POST ATTACK COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM (PACCS) FACILITY

Commonly referred to as the "Notch," this Air Force facility is located five miles northeast of Westover embedded in the Holyoke Mountain Range off of Route 116. 

In 1957 the Strategic Air Command acquired this land by fee purchase and condemnation procedure, to support the Combat Operational mission of Eighth Air Force Headquarters.  This three-story hardened facility was capable of housing 350 personnel for a period of 35 days, in the event of a nuclear war.  A war that nearly became a reality in October 1963, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when our nation's defense system was elevated to DEFCON 2.  This PACCS facility's operations were coupled with the three EC-135s, Eighth Air Force's Airborne Command Post aircraft, assigned to Westover; call sign "GRAYSON."

During its operational years, security at this facility was extremely tight, and consisted of four check points that arriving SAC personnel had to go through.  Retired Air Force Captain Wilton Cutis describes, in depth, the security procedures that he, and other SAC personnel assigned to this facility, had to endure:  "Check point one was at the gate leading onto the site just off of highway 116 around a curve.  The guard approached your vehicle and viewed your line badge for the proper area coding.  Then you were allowed to drive to the parking area."

"Check point two required you to pass through a fenced area with electric gates at each end and past an enclosed booth where the guards stood behind bulletproof glass where you were ID'd again, this time via a picture system."

"Then you proceeded through the blast doors into the facility at ground level past a third check point and another guard who checked you one more time."

"To get to CCS [Command Control Systems], you had to proceed up stairs to the second level within the mountain that housed a lot of equipment and other operational areas, and then to another set of stairs that rose higher to an eventual door with one way glass.  You would stand in front of the door for personal recognition before being buzzed in." (Recent Photos of Bunker are located in Base Photos)

This facility was deactivated and declared SAC excess on 15 May 1970, after the deactivation of Eighth Air Force on 31 Mar 1970, from Westover AFB.  Currently this facility is owned by Amherst College as a book repository.       

 

THIS WEBSITE IS NOT AFFILLIATED WITH WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE, OR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.  THIS IS A PERSONAL WEBSITE TO SUMMARIZE THE HISTORY OF WESTOVER AIR FORCE BASE.  ALL WRITTEN WORKS ARE BASED ON MY RESEARCH FOR AN UP-COMING BOOK OF THE SAME NAME.  PHOTOGRAPHS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE USED WITH PERMISSION BY VARIOUS SOURCES.  COPYING OF ANY MATERIAL ON THIS WEBSITE IS FORBIDDEN AND IS AN INFRINGEMENT ON MY LITERARY WORKS.  WESTOVER: YESTERDAY & TODAY / COPYRIGHT Ó 1996  / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.