# Have you heard of a plan to move San Diego, California to Alaska or this just a rumor? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214 "2013-06-05T15:37:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/101 "2013-06-06T18:41:43Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > at least you fight fair … I forgot about El Centro, but isn’t Yuma just across the border. 146 miles as the crow flies. > [@](#): > > In the ten years it would take to do all of this surely the next two presidents could come up with a plan to take civilian targets off limts, but by then you have the 3rd world countries cruising our shores with submarine launched missiles inside. Meh. Moving a million or more folks to a remote location is just going to cause a new city to grow up in that new remote location. > [@](#): > > but who’s option was it to stay out of the war in Europe and as a result of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor we entered into WWII? 😕 FDR thought moving the Pacific Fleet to Hawaii would send a message of “we really really mean it” to Japan. They took the threat seriously. So much so, in fact… well, the rest is history. > [@](#): > > I shouldn’t go there, uh on who knew the Japanese navy was on the way and someone moved the carriers at the last moment? No one knew. No one. No body, no how. If they (FDR or Kimmel) knew, the battleships would have been pulled out, too, to safety. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/102 "2013-06-06T18:42:21Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, let’s see: since that lunatic Edward Teller’s plan to use nuclear bombs to create a harbor on the west coast of Alaska (Project Chariot) was soundly rejected, there is no port north of Anchorage that could be used for a naval fleet. In fact, Port of Anchorage is not ice-free year round, or at least not reliably so, so scratch that as a location also. I have two words for you: global warming. I, for one, am impressed with such forward thinking leadership. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/103 "2013-06-06T18:47:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Civilian targets are always **on limits**. That’s the _point_ of weapons of **mass** destruction. I counter point with the fact that this is a first strike/sneak attack wih the option for America to give up or suffer it’s entire civilian population. I personally would not give up till the last missile had been delivered, but I don’t have to make that decision like the top Commander in Charge would have to make. Salt III comes after Salt II right? Don’t they make air burst weapons that just take out electronics without fallout? Now how do you get everyone to agree … it won’t be easy? No one knows the day or the hour … as a friend of mine says, “don’t be afraid/be ready” ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/104 "2013-06-06T18:51:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Chefguy > Well, let’s see: since that lunatic Edward Teller’s plan to use nuclear bombs to create a harbor on the west coast of Alaska (Project Chariot) was soundly rejected, there is no port north of Anchorage that could be used for a naval fleet. In fact, Port of Anchorage is not ice-free year round, or at least not reliably so, so scratch that as a location also . I was under the impression that Edward Teller invented the Hydrogen bomb and also proposed 100 weather satellites be launched to detect a missile being launched anywhere in the world. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/105 "2013-06-06T19:00:50Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > .I was under the impression that Edward Teller invented the Hydrogen bomb and also proposed 100 weather satellites be launched to detect a missile being launched anywhere in the world. Your thinking of Penn Jillette. Teller is the silent one. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/106 "2013-06-06T19:53:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Your thinking of Penn Jillette. Teller is the silent one. I think this is the Edward Teller I respect > [@](#): > > Edward Teller Biography – Academy of Achievement > > [Edward Teller, Ph.D. | Academy of Achievement](http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/tel0bio-1) > > Edward Teller Biography. Father of the Hydrogen Bomb Edward Teller Date of birth: January 15, 1908 Date of death: September 9, 2003. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/107 "2013-06-06T19:58:11Z")
Eh. The idea is unfeasible, but the country would not be harmed by more thought being given to our basing strategy and nonproliferation issues. > [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > only a few more years till Russia and China won’t be the only enemy left to consider a first strike/sneak attack. Well, my take on that is that a _non-state_ actor might pop off a terror nuke, but no state with even a shred of self-preservation is going to choose to nuke the US, by surprise or not. And the problem with a non-state actor is there’s no physical land target to counterstrike. (Which is the only reason it might be tried.) And the problem with a terror nuke is it will not be targeted at the Navy, but at a fat civilian target to cause maximum emotional value. So moving the base won’t help against this. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/108 "2013-06-07T02:43:10Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > I think this is the Edward Teller I respect Yeah, the magician. Quiet lil dude. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/109 "2013-06-07T04:59:07Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > . . . Don’t they make air burst weapons that just take out electronics without fallout? . . . Not without fallout, just less, since high-level airbursts are, by nature, less dirty in that way than lower-level or ground bursts. But it’s still a nuclear weapon, and would be responded to as such. It’s like seeing that the other guy has a pistol in his hand and saying, “Gosh, if he fires it next to my ear, I might be deafened.” Yeah…but, really, that’s the last thing you really need to worry about if a bad guy is holding a pistol. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/110 "2013-06-07T11:18:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Yeah, the magician. Quiet lil dude. Only while performing. Off stage, the guy will not shut up. His conversations are as fascinating as his magic act, though. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/111 "2013-06-07T11:46:34Z")
Just to play devil’s advocate, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if a facility was to be opened in Anchorage- closer to oil supplies and a quicker trip to Korea should the need arise. But it would be crazy to shut down San Diego’s base. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/112 "2013-06-07T11:54:27Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Only while performing. Off stage, the guy will not shut up. His conversations are as fascinating as his magic act, though. Ah, you’ve fallen victim to Penn’s ventriloquism; don’t be embarrassed, the dude is good. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/113 "2013-06-07T11:57:58Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Ah, you’ve fallen victim to Penn’s ventriloquism; don’t be embarrassed, the dude is good. The big guy is more subtle than I would have credited him. Remind me to never again underestimate an opponent. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/114 "2013-06-07T13:44:56Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > I think this is the Edward Teller I respect You need to read more. Try _The Firecracker Boys_, by Dan O’Neill. Teller was brilliant, but he was obsessed with the notion of using nuclear bombs for geo-engineering. He lied about test results and claimed that radiation was overrated as a danger to humans. He relentlessly pushed his agenda for creating a harbor in Alaska by detonating several nuclear devices, without regard for the consequences. The result of his plan was the very first environmental impact study, the result of which quashed Teller’s harebrained scheme. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/115 "2013-06-07T13:55:38Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Just to play devil’s advocate, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if a facility was to be opened in Anchorage- closer to oil supplies and a quicker trip to Korea should the need arise. But it would be crazy to shut down San Diego’s base. There used to be Naval facilities at both Kodiak Island and Adak Island in the Aleutians. Additionally, there is an Air Force facility (radar and refueling) on Shemya Island, way out at the end of the chain. Adak did not have fleet capability (other than tugboats), but did have a Naval Air contingent of P-3 Orion aircraft. There was also a facility there called AUW, which was highly classified at the time. It had something to do with underground nuclear storage, probably in support of all the atomic testing that was going on in the Aleutians at the time. Anchorage, of course, has Elmendorf AFB, home to an F-22 squadron, and the Fort Richardson Army base. Port of Anchorage really couldn’t handle a Navy fleet; it’s the shipping hub for all of Alaska, so berth space is at a premium. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/116 "2013-06-07T17:46:26Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > No one knows the day or the hour … as a friend of mine says, “don’t be afraid/be ready” **Mr Quatro** , may I ask respectfully and sincerely if you are concerned about nuclear war because of a Revelations / Armageddon / apocalypse / Rise of the Beast scenario? If so, we’ve had many discussions about that topic on this message board. Anyway, we’re overlooking the most strategic option: move San Diego right smack dab to the middle of Beijing. Your move, China! ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/117 "2013-06-07T18:39:43Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > You need to read more. Try _The Firecracker Boys_, by Dan O’Neill. Teller was brilliant, but he was obsessed with the notion of using nuclear bombs for geo-engineering. He lied about test results and claimed that radiation was overrated as a danger to humans. He relentlessly pushed his agenda for creating a harbor in Alaska by detonating several nuclear devices, without regard for the consequences. The result of his plan was the very first environmental impact study, the result of which quashed Teller’s harebrained scheme. No I didn’t know that Chefguy thank you for pointing it out … I had thought he was an honest and truthful person snitching on his boss Mr Oppenheimer and of course the starwars theory and the 100 weather satellites to detect launches from anywhere in the world, but I didn’t know about the lying or the disregard for Alaska. I will have to read more to try and understand (no jokes please) > [@Chefguy](#): > > There used to be Naval facilities at both Kodiak Island and Adak Island in the Aleutians. Additionally, there is an Air Force facility (radar and refueling) on Shemya Island, way out at the end of the chain. Adak did not have fleet capability (other than tugboats), but did have a Naval Air contingent of P-3 Orion aircraft. There was also a facility there called AUW, which was highly classified at the time. It had something to do with underground nuclear storage, probably in support of all the atomic testing that was going on in the Aleutians at the time. > > Anchorage, of course, has Elmendorf AFB, home to an F-22 squadron, and the Fort Richardson Army base. Port of Anchorage really couldn’t handle a Navy fleet; it’s the shipping hub for all of Alaska, so berth space is at a premium. too bad Mr Teller’s plan to make a port in Alaska wasn’t a good one … would a floating port be too expenisve? My father served in Kodiak, Alaska in WWII as a personal man I have been to Adak back a long time ago and there was only one pier to tie up to and no one to great us … just a NAS like you said, but with a little immagination it could become a better lay over. This was November and colder in San Francisco when we finally got there, but I know what force 9 is and it is no fun. I guess Alaska is not a good place to move the fleet from San Diego to after all … with all of the Airforce there already it would just make a bigger target though. Alaska already knows their chances of survival are not that great … what is the blast area now days anyway 100 miles for say three 10 megaton warheads? > [@](#): > > Mr Quatro, may I ask respectfully and sincerely if you are concerned about nuclear war because of a Revelations / Armageddon / apocalypse / Rise of the Beast scenario? If so, we’ve had many discussions about that topic on this message board. I don’t know how to answer this … yes I am a christian, but I am not one of those were out of here kind of rapture people. Russia is not for the most part a christian country and they have been arming themselves for as far back as I can remember. I am more interested in surviving WWIII for an entire population in my part of the country … I’m too old to care about myself … just my brothers and sister’s all around me on this beautiful day in June 2013 ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/118 "2013-06-07T19:43:57Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > El Toro Marine Air Base is no longer open in Orange County and is now a regional airport is just one example I feel silly for taking the time to point out something the OP got wrong… cause, you know, _everything_, right?.. Anyway, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro has not been turned into a regional airport. It is slowly being turned into housing, other land development and (slowly but surely) the [Orange County Great Park](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_County_Great_Park). They have a giant orange balloon and everything! ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/119 "2013-06-07T19:45:50Z")
I can’t speak for the Navy, but _I_ was planning on moving San Diego to Alaska this summer. Thanks OP for spoilering what would have been the most EPIC summer camp prank EVAR! \ Now I will have to settle for putting the hands of the entire population of San Diego into warm water while they are asleep… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214/120 "2013-06-07T21:16:36Z")
> [@Mr\_Quatro](#): > > I have been to Adak back a long time ago and there was only one pier to tie up to and no one to great us … just a NAS like you said, but with a little immagination it could become a better lay over. Kodiak was closed in the 60s, except for the Coast Guard station. Adak was closed and now houses some of the Aleuts who have reclaimed it as their own. They got a pretty sweet deal, with two runways, housing, power plant, recreational facilities, etc. The reason I say that it was a sweet deal is because they were not forcibly relocated from the island in WWII like many Aleuts were. They had left Adak long before to follow the fur trade with Russia. I think the Navy and the government just figured it was easier to turn the place over to somebody else than to try to dismantle everything and clean the place up after 60 years of dumping all manner of pollutants there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-a-plan-to-move-san-diego-california-to-alaska-or-this-just-a-rumor/660214.md?page=7)