Mountain Home High School’s NJROTC cadets visited the National Cold War Center at the former Blytheville Air Force Base on Oct. 21, where they stood on the alert pad once used by B-52 bombers. The visit, hosted by the center’s director, offered cadets an in-depth look at the pivotal role the base played during the Cold War.
The cadets toured exhibits detailing the base’s history, viewed several retired military aircraft, and walked through the alert dormitory where bomber and tanker crews lived on immediate standby. “The Mountain Home NJROTC unit thanked the National Cold War Center’s director and staff for welcoming the cadets and sharing their knowledge of this important part of Arkansas and American history,” the program said in a release.
Blytheville Air Force Base, which originally opened in 1942 as Blytheville Army Airfield for World War II pilot training, became a Strategic Air Command base in the 1950s. For nearly 30 years, it was home to B-52 bombers and KC-135 tankers, serving as a key component of the U.S. nuclear deterrence efforts during pivotal moments, including the Cuban Missile Crisis. Renamed Eaker Air Force Base in 1988, the site was closed in 1992.
Today, the National Cold War Center preserves the legacy of the base, which remains unique among Strategic Air Command facilities for retaining its intact alert center. The base, including the alert facility and bomber pad, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The first exhibit opened in 2020, and in 2023 the center was designated as the federal museum of the Cold War.
Dr. Christian Ostermann, a historian formerly with the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., has served as the center’s executive director since June. The center is currently raising funds for a full museum building.
The Blytheville trip was one of two military history outings for the Bomber Battalion within one week. On Oct. 28, the NJROTC cadets visited the Wings of Honor Museum at the former Walnut Ridge Army Air Field.
Since its founding in 2021 as an unfunded program of 73 students, the Mountain Home NJROTC has grown into one of the country’s top programs, earning recognition as the Most Outstanding Unit in Area 13, which includes Arkansas and parts of five additional states. The program is led by Senior Naval Science Instructor Lt. Cmdr. Allan Hale and Chief Jason Williams.