NORAD operators in Cheyenne Mountain AFB, Colo., disrupted some 50 million garage door openers when they tested a radio signal meant for first responders during a homeland security threat, reports Associated Press news service. It may be a PR nightmare, but the US military owns the radio frequency even though this was apparently the first time it’s been used from the mountain. When other “low-lying” military facilities used it in Florida, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the effects were less widespread. Homeowners in the Colorado Springs area may want to invest in a unit on a different frequency.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.