The facility was known by many different names: 8th Air Force Combat Operations Center (COC), "The Notch", and "Westover Communications Annex" since it was related to nearby Westover Air Force Base, and nicknamed The Bunker.

The facility was located inside Bare Mountain, off Route 116, and was nicknamed "The Notch", after the adjacent pass.

The underground facility, built into the side of Bare Mountain, was hardened to protect it from the effects of a nearby nuclear blast and designed so that the senior military staff could facilitate further military operations.

After the U.S. Air Force abandoned the site in 1970, the Federal Reserve took over and used it as a secure storage facility for their records.

Allegedly they stored large sums of money there as well, to be used to restart the economy after a nuclear war.