representative of security service, not KGB, but the service that was protecting non sanctioned launch of strategic missiles. This service was established in the end of sixties.

The Captain in civilian suit contained his story:

“The experience of exploitation even of the first strategic missile complexes in the USSR revealed that there is a need to protect nuclear weapon against random factor influence that can lead to non sanctioned implementation. There is a need to guard missile complexes that are equipped with nuclear warheads against premeditated actions of specially trained criminal that has a goal to launch the rocket; against the mistaken and accidental actions of the personnel; against equipment fault and failings in apparatus elements that can lead to false command forming, which can cause launch order formation; against interferences in the battle control canals, which can be transformed by mistake and finally transmits the information, which has a form of order for missile launch. And so on”.
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It started to be dull until Captain wasn’t switched for details. He told us that in the ground circuit, which is used for launch command preparation, they placed CDD, Code Blocking Device. The 8 digit code is needed for the launch command to go through the CDD. The code has to be set up on the CDD keyboard. There are two Start buttons in apparatus room where launch command is physically realized. The first button is situated on the start control panel under battery commander operation, the second one is on the CDD, and senior operator of the third squad presses it.

The code became know simultaneously with the order for launch, which can be issued by Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Leonid Ilyich Breghnev or by Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Nikolay Victorovich Podgorny. It has to be mentioned, that beginning of the seventieth was known by some tension release in USSR – USA contradiction and Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, SALT-1, was accepted by governments of both countries. SALT-1 is a complex of several documents signed in 1972. Even mutual inspections started to have place, not in missile complexes itself, but for the systems of accidental launch prevention. Russian guys demonstrated this CDD and Captain Isaev took part in one of such presentations. It looks like negotiations with Americans were very impressive for his psyche. At least some of his expressions still look very strange for me:

“I represents interests of American Government here in Lebedin!” – he announced with delight – “I do not report to anybody! Neither in Romny nor in Vinnitsa! Only to Moscow! You see, I do not wear uniform!”

Ocean, Forest, Huckleberry, Sunset and Missilemen 19

The forest in summer time is not as wet as it is in other seansons and it starts even to smell with its juniper scents:

Many of bays in this area are very good for entering into water swimming when tide is higher than it is now:

And you do not waist your time waiting water comes back. Huckleberry is everywhere:

This berry contains higher quantities of constituents that are useful for visual acuity and night blindness and strengthening the immune system. Good reason to consume several dozens of them before swimming.

The day was finished with beautiful sunset:

And the story was continued. Missilemen 19.

The SEC (State Examination Committee) sited in the KuAI’s assembly hall in the third building. A1 whatman format drawings were fixed by magnets to special steel rigs installed on the stage. Committee members took places in the first two rows of audience chairs. Other public, friends and fans sited behind. Events were dynamic: 10 minutes for the report, 15 minutes for discussion, 5 minutes for comments and decoration changes for new drawings. Up to ten defenses were happened during the day. The day results were announced after last defense and all successfully processed were awarded with the official academic badge in the form of rhomb with the USSR coat of arms on the sky-blue background, silver wings and the KuAI inscription. Badges were fixed on coat’s lapels of fresh baked aerospace engineers to excite envy in those who hadn’t defended yet. But this was not the only difference between them. Free and light-hearted fresh engineers were a problem for the university authority, because they started to celebrate the event with huge enthusiasm.

But in my case it happened that I was the first defended in our team, and had no chance to celebrate this alone. Instead of celebration I got additional work and responsibility to help my delayed friends. Particularly they delegated general layout drawing of the ambulance variant for the military-transport turboprop that was designed by Pasha Pivovarov. I tried to do my best and used compasses even. But Pasha criticized my drawings, took offence and thought that I am not accurate enough working on his project.

”Why this cross section of the board rib is not exact? Why lightening holes are not circular?” – asked he.

“Pasha, they are circles! Do you see these axes of symmetry? They are even more circular than in my airplane” – I tried to make my excuse.

“Of course, you got the A, and for me you are doing anyhow, for C only” – continued Pasha.

Yes, my diploma project got excellent mark. It seems that Pasha envied a little. He didn’t see my project drawings, but was confident that A can be got only for good looking carefully issued plots. I just on my first year of aerospace university studies understood well that drafting is a separate profession, that design and engineering need their own skills.

All defenses were finished at the end of February. Soviet Army officers of new conscription got their direction to the place of service. Kuzya, Gena Schekov and I were directed to the Vinnitskaya Army. The graduation party happened in the student canteen of the third building on the third of March. This event is worth to be specially described. Next day I left Kuibyshev for Poltava for my vacation. We agreed with Gena and Valerka meet each other in Kiev’s Borispol airport on our way to the army’s headquater.

Spanish Banks

Summer is here and I can swim in warm tide waters on this beach:

Pacific Spirit park is full of salmon berries:

And, in accordance with this blog’s genre, I start my story: Missilemen

Introduction

The events that are described in this story happened in the beautiful seventies, the years of my youth. Then this time was announced as a stagnation period that had been transferred into PERESTROIKA and finished with collapse of the Soviet Union. What were those years? How did we live? Who were Soviet soldiers and officers that aimed nuclear missiles to US’s military bases and to peaceful cities? What were they thinking about being on the duties? What were they doing in their free time? How do they look like these inhabitants of that Empire of the Evil? And was the empire evil? Let’s have a look at those times through the perception prism of one particular man, me, citizen of that disappeared country and participant of the events that are presented below.