Religion Today: Cheyenne Mountain
Religion Today: Cheyenne Mountain – By Richard Lewis
In the mountains of Colorado there is a special Government facility not far from Colorado Springs known as Cheyenne Mountain. This large underground complex was built during the Cold War era. The usage of this huge underground complex has varied over the years but its current role is to give military communications equipment a safe environment in the event of an electromagnetic pulse attack (EMP). During the COVID-19 pandemic it has been reactivated as the backup facility for NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command). Personnel stationed there live in isolation to prevent them from picking up the virus.
SEE OTHE RECENT DEVOTIONALS BY RICHARD LEWIS:
Religion Today: A Wallet in the Sea – A Picture of the Depths of God’s Love
Religion Today: What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world
Religion Today: The Scars on His Hands
While most civilian electronics would be destroyed in an EMP attack, the 2000 feet of insulating granite at Cheyenne Mountain forms a natural barrier. One of its most impressive features are a set of 3 foot thick, 25-ton blast doors that could seal off the complex, in the event of an attack. During the Cold War the doors would open one at a time to admit workers, so the doors formed an air lock chamber. Both doors were closed only one time – On 9/11.
The protection does not end with EMP or a nuclear attack. Filters in the facility would protect its equipment and occupants against nuclear fallout or a biological or chemical warfare attack. The 15 two- and three-story buildings that make up this underground city are mounted on 1,300 giant springs so they can absorb the earth’s movement in the event of an earthquake, bomb or missile attack.
Recently Sue and I went to a movie theater. These date night movies have become less and less frequent as there are so few movies being made that we would want to see. As we watched the previews of coming attractions there were several words that came to my mind: Dark, Evil, Satanic and Violent. There were not any of these upcoming attractions that we would be interested in seeing at all!
I think in these times of Evil, we need a place where our spirit can go and be at peace. We need a place of refuge for our hearts and minds. It is a place that needs to have doors of steel to protect our minds from the onslaught of negativity that bombards us. It must be a place where the evil is filtered out and are minds are renewed. It must be a place where the giant suspension springs allow us to stand stable and strong even if the ground below shakes violently.
In God, we find such a place:
Psalm 19:14 “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 27:5 “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.”
Psalm 62:5-6 “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”
More information on Cheyenne Mountain:
https://apnews.com/article/37e32892f43c41ef98bcc2991b52756d
https://www.norad.mil/About-NORAD/Cheyenne-Mountain-Air-Force-Station/
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a32380097/norad-cheyenne-mountain-fortress/
Richard Lewis is a graduate of Arizona State University (Advertising) and California Baptist University (Computer Information Systems). Richard and his wife Sue met while they served as staff members at Campus Crusade for Christ for 8 years in the 1970’s. Richard served in the Campus Ministry at University of Texas at El Paso, Louisiana Tech and at the International Headquarters in San Bernardino, California.
Following their ministry in Campus Crusade Richard was the owner and manager of a bicycle shop in Riverside California for 19 years. After retraining in the computer field at California Baptist University, Richard worked as a Information Systems contractor and employee at Boeing for 17 years.
Richard has written over 150 published articles in Information Systems and Computing publications including Windows Magazine and Windows Scripting Solutions. He has also served in a leadership role as a Deacon and Elder in several churches as well as being a meditation presenter and Men’s Ministry coordinator.
Richard has written hundreds of meditations and devotionals that have been used in church and small group meetings. Many of these have been published in The Upper Room and Racers For Christ publications and on their web sites.
In 2021, Richard published a collection of his devotionals. These are available in a Kindle and paperback format on Amazon (ISBN 979-8705738878) “Life Stories to Uplift and Encourage”.
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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.