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Whatever it takes to get job done
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- By Kate Cole
- Thursday, April 19, 2012
- Hits: 429
Have you ever lain awake at night anticipating the next morning's school test or court date? Perhaps you're a medical surgeon lying in bed thinking about the brain surgery you'll perform in the early morning hours. All of us experienced some kind of anxiety about future events.
Imagine you're a B-52 bomber navigator during the Cold War, waking to an alarm in the middle of the night. You dress and prepare for a trip that may signal the end of the world as you know it.
That's how it felt to retired Lt. Col. Michael Heberling, United States Air Force, during his service at Kincheloe Air Force Base at Sault Saint Marie. When the alarm sounded crew members did not know if it signaled a real threat or was part of their emergency response training.
"The greatest miracle of my life was when the Cold War ended," Heberling said. "It was potentially the most dangerous military confrontation in the history of mankind."
Heberling spoke to the East Side Business Association meeting April 18.
His presentation, Michigan's role in the Cold War, 1949 to 1989, zeroed in on the three Air Force Bases in Michigan where B-52 bombers stood ready 24 hours a day for 40 years, awaiting a fateful day when the former Soviet Union would dare the unthinkable — send a nuclear weapon to any of the NATO nations. The B-52s were prepared to fly north, over the pole, be refueled in the air and deliver the most devastating weapons known to man.
Heberling explained that the Soviet Union's policy rested on its conviction that it could win a nuclear war. The U.S. strategy was one of deterrence.
"In 1961 defense spending made up 50.7 percent of the federal budget compared to the current 16 percent," Heberling said.
According to Heberling the huge federal budget was necessary to keep on standby the 185,000-ton B-52 bombers capable of carrying bombs with an explosive power 692 times larger than the one dropped at Hiroshima. The aircraft also carried missiles with speed capacities of more than Mach3, three times the speed of sound.
"The bombs were so powerful that they were attached to parachutes to slow them down once released. That would give our planes time to get away from the explosion," Heberling said.
"The Cold War ended in 1989 in the same place in began — Berlin." Heberling recalled. "As part of the peace process the U.S. destroyed 365 B-52 bombers, each one costing about $9.3 million to build in 1961."
Asked the most important thing he learned from his Cold War experience, Heberling replied, "To do whatever it takes to get the job done. It's never a 9 to 5 job."
Today there are no active duty Air Force bases left in Michigan. The Strategic Air Command that Heberling was a part of no longer exists. His former base is now used as a correctional facility.
There are still 76 B-52 bombers operating. Some took part in the Persian Gulf conflict, others in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
He received his officer's commission as a second lieutenant from the Reserve Officer's Training Program at Cornell University in 1973. Heberling has 1,500 hours flying time.
He received two Meritorious Service Medals, three Commendation Medals, three Outstanding Unit Awards, the Combat Readiness Medal and two National Defense Service Medals.
He retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1994 after 21 of years service.
When the Cold War ended, Heberling earned his doctorate at Michigan State University. He is currently president of the Baker College Center for Graduate Studies.
In other matters, Kevin Schronce and Matthew Williams, assistant city planners, gave the group the Flint Master Plan's timeline. The pair invited members to attend the Master Planning Steering Committee meeting at 5:30 p.m. May 1 at Habitat for Humanity, 101 Burton St.
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