AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 6-10-2024

hello everybody I'm skip Alzheimer welcome to the avgeeks lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16 mm films and think better about ourselves because we know so much better than what is in the films sometimes I don't know uh anyways I'm not at the archive uh because I'm at the archive and what I'm doing at the archive is moving uh along with my assistants and interns basically 15,000 films offsite and uh we decided to rent a cargo van all week and um to commit to this I said that I would just move films uh this week and so that's what we're doing um so there's a lot of stuff lot of schling and I'd be all sweaty and it just wouldn't be fun so uh next uh tomorrow I'm G to try to send you some show you some footage but all week we're going to be pre-recorded because we're just be moving films moving films moving films uh but today we're going to watch films about trucks because I thought I was going to run a truck but a van was more uh better suited to what we needed so we're going to watch the film truck driver encyclopedia Banica film then moving things on land uh which I can't remember who made that film is that cornette maybe then transportation in the United States which is a March of time film that was probably shown in uh theaters at one point as a short subject before feature uh then truck transport on that long hul which is a film that we digitized for Craig Baldwin who's based in San Francisco who's also a collector and he sent this to us and I think it might maybe just cuts off not sure uh then finally this is a film I've shown in the past but erda transportation safeguards which is a wonderful film about how to transport uh radioactive materials across the United States uh in a truck um fascinating stuff and I I love Niche things like that and this was made by Sandy Labs um in Albuquerque so um anyways I hope that you enjoy what you're watching and just think about the fact that we're picking up a stack of film moving it into the van picking up a stack of film moving into the van and then we're driving to the storage unit and doing the reverse uh so uh I hope you enjoy the show if you like what you saw hit the thumbs up hit the like you can also support us via the super thanks button in YouTube uh and also the ko-fi.com avgeeks and patreon.com avgeeks that money will go towards buying snacks and uh cool beverages for my workers and interns uh every have a great rest of your Monday and we'll see you tomorrow see you tomorrow take care bye [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] bye honey see you Day After Tomorrow Goodbye P so long kids mind your mother now bye bye Slugger take good care of that truck now bye bye bye bye another overnight trip Begins for Tom dwire a truck driver hi Mike oh hi Tom what have you got for me today you've got a hot load to sanduski Ohio Tom you're going to get your regular tractor 3880 and 1136 okay I'll leave as soon as as I'm loaded long Mike have a nice bit time this big Trucking terminal in Chicago is one of many where thousands of tons of freight are shipped all over the country big cans of paint tables in their shipping cartons heavy tractor tires new automobile wheels these and other shipments are sorted and packed into trucks Bound for many different cities Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Lansing Michigan Toledo Ohio and here's Tom dwi's truck for sand dusy Ohio loaded and ready to go the rear part of the truck is the trailer the front part with the motor is the tractor it's backed into place by a Yard Man the yardman connects the airbrake hoses from the tractor to the trailer this gives him breake control over both sections of the truck then he locks the two sections together the front trailer supports are cranked up they're used only for parking then the yard man drives the truck to the checkout station yard men do all the driving inside the terminal the truck must be ready for the open road before Tom starts his driving [Music] this man is pumping in 120 gallons of gasoline Tom always stands by to keep watch on his own truck this man weighs the trailer to make sure it's not too heavy or unbalanced then the trailer doors are sealed with a metal strip Tom checks his Safety Equipment Red signal flags red flares flag stands spare headlight kit and a loaded fire extinguisher looks like everything's in good shape now Tom is on his way destination sanduski Ohio 340 M East of Chicago in trucking language Tom is carrying a hot load that is a load that must be delivered by a certain time he's expected to be there by 5:00 tomorrow morning much of the nation's goods are moved by truck Tom passes many trucks on his way out of town longdistance giants like his own City trucks of many kinds as he leaves Chicago Tom crosses the state line that divides Illinois from Indiana for part of his trip he's going to travel on the Indiana State toll road on this road he can keep his truck moving without having to stop for cross traffic drivers must pay a toll to use this road Tom will pay when he leaves now he receives a pass showing where he entered the Road Indiana State Police Patrol the road each state has its own police [Applause] force here's a truckload of paper leaving the toll road on its way to Chicago and here's a truckload of new automobiles from Chicago on their way East on the toll road is smooth driving for Tom many miles without a stop good modern roads are a welcome sight to truck drivers fine highways like this one are being built in many parts of the country often they're called by different names toll roads turnpikes freeways Parkways super highways all of them means safe steady driving for longdistance strips just before Sundown Tom stops at one of the service stations on the toll road this