A DAY WITHOUT THE PENTAGON
STRATCOM, Omaha Nebraska
by Bonnie Urfer

In the heartland, about 35 activists attended the Missile Silo (Re)Union, sponsored by the Lakes and Prairies Life Community, in Omaha on the weekend of October 17 - 19.

Seventeen "Citizen Inspectors" entered StratCom (Strategic Command) at Offutt Air Force Base at noon on the 19th to conduct an investigation into the threatened use of weapons of mass destruction.

The Air Force waited at the property line and began arrests immediately. After crossing onto the base, inspectors were searched, handcuffed and loaded onto a waiting bus. The inspectors received "Ban and Bar" letters, forbidding them entry to the base for one year, in a process that took a couple of hours. All of them were released at the gate where supporters waited with banners and song.

The statement carried by the inspectors was brief, reading "In the spirit of nonviolence, we, a group of U.S. citizens, are here today to conduct an inspection of the Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base. Specifically, we demand to be informed of the target coordinates of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile N-7, in northeast Colorado.

"In solidarity with other war resisters gathered today in Washington, D.C., we deplore the planned use of weapons of mass destruction - the possession of which is in clear violation of international law, and all of which constitute a theft of resources from the poor in this country and around the world."

"Missile N-7" is the weapon disarmed last August 6 by the Minuteman III Plowshares pair, Sachio Ko-Yin and Daniel Sicken (see trial report).

The nonviolent resistance action followed a long day of educational presentations that included Daniel Sicken, Bill Sulzman with Citizens for Peace in Space, Sam Day, working to free Mordechai Vanunu, Dion Lovett, with Homeless On the Move for Equality (HOME) from Chicago, Nukewatch's John LaForge, who related Barb Katt's and his research into the locations of all 1,000 land-based missile silo sites, and numerous 1988 Missouri Peace Planting activists.

One advocate for the homeless declared, "We know that those planes aren't going to deliver needed goods and services to our people. We know that those ships aren't going to launch quality, affordable health care."

Fourteen peace activists occupied ten missile silos in Missouri a decade ago and all trespassers received jail or prison time ranging from a few weeks to more than two years. Dozens of additional resisters put in years worth of support work, including producing and publishing an account of the action, its consequences and the prison experience: Prisoners on Purpose. It's still available from Nukewatch ($5 includes shipping & handling). Nuclear Heartland, a guide to the 1,000 missile silos of the United States (1988), is also still available from Nukewatch for $10. Since that time, almost one-half of the missiles buried in underground silos in the midwest have been removed. For more information, contact Nukewatch, P.O. Box 649, Luck, WI, 54853, 715-472-4185; email: nukewtch@win.bright.net