The Air National Guard has opened its refurbished and upgraded Western Air Defense Sector operations center at McChord AFB, Wash., after an 18-month effort that included installation of some 22 miles of fiber-optic cable and 10 miles of category 5 copper cables. WADS now covers airspace for about 72 percent of the US. The center’s original facility, built in 1958, was home to an element of USAF’s Semi-Automatic Ground Environment system. A 1st Air Force news release states that the more than $1.8 million renovation eliminated the SAGE-era green scopes and darkened control rooms, replacing them with state-of-the-art computer technology and software, including a “newly developed situation awareness system that gives WADS unprecedented tools and technology to assist state and local responders in dealing with natural disasters.”
Approximately 5,000 National Guard troops will remain on the streets of Washington, D.C., with most protecting the U.S. Capitol for almost two more months in response to requests from federal agencies and local police who anticipate additional unrest. As of Jan. 25, there are about 13,000 Guard personnel remaining in…