Safeguard was a direct descendent of the earlier Sentinel ABM system. Sentinel was to have
been widely deployed to protect major population centers, but its ultimate implementation as Safeguard
changed its goal to a more limited defense of the Minuteman ICBM retaliatory capability.
The only operational Safeguard complex was named for Lieutenant General Stanley Raymond Mickelsen,
former commanding general (1952-1957) of the U.S. Army Air Defense Command.
He is recognized as a visionary leader who
brought the army's air defense artillery from the era of guns into the age of missiles.
Initial operational capability (IOC) was achieved shortly after the scheduled date of
1 April 1975, with a less-than-full complement of defensive missiles installed in their launch
cells and 24x7 system operation underway. Full operational status with a total of 30 Spartan
and 70 Sprint missiles was achieved on 1 October 1975. (The 1972 SALT I ABM treaty with the
Soviet Union limited each country to 100 ABM launchers.)
Even though it represented the fruition of two decades of missile defense research
and development (
chart), Congress voted on 2 October 1975
to deactivate the system. Ironically, this vote occurred one day after the site
had achieved full operational status. Tactical operation was terminated in November 1975, approximately
eight months after reaching IOC. De-commissioning officially began on 10 February 1976.
The performance of the system during its limited period of operation
is summed up in
A History of
Engineering and Science in the Bell System; National Service in War and Peace:
The performance of the tactical Safeguard system installed at Grand Forks showed amazing reliability
for such a complex system. Starting in April 1975 when the system became operational and continuing through
November 1975, the system was in service 7 days a week and 24 hours a day, except for short periods of
planned shutdown for modifications in capability. During this period the system was under Army control with
routine maintenance carried out by Western Electric personnel. The system availability figure for this
period was over 99.5 percent, which was determined by simulated inputs to test the operational capability.
The only part of the original installation still in use is the Perimeter Acquisition Radar (PAR) which the
U.S. Air Force operates as part of its space track and early warning system.
The inactivated Safeguard facilities have been de-commissioned (all tactical systems removed) and are
maintained in caretaker status by the U.S. Army Space and
Missile Defense Command (SMDC).
Additional introductory information:
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These links are available back on the main "Introduction" page:
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The System Overview section explains how the system accomplished its mission.
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The Maps section provides component locations in North Dakota.
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The Engagement Walkthrough section illustrates a simplified Safeguard engagement.
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The following excerpts from the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documents about the SRMSC provide
extensive and detailed introductory information:
