
Former Soviet officer who trusted his gut – averted a global nuclear catastrophe - pseudolus
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/09/18/the-former-soviet-officer-who-trusted-his-gut-and-averted-a-global-nuclear-catastrophe/
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siedes
>"His decision was based largely on a guess, he said, but he did have doubts
about the accuracy of the computer warnings. First, why just five missiles? A
country seeking to start a nuclear war would’ve fired more, he told The Post.
Second, the ground-based radar installations, which detected missiles, showed
no evidence of an attack."

It's wonderful that someone like him was in that position, who could look at
what was in front of him so that he could make make that ultimate gut
decision. Thank God.

But this also brings up a fear in me, the next man or woman in his position
may not be as rational and calm-headed. Instead of second guessing it, they
may respond appropriately to what they believe is the enemy's nuclear launch,
fully trusting the technologies in front of them. Or maybe they have too
little trust in the technology, and then they don't act at all, and they'll be
screwed if there really was an attack.

Really makes you think about what kind of person is qualified to be in that
position and the training it takes. How does someone get a job in that
position? How do they make sure that they aren't going to be someone with a
loose screw somewhere? Imagine being the guy who has to choose someone for
this position. Imagine being the one who gets chosen. I would shit bricks
either way.

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pseudolus
Another individual credited with "saving the world" is Vasili Arkhipov who,
during the Cuban Missile crisis, refused to authorize the use of nuclear
torpedoes against US naval vessels [0]. Apparently, unanimous consent was
required from three officers and he was the only one who dissented.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov)