is called a safety stop truck drivers are required to make them every 3 hours while Tom rests a serviceman at the station checks his truck from Bumper to Bumper safety is very important to such drivers for their lives depend on it the serviceman looks over Tom's engine carefully he checks to see whether there's enough oil in the engine he looks at the radiator to make sure there's enough antifreeze mixture in IT service like this helps to keep the truck from breaking down in the open Highway the serviceman finishes by pounding all 14 tires with a hammer he can tell the air pressure just by the sound after his rest Tom is ready for the Road Again he still has 250 Mi to travel before 5:00 tomorrow [Music] morning although Tom is carrying a load that weighs about 16 tons his truck moves fast and is easy to handle [Music] shortly after dark Tom comes to the place where he's going to turn off the toll road this is where he must pay toll for using the [Music] road Thomas Drive more slowly now the road goes through small towns there are traffic lights and Crossroads these cause many more stops and starts midnight is Tom's meal time and at last he sees a welcome [Music] sight this restaurant is one where truck drivers often stop it serves good food and there are hotel rooms where drivers on long trips can sleep Tom sees some of his friends here here's one who drives for Tom's company he says he ran into snow coming in Tom orders his [Music] food Tom relaxes and rests and enjoys his Meal hot food a cup of hot coffee and it's soon time to be off again these are lonely hours the hours after midnight when a driver wishes he were home with his family safe warm and asleep [Music] with the fire out Tom makes sure that the driver is all right the driver explains that he must have rounded the curve too fast and went off the road Tom offers to get some flares and shows the driver how they're lighted he tells the driver to put them around his car and out on the road too it's important to have plenty of warning lights when a car is parked near the highway the driver thanks Tom but to Tom it's just part of his job he'll send back help from the next town which is only a few miles down the road [Applause] [Applause] Just Before Dawn it begins to snow Tom must drive more slowly but he's still making good time by the time day breaks he's almost at the end of his [Music] trip he pulls into sanduski right right on schedule and brings his truck into the terminal the seal is broken and now the big load of freight which Tom brought from Chicago 16 tons 32,000 will be unloaded onto the platform [Music] [Music] the men there will separate each shipment according to where it goes in the city Tom's all night trip is over he's done his job well but the men of the Trucking terminal and the City truck drivers are just beginning their day's work many many things will be delivered by truck today painting supplies Lumber and construction materials bread and coffee cake for breakfast tables ready mixed concrete for New Roads milk cream butter and and eggs yes and the United States male too the trucking industry Works Around the Clock Tom will sleep today in a nearby Motel while his trailer is loaded for his return trip tonight by tomorrow morning Tom will be nearing Chicago with another 16 tons of freight things made in sanduski and other Ohio towns being sold to companies in Chicago and Beyond and best of all Tom will be driving home to his family [Music] bad for Jim but what's bad for Jim is good for Bobby Cooper who's going to get a nice big collection of comic books he is that is if they can solve an unpleasant little Transportation problem however something called friction seems to be holding things up wouldn't this be a wonderful world if suddenly there there were no friction to hold things back just imagine a box of comic books would slide down a driveway as though the driveway were slipperier than [Music] ice but just think all of the shoelaces in the world would suddenly come untied and all of the houses would start to fall apart everything would feel slippery even sandpaper imagine the things that you wouldn't be able to hold think of the meals that would slide off tables think of the people who wouldn't be able to get into their houses people who were stopped couldn't get started and people who were started couldn't stop at least for a while what is it that keeps this box from sliding downhill you think of pavement as being fairly smooth when you look at it closely you find that rough little bumps cover the surface in the wooden box there are bumps and Hollows and splinters too the rougher two surfaces are the more the rough places catch in each other and the heavier the load the more the rough places catch at each other this catching and dragging is friction though friction can be useful Jim and Bobby sometimes wish they didn't have quite so much of it people have to overcome friction every time they move something from one place to another and everything that you have has been moved from someplace else everything in your house the things your house is made of everything in a city except the Earth it stands on has been moved there from someplace else moving things is so important that many people have worked at ways of making moving easier and faster what are some of the ways the boys might use to make their moving job easier let's give them some runners aha easier there's less friction because the runners are smoother than the box and there are fewer rough places to catch on the paving there would be still less friction if we could smooth the paving too let's do something else for the boys let's sprinkle some powdered soap on the driveway to smooth it a little easier yet smoothing the road all the way to Bobby Cooper's house would take a lot of soap but we make many things