This spirit of love, as simple as a spoken greeting and as profound as a changed heart, seems so full that it ceaselessly looks for ways to express its power. We respond to it best when we share it with family, friend or strangers — when we recognize that, under the sheltering evergreen branches of God’s love, all are family and no one is a stranger. When we do these things, when we visit the lonely or help those in need, when a family is reconciled, Christmas is real and present, and that is truly what makes it ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’” ~Ronald Reagan
Working to fulfill Ronald Reagan’s vision of defending the United States through Missile Defense!
July 28, 2020—Go Back to the Future with ASATs and Global Defenses
DoD is upgrading the Aegis BMD system’s SM-3 Block IIA interceptor, and its command, control system to intercept ICBMs. It’s about time since even the Block IB had this potential!!! So, we are reportedly taking the first step of the Heritage Foundation’s 1995 Team B Recommendations for a Global Defense. When, oh when, will we take the second and go to space?
June 30, 2020—Space Defense Potpourri . . .
“Blackjack, in summary, is turning the corner from our phase one exploration of what type of commercial technology we can use to leverage the entire military utility of P-LEO, hopefully disruptive approaches to constellations and network architectures, [and] space mesh networks of the future.” ~ DARPA Blackjack Project Manager Paul “Rusty” Thomas
June 19, 2020—Lake Wylie Pilot Study Status
“It is way past time to stop admiring this problem, and actually begin to do something concrete to protect our vulnerable electrical grid, control systems, and the ever-increasing array of electronic devices our society has become dependent upon.” ~Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee
May 19, 2020—Counter China’s Threat to the Grid!
“Government and public utility procurement rules often push organizations into buying equipment due to price and without regard to origin or risk. In this case, it resulted in a utility having to procure a very large bulk transmission transformer from China. When the Chinese transformer was delivered to a US utility, the site acceptance testing identified electronics that should NOT have been part of the transformer – hardware backdoors.” ~ Joe Weiss
May 12, 2020—What Goes Around Comes Around
“With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill. It should be VERY BIG & BOLD, Two Trillion Dollars, and be focused solely on jobs and rebuilding the once great infrastructure of our Country! Phase 4.” ~President Donald J. Trump
April 21, 2020—Fix the Grid in Phase 4!!!
Everything works — and will continue to work — as long as we have electricity. It’s what keeps the lights on, the oxygen flowing, the information going. Everything is the grid, the grid, the grid.” (Emphasis added) by Peggy Noonan, who once wrote speeches for President Ronald Reagan
March 25, 2020 — Assure Viable Grid Operations During COVID-19!
This message provides a direct link to a very important report, “Preserving Operational Continuity for Electric Utility Control Rooms During the COVID-19 Pandemic” from the Foundation of Resilient Societies on whose Board of Directors I serve.
March 17, 2020—COVID-19: Grid Vulnerabilities?
The source of COVID-19, without exaggeration, was in Wuhan, China, justifying some to refer to it as the Wuhan or China coronavirus, notwithstanding claims of some that such a label is racist. Moreover, we should be wary of the rapid pace at which COVID-19 may expand in the United States and the possibilities of unanticipated consequences.
February 11, 2020—Pompeo and Barr Warn: Growing Threat from China!
“The Chinese government has been methodical in the way it’s analyzed our system… it’s assessed our vulnerabilities and it’s decided to exploit our freedoms, to gain an advantage over us at the federal level, the state level and the local level. . . Competition with China is happening. It’s happening in your state. In fact, I’d be surprised if most of you in the audience had not been lobbied by the Chinese Communist Party directly.” ~ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
January 7, 2020—Changing Course in a Still Dangerous Iran
Politically charged reports of the attack that killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi Militia commander have largely ignored its response to important historical facts, last week’s Iranian attack that killed an American and wounded four soldiers and intelligence reports of pending threatened additional Iranian attacks on Americans. And hopefully that President Trump’s consequential decision has changed the dynamics in the Middle East in a positive way.
