I live not too far from Mount Weather, a COG facility and so much more. I wrote in RMN about Mt. Weather a few years ago, relying on what little I found available out there on "the net". Today, I came across this article:

Mount Weather - Our Neighbor to the South
by
ClearThunder
Published on 02-16-2013 12:40 AM Number of Views: 8773
http://www.shannondale.org/forum/content.php?301-Mount-Weather-Our-Neighbor-to-the-South

on an online community forum/board named - Shannondale and Beyond at www.Shannodale.org
I found the article very informative and thought I would post it here. Thank you to Clear Thunder, the article author and poster, for a well-researched, informative piece on Mt. Weather giving a glimpse behind the curtain of secrecy.

Mount Weather - Our Neighbor to the South
by ClearThunder

An Expose into this Secret facility

An expose' into one of the most secret and secure military bunkers in the world, just a few miles away
Includes Photos and a Video

On December 1, 1975, during near-blizzard conditions, a Boeing 727 TWA aircraft with 85 passengers plus the crew, plowed into the Blue Ridge mountains in Clarke County, Virginia, en route to a landing at Dulles airport. There were no survivors. As the media began to infiltrate the scene to cover the story, something else was serendipitously discovered. At the time, most people knew it was there. Certainly the residents in the area knew it was there. They, and the media, just didn't know what is was, or it's purpose. All they knew was that it was a U.S government facility. And little was known about it then. But as the investigation of the tragedy unfolded, the media ended up spending more time and effort investigating this fenced-in facility than the airline tragedy itself.

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About 12 miles south of Shannondale, along Rt. 601 in Virginia -- a picturesque road that straddles both Clarke and Loudoun counties ---- is a complex that has a unique and profound significance to our National Security.

Just about anyone reading this knows about 'Mount Weather.' But many may not know what really goes on there. Drive by, and a large sign will identify it as a DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Emergency Operations facility, which it is. Drive under the bridge that divides the two sections of the area, and powerful cameras will photograph you coming and going, day or night, rain or snow. Your faces, and the faces of your passengers, as well as your vehicle and tag number, will be taken and permanently stored into a database. Within seconds, 'someone' will know if you live nearby, are out for a leisurely drive, or give the appearance of someone with an ulterior motive. The latter will elicit an immediate response from mobile security forces above ground, who would immediately be dispatched to stop the suspicious vehicle and interrogate the passengers.

Stop your car and attempt to take a picture, and within moments you will be surrounded by armed security. If you stop, take a look around, then drive away, you will eventually be pursued, pulled over, and subject to interrogation and possibly even a vehicle search if the security officers deem it necessary. They will make it very clear to you that this is not a good place to be sightseeing. Even the Appalachian Trail was re-routed so that it's path was at least several hundred yards from the perimeter fence. The airspace around the facility proper is strictly off-limits.

A simple search on Google Earth ( 39°03'43.25" N 77°53'22.57" W ) will let you zero-in on a denuded mountaintop with modern office buildings, parking lots, and maintenance shops. Zoom in close enough, and you can even see the fire department located there, which responds to many Hazmat incidents, including some in Jefferson County, when needed.

Anyone can drive by Mt. Weather. In fact, when you're driving on Rt. 601, you're not just going past Mt. Weather. You're driving straight through it. Only the 12-foot high, barbed wire fence that lines each side of the road, and a myriad of security cameras gives you the uncomfortable feeling that maybe you don't belong there, despite residential homes only a few hundred yards away.

All of the fencing that surrounds the almost 450 acres (that are above ground) you see, in addition to providing a physical barrier, are also giant microphones --- transducers --- that can pick up voices, and even project outlined images of anything standing within a foot of it, all monitored in a state of the art command and security center. Motion sensors all along the perimeter fence alert security to train their sensitive instruments to that area .... to determine if you are a human or an animal. It is identical to the security system in place at the outer perimeter fence at Camp David.

Pretty sophisticated and extraordinary security for a facility that is billed as an administrative headquarters for a non-military agency.

Mt. Weather is also a FEMA facility. During national disasters (natural or otherwise), it is the 'nerve center' of emergency operations. Hundreds of civilian, as well as government employees (and the military), work there, 24-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. During weather disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and, most recently, winter storm Nemo, almost all of FEMA's operations were directed from here.

Mount Weather never sleeps. For all it's worth, it would seem Mount Weather is almost an afterthought to the average American. That is, until they find out what it's real purpose is. And for that, you have to dig deep.