easier to move by making surfaces smooth let's give Bobby and Jim something to make their moving job still easier something they can use for Rolling the Box moves so easily now that it hardly needs to be pulled usually there is much less friction when things are moved by Rolling rather than by sliding however there's a problem about moving things for any distance on rollers someone has to keep bringing rollers up to the front of the load wouldn't our highways look strange if a person were out busily putting rollers in front of each car and truck rollers are sometimes used to move things when distances are short more often the rollers are fixed in place and the load is moved over them and sometimes of course things are moved by Rolling when they are themselves rollers if we're really going to help transport those comic books we'd better give the boys some rollers that will stay attached to the load instead of fulllength rollers we'll give them four thin rollers now we'll attach two axles under the crate and put on the [Music] rollers and maybe we'd better stop this talk about rollers and begin calling them Wheels now we have a new problem we've cut down the friction against the ground but we have friction in a new place here where the axle rubs against the rough wood of the wheel of course there's much less friction than pulling without wheels at all but there's still plenty this is the way many carts used to be made there's so much rubbing between this kind of wheel and axle that the cart is hard to move the rubbing wears away small pieces of wood and finally the axle may break the boy's job would be easier if we gave them axles and wheels made out of [Music] metal metal is harder and can be made smoother so there's less friction between the axles and the wheels but even metal has little rough places that you could see only with a microscope though you can't see the rough places you can hear them rubbing and the friction slows the wheel down quickly there'll be less friction if we can cover the surfaces with something to keep them from touching ah just what we were looking for an oiled wheel works better because the oil fills the tiny bumps and there's less friction now listen and see how much longer it turns and now I suppose you think we ought to let the boys get along with their load of valuable literature not yet we're going to give them some wheels that are even better ball bearing Wheels in this kind of wheel a ring of Steel balls keeps the Wheel from rubbing against the axle the wheel turns on on the balls and the balls roll around the axle and of course oil helps at the same time whenever you see a wheel or a machine that runs smoothly and easily you can be fairly sure that the moving Parts run on ball bearings or roller bearings now let's get this load on the road but this time let's do it in style Jim is going to be able to use friction if he needs to stop and Bobby has to use friction to help him get started but they've removed most of the friction between the load and the ground Wheels like these are one of the best solutions that people have found for moving things on land I suppose you think that now the boys are going to settle down to a quiet afternoon of reading comic books don't you believe it Bobby's mother isn't going to let the comic books in the house either and after all we've done to help them A Fine Thing [Music] Ed and developed the vast land areas which stretch almost 3,000 miles across the country were opened up for settlement and development through transportation [Music] as railroads were put through from one end of the land to the other great cities sprang up along the 4,900 through such ports flowed the goods which the US needed to grow and become great in exchange for the products of America's own farms and factories and out of this thriving trade grew the US Merchant Marine today us Merchant vessels carry 75% of the nation's EXP exports and some 25% of its domestic [Music] rate playing not only the Seas but the Great Lakes as well they are a vital Link in the commercial life of the country while far less important than they were when the US was expanding River Steamers particularly on the broad Mississippi still carry a sizable share of freight and passenger traffic [Music] among the newer passenger carrying businesses in the US today are the nation's bus [Music] lines because they charge less than their competitors and are able to reach not only the larger cities but also those areas not served by other means of transportation the boss's share of Passenger traffic in the past decades has more than [Music] doubled for many of the same reasons that bus transportation is flourishing the trucking industry in the past 20 years has become increasingly important trucks are able to carry Freight caros everywhere and today some 5 million of them are rolling along the highways and byways of the us though the percentage of freight carried by truck is still small compared to that carried by rail it is constantly growing for trucks are faster around short halls and in many cases can handle shipments at lower [Music] rates newcomers in the freight carrying industry are the cargo airlines most of which have been established only since the [Music] war but with their capacity strictly limited their Chief sales point is speed a vital consideration to many shippers particularly those dealing Imp perishables in the field of Passenger service the airlines offer competition to both the bus lines and the railroads with their personnel equipment and service already above pre-war standards with air travel cheaper in many cases than pulman travel airlines are cutting more and more heavily into the railroad's luxury passenger trade to keep the public flying to ensure its comfort and safety the airlines are introducing new and better types of planes in addition they are constantly experimenting with new devices which will add to the convenience of air travel for theirs as a young business still in the process of growing and establishing itself and it is operated largely by men still too young to be ridden by conservatism or [Music] complacency in the few years in which they have been operating the airlines have discovered that their efforts to improve Comforts and services have attracted a steadily increasing number of passengers for though speed is probably the chief consideration of the flying public another inducement is the luxurious appointments of the newer planes [Music] to the many millions of Americans who travel every year railroads are a simple necessity for they still remain the backbone of the nation's transportation system the principal means of getting from place to place in the century since the first American railroad was built the transportation of passengers and Freight has become one of the nation's great Industries an industry which serves every citizen and reaches into every part of the country with almost half a million miles of trael all aboard [Music] [Music] [Music] today though us railroads are doing more business than ever before in peace time though they have behind them years of profitable wartime operations they are in precarious Financial condition largely the result of rising costs which have increased more rapidly than income despite this despite the fact that the railroads are still suffering from the physical deterioration which set in during the War years they are moving 24,000 freight trains and 17,500 passenger trains every day to keep these rolling in safety the railroads must work continually to perfect traffic control devices no longer do they rely solely on automatic signals adding to the safety and efficiency of Transportation by rail are such Innovations as radio and the induction telephone by which the engineman and his cab can keep in constant communication with signal Towers along the way with trains on other tracks and with crewmen in the car at the end of his own train the operation of American railroads directly affects the daily life of every American to keep a single US citizen supplied with the basic necessities an average of a ton of freight must be transported more than 4,000 mil each year [Music] the hauling of freight accounts for 77% of the railroad's gross income but though the freight load today is the heaviest in peacetime history there has existed an acute and constantly growing shortage of freight cars with worn out cars being retired faster than new ones could be made available of the 1 and 3/4 million in operation well over a million are more than 20 years old and of these nearly a third are more than 30 years old [Music] [Music] so the entire us industrial establishment depends in great degree upon rail transportation and any serious breakdown would have a catastrophic effect upon the national economy [Music] to keep trains moving the railroads work ceaselessly at the Monumental job of Maintenance at regular intervals every locomotive must go to the shop for checking and repairs after every 100,000 mil of operation most locomotives are completely stripped down and rebuilt inside and out the steel tires are sweated off and renewed [Music] when locomotives are remodeled they may receive the same series of speed and efficiency tests given to new types [Music] like Rolling Stock Road beds suffered from inadequate maintenance during the war and today the railroads are still working hard to make up for the years of enforced neglect on First Rate roads every foot of Mainline track is inspected at least once a day and sections which show flaws are promptly repaired or [Music] replaced to elck the problems today confronting the railroad industry is a matter of serious concern to most of its Executives among them a wealthy ex-member of the new York Stock Exchange Robert R young a relative newcomer to railroading Young has taken upon himself the role of critic and profit to the whole industry in the 10 years since he took over control of the Chesapeake and Ohio and several Associated railroads young in company with his advisers has spent much time out on the line observing the operations of his railroads at firsthand the chesap and Ohio had long been in an enviable position because of its lucrative business hauling coal from the rich mining regions of West Virginia and Kentucky Young found that with this highly profitable Freight business as its main stay the road was paying only secondary attention to its passenger operations which brought in little or no profit a condition paralleled on most other railroads out of his observations young has become convinced that passenger travel can be made highly profitable despite the competition of planes buses and private automobiles urging a change of policy upon the rest of the industry young contends that railroads have progressed scarcely at all since the first decade of the century when passengers put up with discomforts and bad service because there was no [Music] alternative the cars in common use today are little better than those of for years ago young maintains so far as the convenience of passengers is concerned as an example of what can be done young has introduced on the C and O two luxuriously appointed streamliners between Grand Rapids and Detroit which have brought passenger travel on this route up to 76% above normal although as other railroad men were quick to point out young streamliners already had their counterparts on many other roads some of his changers were true Innovations instead of discouraging the buying of tickets on trains young encouraged it on all his lines thus relieving passengers of the irksome necessity of standing in Long cues at the ticket window in addition he issued credit cards entitling the holders to charge their fairs convinced that he understands the Public's likes and dislikes young has introduced many other improvements in service designed to make the trip more palatable to the [Music] customer on the chesap and Ohio's crack train between Washington and Cincinnati young has installed a movie theater on [Music] Wheels today America's railroads are awake to the need for Progressive action Passenger cars and Equipment are being redesigned new types of coaches going into service on the Pennsylvania and other major roads are more comfortable and attractive than the general run of parlor cars attention is being paid to any device which will help make coach travel more [Music] agreeable at the same time new sleeping car cars are being designed and built which will eventually replace all the oldtime rows of curtain birs with private State rooms handsomely appointed and decorated but it is in the field of Motive Power that the most revolutionary changes in railroading are on the way seeking to make the most efficient use of the cheapest fuel nine railroads and four coal companies have organized the locomotive development committee which is working on a Coal Fired gas turbine engine results so far indicate that this new type of engine will be more than three times as efficient as the old steam locomotive and because of its expected lower operating costs is likely in time to replace all other types in the meantime the Cal burning steam locomotive is being superseded by the oil burning diesel electric which though tcees costly to build is far more efficient and less expensive to maintain more than nine out of 10 of the locomotives currently on order by the nation's railroads are diesels thus today America's railroads are hopeful of solving their problems and in the process it is the passenger so long neglected who stands to benefit most in the higher speed and greater comfort with which he may soon be able to travel on any road anywhere at the broad expanse of his country [Music] trucks carry many of the things we need this is a flatbed truck dis pulling a flatbed trailer this load of lumber will be used in building new homes a special kind of truck carries automobiles from the factory to the automobile dealer this truck is called an auto carrier five automobiles other types of trucks are made to carry gasoline these trucks are called tankers this tanker will deliver gasoline to a filling station this is a sleeper truck it has two drivers while one man drives the other man sleeps the sleeping compartment is behind the [Music] cab truck trailers are loaded at a truck terminal this is a truck terminal in a big [Applause] city small trucks pick up cargo from many shippers in different parts of the city they bring this cargo to the loading dock at the terminal [Applause] at the truck terminal the cargo is sorted all cargo that is being put in this trailer is going to Spokan Washington other trailers are being loaded with cargo for other this trailer is parked at a loading dock of the terminal the trailer is 35 ft long this trailer is carrying many kinds of cargo one shipper is sending canned foods another shipper is sending automobile parts a third shipper is sending machinery and tools the loaders are using hand trucks to carry the cargo into the trailer this trailer is almost loaded soon the large doors of the trailer will be closed truck tractors are parked in another part of the terminal these tractors are ready to go on long trips the truck drivers are carrying papers which tell each driver which tractor to use which trailer to use what the cargo is and where it is going this driver's name is Carl when he gets into the cab of the tractor he puts a chart in the speed oraph the speed oraph records the speed of the truck and how far it travels it also records the time at which the truck starts and stops he also puts a chart in the taco graph this instrument records the revolutions per minute of the engine at the end of his day's work Carl removes both charts [Applause] [Music] Carl drives the tractor to The Filling Station at the truck terminal the attendant will fill the tank with diesel fuel when the tank is full Carl will sign a receipt for the fuel theer is ready to pull the loaded trailer a piece of Machinery on the back part of the tractor connects the tractor and trailer together these are the air hoses for the brakes on the trailer Carl connects the air hoses to the front of the trailer the battery in the tractor must be connected to the lights on the trailer the small wheels under the front of the trailer are called landing gear the landing gear holds up the front of the trailer when the tractor is not connected when the tractor is connected to the trailer its Wheels hold up the front of the trailer the landing gear must be raised out of the way now Carl tests the tires by hitting them with an iron Rod he can tell if the air pressure is Right drivers are trained to carefully check their tractor and trailer they are responsible for the safe arrival of the truck and its valuable cargo the tractor and trailer have been carefully checked everything is ready for the Long Hall the truck driver watches for signs along the road this sign says all trucks stop at Scales ahead the truck will stop on the weighing platform a highway officer reads the weight of the truck on a dial in the weighing station truck operators are careful not to overload their trucks the truck will stop five times between Los Angeles and Spokan to change drivers and to refuel Carl will drive the truck from Los Angeles to Fresno the second driver will take the truck from Fresno from Reading California to shult Oregon the fourth truck driver operates the truck from shimol to topenish Washington and the last driver takes the load to the truck terminal in Spokane it is about 1200 miles from Los Angeles California to Spokan Washington Carl drives into the truck station at Fresno he has been driving for about 7 hours his day's work is done tomorrow he will drive a different truck back to Los Angeles up check the oil water and tires this attendant helps to service the truck he carefully washes the windshield the truck driver must be able to see clearly at all times most truck tractors have diesel engines a diesel engine is more powerful than a gasoline engine the tractor needs a powerful engine to pull the heavy load the attendant measures the amount of oil in the engine he reads the amount of oil on the oil gauge the gauge shows that the engine has enough oil now the attendant check protects the water he sees that the radiator needs water he fills the radiator the water in the radiator helps keep the engine from getting overheated this attendant is filling the fuel tank he watches the fuel gauge to tell how many gallons have been put in the tank the fuel tank holds 80 gallons the truck used 45 Gall of fuel between Los Angeles and Fresno while the truck is being service Carl will meet George the second driver of the truck more and more nuclear material is moved from one place to another within the United States each year year the responsibility for the Safety and Security of these nuclear material shipments rests with various US government agencies the energy research and development Administration era the nuclear Regulatory Commission NRC and of course the Department of Defense era which this film is all about and the NRC were formed in January 1975 when the old atomic energy commission was reorganized era is responsible for government-owned special nuclear material in quantities which have potential weapon applications the events of the past several years civil unrest hijackings bombings and other terrorist activities both worldwide and here in the United States have increased the concern for the security of nuclear material shipments the system that has come out of all this is a good one and is considered effective enough to cover almost all contingencies the program does recognize however that an aggressor force that is well enough motivated manned and equipped can challenge even the best planned system because of this era has asked for the help of state law enforcement agencies across the country as a kind of first line of defense in emergency situations to understand what may be requested of you in an emergency some background on the her organization program equipment and tactics is necessary because of the amount of material moved and many years of experience in weapons transport the Albuquerque operations office was selected as the organization responsible for all aspects of the transportation of strategic quantities of government-owned special nuclear material these or larger amounts of material alone or in combination are considered strategic quantities and must be moved within the era single manager system to to give you an idea of how much material is involved 2 kg 4 and 1/2 lb of plutonium would be about the size of a pack of cigarettes for safety protection it is of course packaged in a much larger container the transportation safeguards division a part of the Albuquerque operations office has the primary responsibility for both transportation and protection of special nuclear material the technical support P Branch provides electronic system engineering support and staffs and operates seccom a nationwide highfrequency radio system which provides for constant Communications with shipments throughout the country this Branch also provides liazon with state law enforcement agencies the shipment planning Branch coordinates all movements requests for movement of material are Consolidated the means of transportation is determined and the requirement is passed on to the safeguards branch this Branch handles the actual movement of the special nuclear material its responsibilities also include the administration and training of the era corer Force which accompanies all shipments of special nuclear material which fall within the Strategic quantities category Courier forces are stationed at several locations across the country the atmx cars were designed specifically Al for the movement of special nuclear material they are very heavy have a low center of gravity double locking couplers and inwardly sloping ends to reduce car damage in the event of a collision and to prevent the propagation of an exposion from one car to the next these features combined with the maximum 35 mph speed makes it almost inconceivable that they would be involved in an accident of sufficient Force to rupture the car and expose the material the escort coaches which accompany the train are fully self-contained with sleeping quarters kitchen facilities and extensive Communications equipment the car is armored to help protect the crew and equipment in the event of an attack Vans of this type called honies are used to transport small quantities of material that do not fit into the Strategic quantities category occasionally because of classification or sensitivity courier service is required on these shipments also by far the most common method of moving strategic quantities of special nuclear material is The Courier escorted tractor trailer rig ero owns a large Fleet of these tractor trailers the tractors are armored and equipped with Communications gear the trailer resembles a large standard Freight trailer on the outside inside it is practically a rolling Vault the inner compartment where the cargo is stowed provides protection to the shipment in an accident and protection from an overt attack as well a typical Convoy consists of the tractor trailer and one or more escorting Vehicles each vehicle is