During the Cold War, the United States relied on three radar lines to detect incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles that might come from the Soviet Union. The most important and most capable of the three was the Distant Early Warning Line - affectionately known as the DEW Line. About the Author of Operation Top Cover In Cape Lisburne, Alaska, Arthur Wayland was manning the 711 Aircraft Control and Warning station. It was a very remote radar station, the westernmost site of the DEW Line. His job was to warn the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) of any enemy aircraft that crossed into U.S. airspace. Wayland spent a year on the DEW Line between 1969 and 1970. His book, "Operation Top Cover: A Year on the DEW Line," recounts his time spent there. It was an eventful year for the Cold War. Richard Nixon was elected as President of the United States, the Apollo 11 astronauts won the Space Race by landing on the moon, and Nixon implemented the "Madman...
