National security

Exclusive: Inside the base that would oversee a US nuclear strike

Before it gets to that point, the Global Operations Center, a highly secured facility buried many stories underground, is keeping a constant eye around the globe for missile launches and assessing whether they pose any threat to US territory.

Whether it is another missile launch in North Korea or just the launching of a satellite somewhere in the world, the staff of this facility, led by a battle watch commander and a strike adviser, reacts quickly to launches on a nearly daily basis to determine whether Hyten, and anyone above him all the way up to the President, needs to be informed.

While the facility was rendered unclassified for the brief time CNN was there, normal operations were running concurrently at a separate location nearby in order to maintain the security level required to carry out the mission of Strategic Command.