December 31, 2019—Taking Stock and 2020 Resolutions
Our 2019 New Year’s resolutions were to: 1) Complete our Lake Wylie Pilot Study and begin exporting its lessons for protecting the electric grid throughout South and North Carolina and report our progress to the rest of the nation; and 2) Press for a Brilliant Pebbles space based interceptor system to be included in President Trump’s Space Force. Status Report: Much Progress, but more to do!
It’s Been Five Years and #GivingTuesday
I am writing to you today, because today is Giving Tuesday. First, I want to share some history: Five years ago, during the Fall of 2014, I was brainstorming ways to influence public policy on the national security issues so important to High Frontier. Out of that brainstorming, the concept of the South Carolina National…
November 19, 2019—Lake Wylie Follow-on . . .
Lake Wylie, on the Catawba River that flows from North to South Carolina, hosts three Duke Energy electric power plants and Transmission Lines to pass electricity to York County Distribution Lines operated primarily by Rock Hill Utility and York County Co-operative companies to provide it to York County citizens. The Lake Wylie Pilot Study promises to protect local citizens and be followed by others in South and North Carolina and beyond.
November 11, 2019—Stop Muddling Through . . .
On the heels of Halloween, we saw the California fires finally wind down and a year-long silly season toward our next national election begin — while Washington’s leaders mostly ignore the existential EMP threat. And after Saturday’s 30th anniversary of the end of the Cold War when the Berlin Wall came down and the 244th birthday of the Marines, Veterans Day reminds us of all who have served and are serving to keep us safe and secure.
October 29, 2019—Press-On, Senator Johnson!
“We have known about the existential threat posed by electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) for decades. . . . It is way past time to stop admiring this problem, and actually begin to do something concrete to protect our vulnerable electrical grid, control systems, and the ever-increasing array of electronic devices our society has become dependent upon.” ~ Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI)
October 22, 2019—Get On with the EMP Executive Order!
“An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) has the potential to disrupt, degrade, and damage technology and critical infrastructure systems. Human-made or naturally occurring EMPs can affect large geographic areas, disrupting elements critical to the Nation’s security and economic prosperity, and could adversely affect global commerce and stability. The Federal Government must foster sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective approaches to improving the Nation’s resilience to the effects of EMPs.” Statement of Purpose of the March 26, 2019 Executive Order 13865 on Coordinating National Resilience to Electromagnetic Pulses.
October 15, 2019—Reykjavik Lessons for Today!
“Gorbachev said he could not do it. If they could agree to ban research in space, he would sign in two minutes. They should add to the text ‘The testing in space of all space components of missile defense is prohibited, except research and testing conducting in laboratories’ . . .” Authoritative Memcon from Reykjavik Summit, October 12, 1986
October 8, 2019—Lake Wylie Pilot Study Status
“Critical infrastructure keeps our food fresh, our houses warm, our trade flowing, and our citizens productive and safe. The vulnerability of U.S. critical infrastructure to cyber, physical and electromagnetic attacks means that adversaries could disrupt military command and control, banking and financial operations, the electrical grid and means of communication.” ~President Donald Trump, identifying the most serious existential threats to Americans in his Dec. 18, 2017 National Security Strategy statement
October 1, 2019—So, What’s New?
While congress goes on another recess without agreeing on appropriations to fund the government for the next fiscal year — again — and seeking feedback from the folks at home over their primary focus on impeaching President Trump — one more time, America’s geopolitical challenges grow.
September 17, 2019—Stumbling Toward Trump Objectives!
President Trump’s bold leadership includes: 1) His March 26, 2019 Executive Order on Coordinating National Resilience to Electromagnetic Threats, which is intended to direct the “powers that be” to provide a “whole of government” response to this existential threat; and 2) even years earlier his proposed Space Force. But these goals have been opposed by many within his administration and in Congress where we approaching a moment of truth.
September 10, 2019—Ignore the Erroneous EPRI EMP Report!
“Critical infrastructure keeps our food fresh, our houses warm, our trade flowing, and our citizens productive and safe. The vulnerability of U.S. critical infrastructure to cyber, physical and electromagnetic attacks means that adversaries could disrupt military command and control, banking and financial operations, the electrical grid and means of communication.” ~President Donald Trump, identifying the most serious existential threats to Americans in his Dec. 18, 2017 National Security Strategy statement
March 12, 2019—Lake Wylie Pilot Study Next Steps
Our Lake Wylie Pilot Study has matured to the point of taking next steps beyond Rock Hill and York County, especially in South Carolina and as soon as possible then into North Carolina. And our pattern can be extended to additional states.