manned by three couriers the escort can be either a carry all or a tactical escort vehicle the Tactical escort vehicle uses a typical recreational vehicle body it is armored and equipped with Communications gear weapons ammunition sleeping quarters and cooking facilities both vehicles are relatively low profile equipment in each of the Convoy Vehicles includes HF radio gear for digital and voice Communications with ccom via the relay sites the HF gear for communications within the Convoy portable radios and pagers for use when Courier personnel are away from their vehicles at fueling or food stops each Courier has his own 357 Magnum sidearm and the vehicles are stocked with M16 rifles 12 gauge shotguns and 40 mm grenade launchers other equipment includes radiation detection instruments foul weather gear gas masks ER Courier drivers are well trained and must continue to demonstrate driving proficiency throughout their career unsafe or illegal driving is not tolerated if the tractor driver is stopped by a law enforcement officer for any reason a unique problem is raised since the tractor is armored the couriers have been instructed not to open the cab door until they are absolutely sure that security can be maintained to handle this situation The Courier will display his picture identification card at the window and repeat the following message over the vehicle's public address system I'm a Federal Officer with the energy research and development Administration in custody of sensitive material I'm not permitted to open the door of this vehicle I will remain stopped while you contact my supervisor and the escort vehicle to the rear the escort Vehicles operate close enough to the tractor trailer to be on the scene by the time the truck is stopped when the supervisor has identified the officer the couriers and the truck will Dismount if necessary ER couriers are extensively trained and must meet High medical Fitness standards including mental and emotional stability for annual certification under a human reliability program each Courier must pass the era driver school for all types of vehicles he must qualify quarterly with his personal sidearm and other assigned weapons cers are authorized by the atomic energy act to carry firearms including automatic weapons in the normal pursuit of their jobs Nationwide basic Courier training is a six- weeks course which is followed by a year of on the- job training then two weeks of Advanced Training with this as a background let's look at situations that could require your help in the first instance if Communications with the Convoy is lost or if a convoy does not report in at a specified time the State Police in the area would be asked to begin a search for the missing Vehicles while in most cases this is not a true emergency it must be treated as if it were until proved otherwise in the event of a genuine emergency such as an armed attack on the Convoy the following actions would take place one of the couriers would activate the emergency switch on the control panel the digital message would be transmitted via relay to seccom control center in Albuquerque seccom control will react to the emergency message by notifying era management and calling the predetermined state law enforcement agency in the state where the shipment is located the FBI and other government agencies would then be notified basically ER is requesting state law enforcement agencies to provide assistance from available forces in seven categories which do not require special training in or equipment however if the particular state has specially trained forces such as SWAT or tact teams special weapons or equipment such as all-purpose vehicles or aircraft their use in such an emergency may be requested the first officer on the scene should join with one of the couriers to establish a joint command post this will enhance friend fo identification ccom control will keep an open telephone line to State headquarters the officer at the scene will be given a handy talkie radio so that he will have communications with other couriers on the scene and he will also have radio communications via his car radio with his own headquarters the second area of assistance would be to set up roadblocks around the emergency site to contain the attackers and prevent innocent bystanders from becoming involved in a possible shooting situation third ER requests that the onse state officer direct the deployment and activities of any other law enforcement Personnel including sheriffs and City police as they arrive on the scene fourth the officers on the scene may be asked to provide additional Firepower at the request of The Courier in charge fifth the officer at the scene should request medical assistance when and as necessary and sixth help secure the area until the Convoy is regrouped and ready to travel if the special nuclear material is lost to the attackers the FBI has responsibility and assumes control of the recovery operation you may also be asked to assist them in their operations among the other resources the FBI has available in a situation of this type is er's Nest or nuclear emergency surch team Nest teams have equipment which can locate nuclear material the situations which have been suggested here have not happened not yet anyway but they could and if they do the terrorist group trying to grab nuclear material will be well prepared and deadly serious the organizations which respond to a threat of this kind must be equally serious and determined if we are to prevent nuclear blackmail or large scale loss of life and property as members of a state law enforcement agency you have significant roles to play in helping to maintain control of special nuclear material your quick response in an emergency can materially reduce the threats of radical and dissident groups for