# Fort Knox Q
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 29, 2007, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934 "2007-01-29T05:24:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/1 "2007-01-29T05:24:36Z")
From Wikipedia:
To open the vault at [Fort Knox](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bullion_Depository)
> [@](#):
>
> Various members of the Depository staff must dial separate combinations known only by them.
What if one were to die?
An odd question, I know.. But curiosity and boredom have hit me hard this evening.
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### Author:  [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/2 "2007-01-29T05:59:17Z")
Perhaps if one of them dies, his/her piece of the combination gets passed to the next in line? Just a WAG.
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### Author:  [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/3 "2007-01-29T06:15:09Z")
From the Wiki article that was cited:
> [@](#):
>
> It is currently believed by better informed Americans that the gold has been stolen by the secret, private bankers who make up the Federal Reserve. This is mostly unknown to the masses of the American people, since the majority of U.S. citizens wrongly believe the Federal Reserve is owned and operated by the U.S. Government. Once, U.S. Representative Ron Paul (L-Texas), called for an audit of the gold at Fort Knox, but it was voted down by his colleagues who were sitting on the U.S. Gold Commission. Current “audits” are false, incomplete and misleading. Members of the U.S. Gold Commission have still not seen nor physically audited the complete contents of the Fort Knox Bullion Depository. The American, big, corporate, mass media stands silent or completely misrepresents “audits” of the gold in Fort Knox. Some Americans, however, have learned from insiders that the gold was stolen by the elite, globalist bankers, who make up the Federal Reserve and currently print U.S. Dollars “out of thin air”. Even The History Channel has been duped. The respected television channel aired a false report of gold bars being “audited”. This was a staged event, held entirely for the benefit of fooling the American people. There is no gold left in the Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. If there was, there would be no other reason why the current politicians would be so against performing an audit.
Huh?
Now I know that Wiki is a good source but not an infallible source but how does something like this remain there?
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/4 "2007-01-29T06:29:20Z")
[QUOTE=clayton\_e]
What if one were to die?
[/QUOTE]
Each member of the Vault Combination Team has their combination laser-inscribed on a titanium plate (to prevent tampering) which is stored in a separate Combination Vault. The key to that vault is worn on a necklace by the U.S. Bullion Depository Watch Commander (there’s one for each shift, meaning three people possess the combination to the combination vault at any given time.)
If a combination must be retrieved, the Watch Commander uses his key to open the combination vault and retrieve the correct titanium plate.
However, this alone would give the Watch Commander the power to open the main vault by retrieving all three titanium plates. Thus, each plate is bolted into the vault and a separate key is required to remove each one. There are actually four plates; one is a dummy with a false combination.
The keys to unlock the titanium plates from the Combination Vault are given to the Commanding Officer of the U.S. Army First Armored Division, which is headquartered at Fort Knox. He provides the correct key to the Watch Commander to remove the needed titanium plate, and only he knows which one is the fake one.
In case a member of the Vault Combination Team dies and either the Watch Commander _or_ the CO of the First Armored Division _also_ dies, then the Secretary of the Treasury can authorize the release of four identical titanium plates containing the three combinations and one fake one from the New York Federal Reserve Bank vault 80 feet underneath Liberty Street in Manhattan.
The backup plates are then flown to Fort Knox by the U.S. Air Force 42nd Bullion Security Wing where a pre-ordained exchange procedure is executed. To confirm that the security staff at Fort Knox has not been infiltrated, a series of pass-phrases are exchanged between the Treasury officials, the 1st Armored, and the 42nd Bullion Security.
In the event that the 42nd is unable to travel to Fort Knox, or in the event that the New York Fed vault _also_ can’t be opened for some reason, the President can issue an Executive Order pursuant to the National Security Act of 1947 authorizing the U.S. Secret Service Office of Rare and Precious Metals to crack the safe.
However, in order to protect against a sophisticated scheme whereby enemies or thieves with forged credentials show up at the Bullion Depository claiming to be Secret Service agents, no command transfer protocol between the two agencies has ever been authorized. Instead, the Secret Service agents sneak into the vault through a secret tunnel entrance that only they know about, and proceed to dismantle the lock _from the inside out_. This process involves a super-secret high-powered adamantium-tipped drill which can cut through diamond.
