AN/URC-117 Ground Wave Emergency Network

Specifically, the GWEN network was intended to survive the effects of an electromagnetic pulse from a high-altitude nuclear explosion and ensure that the United States President or their survivors could issue a launch order to Strategic Air Command bombers by radio.

[4] Each GWEN Relay Node site featured a longwave transmitting tower, generally between 290 and 299 feet (88 and 91 m) tall, and emitting an RF output of between 2,000 and 3,000 watts.

[5] The United States Coast Guard later outfitted a number of former GWEN sites to house the Nationwide Differential GPS system.

The GWEN communication system, established in the late 1980s, was designed to transmit critical Emergency Action Messages (EAM) to United States nuclear forces.

With GWEN handling constant voice, teletype and other data traffic, it caused interference to the power companies' diagnostic two kilohertz side carrier tone.

The groups believed that the presence of a GWEN node would increase the community's "strategic worth" in the eyes of the Soviet Union and thus invite attack.

Responding to these groups, the Air Force repeatedly downplayed the importance of the towers, stating they were not worth that kind of attention by the Soviet Union.

A few months later, the United States Air Force announced that they would terminate the construction contract to build the remaining 25 towers, except for the money used to dismantle the system.