March 5, 2019—On Reykjavik Delusions!
Many have compared when last week President Trump walked out of his Hanoi meeting with Kim Jong Un and when Ronald Reagan walked out of his October 1986 Reykjavik Summit with Mikhail Gorbachev, without indicating and understanding fundamental differences between the two important events.
February 26, 2019—Stay the Course, Mr. President
“To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.” ~Sir Winston Churchill
February 12, 2019—Win One for the Gipper!
“I believe it can be credibly argued that among President Reagan’s greatest acts of leadership was his commitment on March 23, 1983, to the Strategic Defense Initiative — SDI. . . He put it this way on the tenth anniversary of his SDI announcement: “It is as true today as it was ten years ago that this effort holds the promise of changing the course of human history, by freeing the world from the ominous threat of ballistic missile attack. Given the choice, shouldn’t we seek to save lives rather than avenge them?” ~ Former Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) . . . And it is still true today!
Last Week’s Washington Times Editorial & WSJ Letter to the Editor
Last week there were two public pieces written by High Frontier Chairman Henry Cooper, which we want to share with you: On February 6th “Leaving the INF and Getting Putin’s Attention” was co-authoried with Daniel Gallington, and in the Washington Times. On February 8th, “It’s Time to Reinvest in our Strategic Missile Defense” was a letter to the…
February 5, 2019—New Arms Control Sheriff!
Various recent articles reporting on President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty have claimed that his decision was in response to Russian violations in the past 6 or fewer years — grossly understating the period of Russian violations that actually began over a decade ago and were mostly ignored by the Obama administration.
January 29, 2019—Wake Up America!
High-altitude EMP (HEMP) attacks would produce no blast or other immediate effects harmful to humans, but would damage life sustaining electronics so that millions could die from its long-term collateral effects that black-out our national electric grid and other life-sustaining critical infrastructures. Such attacks are regarded by enemy military planners as a relatively easy, potentially un-attributable means of inflicting mass destruction and forcing opponents to capitulate.
January 22, 2019—Update 1989-90 Brilliant Pebbles Studies!
Brilliant Pebbles, the most important Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) concept from President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), entered a fully approved Concept Development and Validation (DemVal) program in 1990, anticipated to cost $20 billion (in today’s dollars) to begin deployment in space within five years and operate for 20 years. Current “powers that be” should make sure new studies take that definitive effort into account support President Trump’s Space Force initiative.
January 15, 2019—Lake Wylie Pilot Study Lessons
We plan to share lessons learned in our Lake Wylie Pilot Study throughout South and North Carolina and then to the rest of the nation. Yesterday’s discussions in Austin, Texas set the stage sharing those lessons outside the southeast; in this case outside the Eastern Interconnection of the Nation’s electric power grid. Since Texas has its own Interconnection, lessons learned in Texas will benefit the Eastern and Western Interconnections of the nation’s grid.
January 8, 2019—Brilliant Pebbles Is Affordable!
Brilliant Pebbles, the most important Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) concept developed by President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), was canceled by the Clinton Administration for ideological reasons and has been ignored ever since. If resurrected by President Trump’s Space Force and supported by Congress, it could begin deployment in space within five years and operate for 20 years for a total cost of $20 billion or less.
Newsmax – Are We Building Needed Boost Phase Interceptors?
Last August, I wrote that we can quickly adapt U.S. aircraft to intercept ballistic missiles early after they are launched, provided we have prepared to do so. My claims were pertinent because our intelligence community had recently acknowledged North Korea could have 60 nuclear weapons — and it had recently tested ballistic missiles that could reach Guam…
April 10, 2018—Oh My Darling, Clementine!
. . . Ruby lips above the water, Blowing bubbles soft and fine, But alas, I was no swimmer, So I lost my Clementine.
Oh my darling, Oh my darling, Oh my darling Clementine, You are lost and gone forever, Dreadful sorry Clementine.
