The Care and Feeding of Nuclear Weapons

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Okay, so...assuming that during TDM, at least some of the nuclear weapons (I'm thinking about missiles, specifically) didn't get destroyed, who is on station maintaining them? "Hydrogen" bombs specifically need periodic maintenance. The plasma medium in the warheads is (drumroll please) beaded polystyrene (the same stuff that your throwaway cooler is made out of, the same thing your computer comes packed in, etc.) and exposure to the alpha rays inside a warhead shroud eventually turns it into a non-viable tarry goo. That's just one thing that can go "fizzle" (instead of Fissile...on the missile...HA).

Also, what is SIOP after TDM? Who has NCA? The "Football" has already been kicked, so who is out there with orders to any AF bases still operational, and still armed? Or boomers? I mean, with most of DEW and virtually ALL EW satellites out of commission it's not like they'd be able to go to LOW.

At the same time, the airmen in the silos...at what point do they/would they "come out"? What were their standing orders once the birds flew and communication from NMCCs went dead?