Very deep.

Hidden far --- very far beneath the two-lane state road 601 that passes through the 'compound' is an underground facility that, until a few years ago, was considered 'secret,' and its true purpose denied by high-ranking Department of Defense (DoD) officials and employees who sign secrecy oaths to never disclose the real purpose of Mount Weather, what they do, and what really goes on "under the scenes." Even to this day.

Drive down VA state road 765 in Loudoun county with a good pair of binoculars, pull your car over and fix your gaze near the top of the mountain. On the northern side, nestled below a small enclave of buildings is a large concrete abutment and what looks like a large door inside of it. And it is a door. A large door. A heavy door. A blast-proof door. That door leads into a steep, inclined road that goes deep into, and eventually, under the mountain proper, to a parking area. Exit your vehicle, and you'd think you were in the middle of a small college campus or a downtown block of a small, modern city, sans the sky. There are streets, streetlights, there are taxis and trams, there are small areas with park benches. It looks so innocuous that one would never imagine that they would be standing at the doorstep of 'Big Brother' personified.

There are actually two 'doors' that lead into this facility. The other -- the Western Tunnel Entrance --- can be viewed by the naked eye just south of Berryville while driving down Rt. 340 South. With a pair of binoculars, it is unmistakable.

So, what really goes on at our neighbor to the South? Plenty. And the thought of it can be ---- depending on your view of such things ---- either comforting, or frightening as hell.

First and foremost (and perhaps, most comforting), Mount Weather is a COG --- a Continuity of Government facility. It is the primary relocation site of the United States government, including the President, Vice-President, members of Congress, selected DoD officials, and other official government employees and VIP's. In the event of an armed invasion, a massive natural disaster or a nuclear attack, this is where America will be run, even if half the country is nothing but an irradiated dustbowl. While millions of Americans are suffering on the outside, your government will be deep under Mount Weather conducting business as usual. If the country is going to be re-built, and the armed forces commanded around the world, it will be done from here. Mount Weather.

Our neighbor to the South.

This doesn't really sound all that unreasonable. In fact, it makes perfect sense that there be a secure, well-protected underground facility (albeit the size of Yankee Stadium) to protect our national leaders so that America remains under official leadership during any calamity or holocaust. Almost every developed nation on earth has their own Mount Weather in one form or another, for the same purpose.

Once inside the massive 6-story underground office complex, which sits upon dozens of giant springs to dampen sound waves caused by the pressure blast of an atomic bomb, one would, again, feel as if they were inside any other office building. There are private offices, large rooms (complete with 'windows' and artificial sunlight --- to remind folks that they aren't a quarter-mile beneath the surface) with cubicles, break rooms, cafeterias, and conference rooms. There is a barber shop (salon, as they like to call it), several gyms, recreational facilities, libraries ---- everything you would find in a small city. After all, it really is a small city. And the deeper you go .... the more secret and sophisticated the facility becomes, and the higher the security clearance you need to enter it.

But this huge underground office complex serves more than just administrative functions. Among other things, Mt. Weather is also an incredibly complex communications and computer center. From here, the United States government can gain access to every American communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit, including all commercial satellite TV services such as DirecTV or Dish Network, for example. At the touch of a button, the satellites that relay programming from commercial networks (CBS, ABC, FOX, et al), cable networks (ESPN, Discovery, HGTV, et al) and even radio networks (Westwood One, Sirius/XM, Clear Channel, et al) can be 'taken over.' If the POTUS needs to address the nation (or what remains of it), a control operator in the underground TV station merely taps a few buttons, and your President will be there, live and in high-definition, to tell you things will be just fine as you slowly die from radiation poisoning after a nuclear attack, or an asteroid impact that is currently coating the country with a three-foot thick layer of dust and debris, or even an armed invasion by a powerful coalition of enemy forces, bombing major cities and destroying our infrastructure. No matter how improbable the last ghastly scenario may be, the government still considers it a possibility. And hence, the need for this massive underground 'safe haven' for the government.

Mount Weather: Our neighbor to the South.

In the event of a nuclear holocaust, those lucky enough to be on the list of people (which also includes scientists, engineers, Supreme Court Judges, and a virtual 'brain-trust' that can --- theoretically --- 'rebuild' a damaged or destroyed America) who would be evacuated to Mount Weather, need only worry about their families and loved ones who weren't lucky enough to be where they are now. That's because this facility (according to one source who once worked there) has the means to support over 100-200 people for as long as seven years.

Those people do not include spouses, significant others, immediate family, or children. And that includes the (real) President of the United States. Instead, if the resources and space are available, they would be shuttled to other COG "bunkers" that surround Washington (or the closest proximity of wherever they may be at the time), such as Site-R, Camp David, 'Corkscrew' ---- on Lambs Knoll between Boonsboro and Middletown, Maryland, or the Ground Intelligence Center near Charlottesville --- all of which sport secure underground facilities.

At Mount Weather, there is underground power generation (one reliable source said it was a nuclear-powered --- which would eliminate the need for diesel-fueled generators that would require exhaust and unimaginable amounts of fuel), an underground spring-fed lake that can provide an almost unlimited supply of potable water (and cooling for a nuclear reactor), a waste treatment plant, a hospital --- every bit as modern and well-equipped (and staffed) as any major public hospital, and a crematory. Massive stockpiles of food are inside. Not hundreds of tons, but hundreds of thousands of tons. Irradiated, specially prepared food designed for an extremely long shelf-life.

It is also a Repository of Records. Probably the largest and most complex in the world. Although none of the people interviewed by the author could offer an exact number, Mount Weather also holds, within it's massive complex of computers, all lead-shielded --- as everything else is within the outer walls of the 'office' complex itself --- the complete birth and death records of every American citizen going back an estimated "75-80" years. Digitized files of all land plats, deeds and the owners of every piece of real estate in the 50 states and US territories is stored here. There is fairly credible rumor that some of the Nations' most important historical documents, including one of the few original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are stored here, as well as other antiquities and 'national treasures.' One person interviewed said they heard from a reliable source inside the facility that there was also a immense quantity of gold bouillon stored here as well, since Fort Knox, allegedly (there are many insiders who say there is no longer any Gold stored there) the largest repository of US gold, would not survive a direct nuclear strike. A rebuilt America would need money to reestablish banks, restore our system of currency, and pay for rebuilding the infrastructure. And that gold could be safely and securely stored at Mount Weather. It makes perfect sense.

In the 1950's, a similar facility --- although nothing on the scale of Mount Weather --- which became operational during the early part of the Eisenhower administration ---- was built under a new wing at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Once a top national secret, that bunker is now open to the public, and tours are given.

But as the strength and destructive capability of nuclear weapons increased, the lack of 'security' of the underground bunker at the Greenbrier forced government officials to relocate to a safer facility already in existence.

That 'new' facility was not Mount Weather, but rather, another underground facility in Raven Rock, on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland, just off PA Rt. 16, a little over five miles away from Camp David (which also has a very deep, but much smaller underground bunker for temporary, short-term protection), and the former Fort Ritchie, which was once the primary training facility for the CIA.

Built under orders of then-President, Harry Truman, it would serve as the new primary relocation site of the POTUS and the Department of Defense. It's mission; virtually identical to that at the Greenbrier Facility. Some jokingly referred to it as 'Harry's Hole.' Today, it is known as 'Site R' to government insiders. It is the military command and control center where the JCS (Joint Chiefs of Staff) and other high-ranking DoD agencies at the Pentagon will relocate to under the same circumstances as anyone destined for Mt. Weather. Some refer to it as 'The Underground Pentagon.' It supports an even more extensive communications and command network than Mount Weather has today.

However, the nuclear age, and the technology that grew with it and produced atomic weapons with even more destructive capabilities rendered Site-R inadequate to protect the POTUS and Congress. Nor did it have the space or the means to sustain life inside as long as the government wanted.

So again, the government started a quiet search for a more hardened and secure location that was not only closer to Washington, but would be located below an existing facility that would not draw the attention of local residents. And, more importantly, 'the enemy.' They needed something large. They needed a place that could (theoretically) withstand a direct impact by an Atomic Bomb. Geologists and Engineers knew just the place; the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Comprised mostly of metamorphosed basalt (or, metabasalt ---- which also contains granite) ---- one of the hardest sedimentary rocks on earth, and teeming with underground water sources, it was perfect. Once the blueprints were drawn, it was only a matter of spending hundreds of millions of (unaccounted, 'black budget') dollars and years of blasting and debris removal to construct one of the safest and most secure office buildings in the world, even if it was 2000 feet under a mountain.

Whenever one brings up the topic of 'secret' government facilities, there are no shortages of conspiracy buffs who will look for anything that will embellish the mysteries surrounding it. And Mount Weather is no exception. There are people who believe that there are underground silos scattered around the property with Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM's) armed with nuclear warheads. Not true. Offensive weapons of any kind are never located at "leadership bunkers" like Mount Weather.

Some even swear that there is an underground, high speed rail line that runs all the way from the White House basement to Mount Weather .... a distance of about 47-miles .... so that in the event of a sneak attack, the POTUS could be quickly whisked to safety. This is also not true, as there has been a 'quick escape' system already in place at the White House since it's reconstruction starting in 1948. There is indeed a short, underground tunnel that the POTUS (and perhaps his family) would use that runs from the White House basement to .... a vault inside the Treasury Building ... just across the street. There, the POTUS would stay until he could be safely evacuated by helicopter to another secure facility, or Mount Weather.

Our neighbor to the South.

But the story doesn't end there. In fact, it's just the beginning of a government cover-up every bit as secretive as Area-51. It is a story that will never be told by anyone in an official capacity. And denied just as quickly. It is the story about another kind of government that operates at Mount Weather.

The Shadow Government.

While you and I go about our day and our lives, and as workers ---- both civilian and military, both atop and inside (under) the facility, carry out their duties, there is another group of people who work at the deepest and most secure levels of the facility. Civilian (and even military) workers are not even told about it in their pre-employment screenings, or their on-site orientations after hire. Talk of this group of people and their mission is forbidden. Even the names of the people who work and live --- for weeks at a time --- in that deepest and darkest level are known but to only a handful of very select people which, by the way, does not include the elected President of the United States. Not even their own families know what their spouses .... their siblings, fathers, or their mothers do. They only know they work at a FEMA facility called 'Mount Weather.' They have no idea that their mother or father or sibling may well be .........

The President of the United States.

When Mount Weather was built, the Pentagon realized that there was the possibility that, in the event of a catastrophic, sneak attack that would kill the POTUS and VPOTUS, Mount Weather would only be manned by high-ranking Military officials ... sealed inside from the outside world. Honoring the Constitution, which mandates that the commander in-Chief be a civilian, a plan was developed to ensure that America would indeed be led (if only by title) by a group --- a highly select group --- of civilians.

Eventually, these civilians were hand picked by your government. Only those with the highest intelligence, integrity, and mental toughness were selected. Some were appointed as advisors. Others were assigned and trained to understand and perform the duties that your state senators and local representatives would do. Some would have a former military or administrative background who would act as liaisons between the military and top leadership. And then, two of the best would be tested in a totally unknown process to be ..... the President and the Vice-President.

Of the United States of America.

As you read this, regardless of the day or the hour, the 'Shadow Government' of the United States --- just a dozen miles away --- is busy at work, running the military and the country, just as if the real POTUS and VPOTUS were doing in peacetime. Call it a 24/7 simulation if you wish. But they are faced with the same decisions, the same world crises, the same political unrest around the globe, and the same domestic issues. They act as President and VP. They do the same jobs as the President and the VP. They make their own, independent decisions .... just as the real President and VP would, as real-world situations arise, foreign or domestic. They are even addressed as, and treated, as the President and the VP. And for all intents and purposes --- and this is what is truly frightening to some --- they are the President and Vice-President of the United States.... ready to take over the role upon notification .... immediately, and at any time.

And, they would have the same executive authority.

While there is a clear chain of command --- a constitutionally mandated list of presidential successors, this 'shadow government' exists deep inside Mount Weather in the event that entire chain of command is killed or incapacitated in the event of an attack or natural disaster.

This is really what is meant as 'Continuity of Government' at Mount Weather.

This .... this Shadow Government of un-elected civilians, is the real purpose of Mount Weather. It is the real 'secret' of Mount Weather.

Our neighbor to the South.

Authors Note: Some of the information in this article was obtained using the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), declassified government documents, public photographs, and private, confidential interviews with two former workers to whom I am very grateful for sharing information that made this in-depth article possible. They shall remain nameless for obvious reasons. Photo and Information Credits Include; Clarke Daily News, Abovetopsecret.com, 'Anonymous', FEMA, Coast-to-Coast AM with George Noory; Richard Sauder, Google Earth.

Please enjoy a few minutes to view this video from a news broadcast featuring a team that attempted to film just outside Mount Weather, along Rt. 601. It proves that even the media is not welcome at this facility.