March 27, 2018—Reagan was Right on Space Defense!
“Wouldn’t it be better to save lives than to avenge them?” ~President Ronald Reagan … March 23, 1983
35th Anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s SDI Speech!
To celebrate this incredibly important historic anniversary, High Frontier Chairman Henry F. Cooper participated in an hour-long interview with Frank Gaffney of Secure Freedom Radio. Cooper also participated in an anniversary panel at The Heritage Foundation. Please click through to hear both on this historic day!
March 20, 2018—One More Time for “The Gipper!”
“I didn’t take this job so that we could regain parity with our adversaries. As I’ve taken to saying: ‘I want to see their hand and raise them one. I want to make them worry about catching up with us again. . . Any American, any ally or partner that we have who doesn’t see it that way, I don’t have time for you.’” Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin
March 6, 2018—Thank you, Vladimir!
On March 1, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin favored us with some of his true views, consistent with his reported declaration over a decade ago, “The breakup of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century.” His bellicose claims of how Russia was now rectifying the failures of his predecessors remind me of Nikita Khrushchev’s 1956 claim that “Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury (or outlast) you. Hopefully, “Forewarned is forearmed!”
February 27, 2018—Publish EMP Commission Reports!
“I appreciate the urging that we not let our guard down … recognizing that this [threat] is complicated and multifaceted … truly daunting … and that we need to start out locally … It is important that we in congress be reminded of the urgency and imperative of our task and I think we were given that message this morning. ” Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK),Chairlady of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at the conclusion of the May 4, 2017 Hearing on EMP and policy options to protect the grid.
February 13, 2018—What EMP Strategy?
Protecting our critical civil infrastructure against EMP threats would play an important role in deterring such an attack, and the Pentagon’s failure even to mention that role in its Nuclear Posture Review illustrates a serious gap in our overall strategy and plans to protect the American People. And the problem is bigger than in the Pentagon. The President should take this issue on by an appropriate White House initiative.
January 30, 2018—A New Executive Order, Please!
Certain national infrastructures are so vital that their incapacity or destruction would have a debilitating impact on the defense or economic security of the United States. These critical infrastructures include telecommunications, electrical power systems, gas and oil storage and transportation, banking and finance, transportation, water supply systems, emergency services (including medical, police, fire, and rescue), and continuity of government. Threats to these critical infrastructures fall into two categories: physical threats to tangible property (‘‘physical threats’’), and threats of electronic, radio-frequency, or computer-based attacks on the information or communications components that control critical infrastructures (‘‘cyber threats’’). ~ Introduction to 1995 Executive Order Establishing the Critical Infrastructure Commission
January 23, 2018 – A South Carolina Update!
Monday morning, High Frontier Chairman Henry Cooper provided an update to a group of South Carolina citizen’s about the work High Frontier and it’s coalition partner Foundation for Resilient Societies have been working on to acquire cost estimates for securing the electric grid in the Carolina’s. We wanted to provide you the opportunity to listen to that presentation!
January 16, 2018—What a Week!
While considering the political theater of our leaders in the Washington “swamp” deciding by week’s end on whether for the 18th time since 1976 the congress “shuts down the government,” consider implications of two more events last week: 1) President Trump again kicked the can for another 120 days on deciding to end the terrible Iran Deal; and 2) The False Alarm in Hawaii that all should contemplate.
January 8, 2018—Our Undersea Achilles Heel
“In the most severe scenario of an all-out attack upon undersea cable infrastructure by a hostile actor the impact of connectivity loss is potentially catastrophic, but even relatively limited sabotage has the potential to cause significant economic disruption and damage.” ~ Former NATO Commander, Retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis
January 1, 2018—Whither 2018?
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” ~ John Wesley
I Gotta Be Honest . . . .
This is an e-mail that went out on New Years Eve to those on High Frontier’s e-mail distribution.
December 19, 2017—Vulnerable Undersea Cables?
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Great Britain’s most senior military officer, warns of a new threat to undersea communications and internet cables. He said NATO is protecting the cables “in response to the threat posed by the modernization of the Russian navy, both nuclear and conventional submarines and ships.” And that’s an understatement!
December 5, 2017—A fork in the road!
“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there . . . When you come to a fork in the road, take it!” Yogi Berra
November 28, 2017—Boost Phase Intercept, Now!
“INITIAL OPERATIONAL DEPLOYMENT.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that an effective interim kinetic or directed energy boost phase ballistic missile defense capability is available for initial operational deployment as soon as practicable.” Section 1685, National Defense Authorization Act for 2018
November 21, 2017—NDAA 2018: Back to the Future?
“If consistent with the direction or recommendations of the Ballistic Missile Defense Review that commenced in 2017, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency shall develop a space-based ballistic missile intercept layer to the ballistic missile defense system that is—regionally focused; (2) capable of providing boost-phase defense; and (3) achieves an operational capability at the earliest practicable date.” Section 1688, National Defense Authorization Act or 2018
November 14, 2017—End of the Road for the EMP Commission?
“(i) Repeal — Title XIV of Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106–398) is repealed.” ~ Page 1293, Final words of Subtitle F—Other Matters SEC. 1691. COMMISSION TO ASSESS THE THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES FROM ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE ATTACKS AND SIMILAR EVENTS; National Defense Authorization Act per the NDAA 2018 Conference Committee
October 31, 2017—A Mighty Fortress!
“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.” Psalm 46: 10-11 KJV
August 2, 2016—Demand Cost-Effective Defenses and Stay the Course This Time!
“There is no upper bound to the cost of a program the sponsor doesn’t want to do and doesn’t know how to do.” ~ Dr. William R Graham, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Ronald Reagan
January 1, 2021—Finally, Happy New Year!
We wish all a Happy New Year in 2021, as we complete this Holiday Season of what has been a very challenging year, with COVID-19 that began in China year ago and has taken so many lives. The continuing “social distancing” that overlayed the rigors of a national election still accompanies unsettled but needed outcomes….
December 08, 2020—Lake Wylie Pilot Study Video
“It is way past time to stop admiring this problem, and actually begin to do something concrete to protect our vulnerable electrical grid, control systems, and the ever-increasing array of electronic devices our society has become dependent upon.” ~ Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Click…
December 1, 2020—Global Defense: First from the Sea, then from Space!
On November 17, 2020, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) conducted a potentially very consequential test of the Navy’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) capability — hopefully indicating a major step toward realizing this vision of the George H.W. Bush administration and 1995 Heritage Foundation’s Team B.
November 24, 2020—Come, Ye Thankful People
We should learn from the hardships and associated lessons-learned by the Pilgrims, which provide the foundation of America’s free-market system — so that we don’t repeat their initial missteps. We should recommit ourselves to keeping this land free and prosperous for those who follow us.
November 17, 2020—Mayflower Compact Legacy
We should learn from the hardships and associated lessons-learned by the Pilgrims, which provide the foundation of America’s free-market system — so that we don’t repeat their initial missteps. We should recommit ourselves to keeping this land free and prosperous for those who follow us.
November 10, 2020—Heroes of Yesteryear . . . and Today!
Today, we celebrate the 245th birthday of the Marines: The Few, the Proud! And tomorrow, we honor all who have served, in all branches of our military forces.
November 3, 2020—Blue Moon and a Time for Choosing
For the first time in 76 years, a second October world-wide full moon occurred on Halloween — All Hallows Eve; this time essentially on the eve of today’s national election. That 1944 “Blue Moon” (the second such full moon in a single month) occurred in the year that included D-Day (June 6, 1944), before Donald Trump was born, while Joe Biden was an infant and our “greatest generation” was winning World War II.
October 27, 2020—Whither North Korea?
North Korea continues to produce nuclear material and, between May 2019 and late March 2020, conducted multiple short-range ballistic missile tests in violation of United Nations Security Council prohibitions. And Kim Jong Un rolled out a new major intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM) during an October 10, 2020 nighttime parade in Pyongyang.
October 20, 2020—Soldier Down: General Shy Meyer, Rest in Peace
Retired Army General Edward C. Meyer, former Army Chief of Staff (1979-83), died last week in Arlington, Virginia at the age of 91. I understand his prep-school colleagues called him “Shy,” a nickname that stuck; but he was anything but shy.