The Miles City Air Force Radar Station

In the years following the Korean War, tensions heightened between the United States and Soviet Union. To prevent a surprise communist attack, the US Air Force established a network of radar stations to protect American air space. Using the most sophisticated radar technology available, dedicated airmen manned the stations in some of the most isolated places in the country. The Miles City Air Force Station was one of six radar stations in Montana. Established in 1954, it was the home of the 902nd AC&W (Aircraft Warning and Control) Squadron. Located in the badlands near Miles City, the station played an important role during the Cold War. The complex’s three radar domes tracked both friendly and enemy aircraft with the military’s most modern equipment. The station was a self-contained community with administrative and support facilities as well as communications, recreational, supply buildings, and quarters for single and married airmen. Nature constantly intruded on the station with hot summers, brutally cold winters, rattlesnakes, and an abundance of Black Widow spiders. Despite that, the 902nd efficiently carried out its mission until the Air Force changed its priorities and closed the station in 1968.