Golden Gate National Recreation Area (NRA) 的Nike飛彈發射台，其實就在之前去過的Marin Headlands那兒，只是上次錯過了他們的展示而得再花時間來造訪。當天是因為剛參觀完Eugene O'Neill NHS而繞回來的。
Nike Missile Site開放的時間很討厭，只有週三到週五中午12:30到下午3:30。這種爛時間，基本上一般人是根本沒有辦法來參觀的嘛。不過，好在他們每個月的第一個週六12:30-3:30pm也會開放，而且還會找退役軍人來做導遊。
Golden Gate NRA's Nike Missile Site is located in Marin Headlands area. On our last visit, we were unable to make the tours, so I came back on a different trip, where I stopped by after visiting the Eugene O'Neill NHS. The Nike Missile Site has one of the most bizarre, if not borderline unreasonable hours of operation, which are Wednesday to Friday from 12:30pm-3:30pm, which makes regular visiting virtually impossible. Luckily, the first Saturday of each month, it is also open, from 12:30pm to 3:30pm, and tours are led by retired veterans.
GGNRA的Nike飛彈台，是在1954建好的，在美國與蘇聯兩大國際強權的冷戰期間，用來防衛灣區可能被受到的空襲，像是俄國的轟炸機。最早期的飛彈型號為Nike Ajax，飛彈裡的火藥為傳統的武器。但在1958年，這兒的飛彈發射台經過改良後，可安裝Nike Hercules飛彈。這些飛彈的彈頭為核彈頭，破壞力遠比Nike Ajax還要高。在必要的局面，是可以被迫使用的。當時我問導遊，將核武器直接射在灣區上方，不會殃及自己人民？他的回答很簡單：「為了阻止敵人造成更大的損害，這點犧牲他們願意接受。」
不過，這些飛彈，畢竟是在視線距離範圍之內操作的地對空飛彈。當二戰過後，超音速飛機設計越來越成熟和穩定之後，Nike飛彈防禦系統已顯過時。再者，當長射程的洲際彈道飛彈(Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)) 被發展之後，這些Nike飛彈也慢慢被看成是落伍的科技，在1970年代，紛紛開始退役。今天這兒早已經沒有當時的飛彈，而是都被運到別州的「密秘基地」存放著。來參觀的遊客，只能看到飛彈的空殼。而有關更美國更先進的彈道飛彈，National Park Service在South Dakota有個紀念處，叫Minuteman Missile National Historic Site，是網友GG後來有去走訪過的。
Built around 1954, the Nike Missile sites were simply put, products of the Cold War. More specifically, the Nike Missiles were anti-aircraft missiles targeted towards the likes of Soviet bombers. The first generation of missiles to be installed here were the Nike Ajax missile, with conventional warheads. As nuclear weapons were becoming more prevalent, in 1958, the missile sites here were modified to fit the newer Nike Hercules model, which allowed nuclear warheads. When I asked the retired veteran about consequences of firing a nuclear weapon on top of the skies of San Francisco, he simply replied that, "it was a necessary risk and consequence the military was ready to take." Easy for them to say huh?
However, as supersonic fighter jets and long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) were being developed, these line-of-sight controlled missiles were soon rendered obsolete. In the 1970s, they started to be decommissioned. Today, obviously the weapons have been moved to someplace safe where the missiles are stored. What visitors can see here today are just the outer casings of the Nike Missiles.
在這兒得特別說明一下Nike飛彈名字的由來。它是來自於希臘神話，而Nike是勝利的女神。後來知名運動品牌Nike，選擇這個名字，也是同一個典故。不過Nike運動品牌，則是1972才改名的，足足比這些Nike飛彈晚了近二十年之久。現場的解說員也會不忘嘲諷一下。
It should be pointed out that the name Nike comes from the Greek goddess of victory. The international sports brand Nike also gets its name from the same origin. Although, the Nike sports corporation did not official change their name to Nike until 1972, which was close to 20 years after these missile sites. Ranger and guides will no doubt comment on this and strike up a little sarcasm here on how (sadly) the athletic shoe is the first thing that comes to people's mind when seeing the word.
The missile launch pad is located on a platform that goes underground. When the missiles are stored away, they are actually quite well-hidden even to the naked bird's eye view.
來參觀的遊客，可以被帶領到平台上，坐著升降梯到下面，並一窺下面當時的設備於擺設。不用說，有那麼重要的武器，因此當時這兒的戒備和管制是非常森嚴的。聽說，有人當時因為板手掉到地上，而沒有安照該有的程序報備處理，就直接蹲下去撿，結果就立刻被一旁的警衛打死了！
今天來到Marin Headlands這兒賞美景的同時，也別忘了當初冷戰時期這兒國勢的緊繃情緒，以及軍方貫徹執行的軍紀。
Visitors can be brought to the platform and ride the elevator down to the lower level, where you can see the control stations at the time. This place being an important military site, the security was insanely tight. The guide was telling us that in order to make sure there were no unexpected suspicious activity from any member of the crew, things were very tightly monitored and controlled. There was even an instance of a repair crewman being shot to death by a security guard because of him failing to follow the standard procedure when dropping a tool like a wrench. Today when you visit the Marin Headlands area for the breathtaking scenes, try to imagine the high tensions the nation was in at the time.
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