Monroe, Elizabeth Brand, 1947-Poletika, Nicole MarieCramer, KevinGantz, Richard A. (Richard Alan), 1946-2014-03-122014-03-122013https://hdl.handle.net/1805/4081http://dx.doi.org/10.7912/C2/180Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)In the early 1950s, President Dwight Eisenhower encouraged citizens to “Wake Up! Sign Up! Look Up!” to the Soviet atomic threat by joining the Ground Observer Corps (GOC). Established by the United States Air Force (USAF), the GOC involved civilian volunteers surveying the skies for Soviet aircraft via watchtowers, alerting the Air Force if they suspected threatening aircraft. This thesis examines the 1950s response to the longstanding problem posed by the invention of any new weapon: how to adapt defensive technology to meet the potential threat. In the case of the early Cold War period, the GOC was the USAF’s best, albeit faulty, defense option against a weapon that did not discriminate between soldiers and citizens and rendered traditional ground troops useless. After the Korean War, Air Force officials promoted the GOC for its espousal of volunteerism and individualism. Encouraged to take ownership of the program, observers appropriated the GOC for their personal and community needs, comprised of social gatherings and policing activities, thus greatly expanding the USAF’s original objectives.en-USearly Cold Warcivil defensenational securityUnited States Air ForceFederal Civil Defense AdministrationGround Observer Corpsvolunteerismatomic bombCold WarCold War -- Social aspects -- United StatesNational security -- United StatesAir defenses -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryAnti-communist movements -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryUnited States. Aircraft Warning Service. Ground Observer CorpsUnited States. Air ForceUnited States. Federal Civil Defense AdministrationVoluntarism -- United StatesUnited States -- Foreign relations -- 1945-1953United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet UnionUnited States -- Military policy -- History -- 20th centurySoviet Union -- Foreign relations -- United StatesWar and society -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryAtomic bomb -- United States -- HistoryAtomic bomb -- Soviet Union -- HistoryNuclear weaponsKorean War, 1950-1953Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969Thesis