09-26-2023, 06:31 PM
A guy who disobeyed a standing order saved the world from a nuclear war.
He was awake on duty, and didn't believe what the satellite was telling him and everyone else.
He must have been a top-notch student at the Soviet Military Avaition Engineering Academy to
be able to see a malfunction where others did not.
Of course, he got a reprimand for having a phone in 1 hand, and an intercom in the other
while he was frantically talking to the local crew and Moscow.
One hand is supposed to always be free to press the button.
He explained that since he didn't have 3 hands, and he was a little busy, he violated protocol.
The leadership didn't punish him exactly, but he probably couldn't rise in rank.
This seems to be standard military behaviour the world over!
At least he got his retirement and pension.
Stanislav Petrov (Russian: Станисла́в Петро́в; 7 September 1939 – 19 May 2017) was a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces who played a key role in the 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident.[sup][2][/sup] On 26 September 1983, three weeks after the Soviet military had shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, Petrov was the duty officer at the command center for the Oko nuclear early-warning system when the system reported that a missile had been launched from the United States, followed by up to five more. Petrov judged the reports to be a false alarm.[sup][3][/sup]
His subsequent decision to disobey orders, against Soviet military protocol,[sup][4][/sup] is credited with having prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States and its NATO allies that could have resulted in a large-scale nuclear war which could have wiped out half of the population of the countries involved. An investigation later confirmed that the Soviet satellite warning system had indeed malfunctioned. Because of his decision not to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike amid this incident, Petrov is often credited as having "saved the world"
He was awake on duty, and didn't believe what the satellite was telling him and everyone else.
He must have been a top-notch student at the Soviet Military Avaition Engineering Academy to
be able to see a malfunction where others did not.
Of course, he got a reprimand for having a phone in 1 hand, and an intercom in the other
while he was frantically talking to the local crew and Moscow.
One hand is supposed to always be free to press the button.
He explained that since he didn't have 3 hands, and he was a little busy, he violated protocol.
The leadership didn't punish him exactly, but he probably couldn't rise in rank.
This seems to be standard military behaviour the world over!
At least he got his retirement and pension.
Stanislav Petrov (Russian: Станисла́в Петро́в; 7 September 1939 – 19 May 2017) was a lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defence Forces who played a key role in the 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident.[sup][2][/sup] On 26 September 1983, three weeks after the Soviet military had shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, Petrov was the duty officer at the command center for the Oko nuclear early-warning system when the system reported that a missile had been launched from the United States, followed by up to five more. Petrov judged the reports to be a false alarm.[sup][3][/sup]
His subsequent decision to disobey orders, against Soviet military protocol,[sup][4][/sup] is credited with having prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack on the United States and its NATO allies that could have resulted in a large-scale nuclear war which could have wiped out half of the population of the countries involved. An investigation later confirmed that the Soviet satellite warning system had indeed malfunctioned. Because of his decision not to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike amid this incident, Petrov is often credited as having "saved the world"