Also, I made all of that up.
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### Author:  [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/5 "2007-01-29T06:52:54Z")
damn…hook, line, AND sinker!
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/6 "2007-01-29T06:55:13Z")
The titanium theory above is pretty attractive, but the probable truth is just plain mundane. Prior to my retirement from the military back in 2000, the way the combinations were safeguarded was pretty simple. The combination for one safe was placed in a sealed envelope and the envelope was stored in another safe in the command.
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### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/7 "2007-01-29T07:01:08Z")
To be on the safe side, each person on the Combination Team is given a cat and told to give it a name and be sure to tell other people at work the name too.
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### Author:  [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/8 "2007-01-29T07:13:30Z")
Watch alot of Bond movies, **friedo**? Got me hook, line, and sinker, (maybe even rod and reel) too; minus the last paragraph.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/9 "2007-01-29T07:17:41Z")
[QUOTE=Pygmy Rugger]
Watch alot of Bond movies, **friedo**? Got me hook, line, and sinker, (maybe even rod and reel) too; minus the last paragraph.
[/QUOTE]
Last paragraph, eh. 😃 I was trying to make it more and more absurd as it went along.
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### Author:  [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/10 "2007-01-29T07:27:01Z")
[QUOTE=Spartydog]
From the Wiki article that was cited:
Huh?
Now I know that Wiki is a good source but not an infallible source but how does something like this remain there?
[/QUOTE]
It doesn’t. Gone in less than an hour.
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### Author:  [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/11 "2007-01-29T07:34:43Z")
**friedo**
ROFLMAO !!! 😃
Gee, you’ve got an incredible imagination there - and one Hell of a writing talent. It was written with such skill it almost seemed believable!!! (I was convinced it was!) Still, I was going to post that Spartydog’s cited Wikipedia article was more believable, but darn your last sentence put an end to that.
Hey, if Wikipedia still has that crap on it, maybe it would be worthwhile for someone to post your take on things, thereby reassuring the American Public that their gold is safe and sound. 😃
Great posting. 😃
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/12 "2007-01-29T19:39:05Z")
It is possible to design a system of locks such that m out of n combinations will suffice. For instance, there might be ten people, each with a combination only e knows, but 7 combinations would be enough to open the vault. So up to three people could die at once, and the gold would still be accessible. Presumably, those 7 people would also be able to reset the missing three combos.
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/13 "2007-01-29T20:04:28Z")
**friedo** , you bastard! That was awesome.
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/14 "2007-01-29T21:17:54Z")
**friedo** , it was believable enough that at some point in the future I’m probably going to remember just enough of that post to pass it on to someone as “ya know, I once read about Ft. Knox…”
Maybe Snopes should use it in place of their Mr. Ed is a Zebra topic, since everyone’s savvy to that one now.
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### Author:  [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/15 "2007-01-29T21:47:28Z")
I too, gotta say great post **freido**! Looking back on it, there were several things that should have tipped me off (U.S. Air Force 42nd Bullion Security Wing?).
Had me completely until the last paragraph as well.
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### Author:  [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/16 "2007-01-29T21:56:39Z")
good job **freido**
I would think that back up plans to get into the vault are probably in place but they do not need to be quick solutions. I doubt the US government ever needs emergancy access to the vault. Despite all our national debt pretty much anyone we would need to give gold, can trust us for an extra week to get it to them if truly needed.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/17 "2007-01-29T23:09:50Z")
**freido** you ruined it. I was all fired up to say that the 1st Armored Division was based out of Germany and not Fort Knox but now I can’t.
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### Author:  [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/18 "2007-01-29T23:31:01Z")
Very nice, **friedo**. Had me until the last paragraph. (although, in my defense, I started to get suspicious in the second to last paragraph 😛 )
Here I was reading all that, and thinking to myself: _“Christ, did this guy work there or something?”_
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### Author:  [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fort-knox-q/389934/19 "2007-01-29T23:32:37Z")
[QUOTE=Jayrot]
Looking back on it, there were several things that should have tipped me off (U.S. Air Force 42nd Bullion Security Wing?).
[/QUOTE]
Oh, I know it.
:smack: