I was on JA the 1975 and my office was on the second floor of the JOC. It was the best tour of duty and I would love to go back to relive those memories.
I lived on the rock for a year in the late seventies (MP with the 267th Chemical Company, 25th Infantry Division) and worked the Red Hat Area. On the roof of the JOC building was a photo lab and I had a key 🔑. For that year, I was the only person to use that photo lab. I’d pick up my paper and chemicals in HONO, then I Taught myself to develop and print color in that lab. I learned to do B&W in the photo lab at Ft Stewart Ga the year before I got to Johnston Island. The surrounding ocean was the clearest water I’d ever seen. The scuba diving along the reef was amazing and the rental cost for a tank and regulator was $0.50 after you got certified in the pool on the island.
Thank you so much for showing us this. I have often wondered what the point was of tearing down the insides of that building and leaving access to the inside? If the USA should ever need the use of that island again in the future, everything will have to be rebuilt, which seems so senseless!
Loved visiting there in the mid 1990's from Tripler. It was like visiting "la la land". The breeze. The hum of the incinerator like some blanketing "white noise" over the island, lulling you to sleep. The snorkeling. The food. The outdoor theater! I always wondered what would happen if a tsunami hit... Even a 10 foot one... (wink)
I was stationed there with the USAF in 1972-1973. I worked in that building, in the crypto vault. I was a Crypto Maintenance Tech. We had a communications center and tech control. As I recall the cable head and telephone central office were on the same floor. Seeing it as it is now it's hard to imagine how busy things were at the time. The Vietnam War and the Cold War kept us busy. I spent a lot of time in the photo lab on the roof. There were camera mounts and a sliding roof that were intended to be used to photograph flight paths of test rockets. I became the default photographer for the island until a photographer from Hickam was sent down. In 1972, a hurricane came right across the island and tore up things. We were evacuated to Honolulu during the storm. It's sad to see what has happened to the island since then.
Amazing watching the videos of the early 1990's of the atoll. A tiny country had been created. A bit sad seeing it now. The upside is that it's become a nature reserve.
@@jonnekjonneksson when we went in February 2024 we brought Geiger counters and dosimeters. We didn’t detect anything above normal background radiation.
These seabirds are able to drink salt water. They have salt glands connected to their bills that extract salt from their blood stream and excrete it through their nostrils.
It sounds like they are going to re-open the base if you are taking military personnel and contractors out to do a runway survey and inspection. Did they say when they would start work?
It sounds like they will probably be re-opening the base. I guess the Air Force has a need for the base and will probably move forward, I am assuming that it was the AirForce that went out to do the survey. I am not sure what the means for the sanctuary if it is re-opened. We will see what the Air force has planned for it in the future.
So what is up with all the personnel on Johnston atoll? Before was limited access. I think DOD is rethinking the usage of the islands. The question I have is was were all the buildings contaminated that needed to be torn down?
@@melheinrich5438 we were there for a runway survey and site inspection. AFRL is thinking they might want to use Johnston for some upcoming tests they are planning. The buildings were not contaminated (although they did have lead paint). The Air Force just didn’t want to worry about the hazards and liabilities that an island full of collapsing buildings would bring. Better for all to make a clean sweep of it and remove them. They left the JOC to serve as a potential hurricane shelter.
@AroundtheWorld-SallyandJames My opinion is when DOD deactivates a base like Johnston, should think about the possibility of reusable of the future. Just like Wake and Midway Islands, would be cheaper to upgrade than to start from scratch.
@3:02 looks to be some sort of decontamination station. Telling folks to hold their breath while removing their mask implies that some sort of dust got on their masks that would be dangerous to inhale. There were various cleanups on that island related to plutonium contamination, asbestos, chemical weapons etc.
I know this all too well. Worked 70hr weeks in this building removing extremely friable asbestos within a type c supplied air containment in 2004-05 returning this island to the wild “Back to the Birds” they said. In my opinion this was a severely unsupervised and unsafe project that I participated in. One of my biggest regrets. Comment if you worked on Johnston Atoll and have any comments
Hi, my name is Manny Ramirez and I was on the closing team for this project, can't believe that it was 20 years ago this June since I left. I don't have any regrets about working there. It was cool to play a small part in the story of JI.
I worked type c asbestos abatement in schools, public buildings and industrial sites in midwest cities in the US in the 90's. But I can't imagine doing that in a place that had numerous nuclear launch test failure explosions, several nasty bio weapons tests, and was a storage and incinerator facility for every nasty weapon you can think of from WWII, the Cold War and Nam. And then I read a team was sent in the 2020's to eliminate 'Crazy Ants'. This place really needs a new name.
Those are instrument mounts. Telescopes, sensors, trackers, all kinds of equipment could be mounted on them. The roof of the building would then open up like a clamshell for whatever event they were observing.
@@pasha12343 those are mounts for missile and satellite tracking instruments. The entire roof and upper portion of the walls lift up to give them an unobstructed view of the sky.
It’s not. That was all cleaned up ages ago. We did have Geiger counters and dosimeters. They didn’t register anything above normal background radiation.
@@AroundtheWorld-SallyandJames Still, it's not going to be turned into a fancy resort anytime soon. Wiki says it was actually put on the market for sale, for a short time anyway.
I was on JA the 1975 and my office was on the second floor of the JOC. It was the best tour of duty and I would love to go back to relive those memories.
I was there from 1990-1992. I worked on the 3rd floor in Security, Plans, Operations and Training. Thanks for the video.
I remember many smoke breaks on that balcony. View is a bit different now. The bird noise is impressive!
Wow, thanks for showing us this.
I lived on the rock for a year in the late seventies (MP with the 267th Chemical Company, 25th Infantry Division) and worked the Red Hat Area. On the roof of the JOC building was a photo lab and I had a key 🔑. For that year, I was the only person to use that photo lab. I’d pick up my paper and chemicals in HONO, then I Taught myself to develop and print color in that lab. I learned to do B&W in the photo lab at Ft Stewart Ga the year before I got to Johnston Island. The surrounding ocean was the clearest water I’d ever seen. The scuba diving along the reef was amazing and the rental cost for a tank and regulator was $0.50 after you got certified in the pool on the island.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for showing us this. I have often wondered what the point was of tearing down the insides of that building and leaving access to the inside? If the USA should ever need the use of that island again in the future, everything will have to be rebuilt, which seems so senseless!
I agree 100%. It was such a knuckleheaded thing to do.
That's how military contractors make money, duh!
Make it somewhere else!@@physh
meanwhile, they let places like fort hancock rot to shit
My uncle long ago was a contractor in the Pacific. The elements are so harsh it is cheaper to rebuild than maintain a facility of that size.
Great footage!
Excellent footage!!
The golf course looks different. I spent some time there & of course the decon area.
I wonder if there is a functioning radio repeater on the roof of that building? It would facilitate communication over that atoll.
There is a VHF repeater on the top of the JOC that is still functional. It helps a lot with our hand held radios.
Loved visiting there in the mid 1990's from Tripler. It was like visiting "la la land". The breeze. The hum of the incinerator like some blanketing "white noise" over the island, lulling you to sleep. The snorkeling. The food. The outdoor theater!
I always wondered what would happen if a tsunami hit... Even a 10 foot one... (wink)
I was stationed there with the USAF in 1972-1973. I worked in that building, in the crypto vault. I was a Crypto Maintenance Tech. We had a communications center and tech control. As I recall the cable head and telephone central office were on the same floor. Seeing it as it is now it's hard to imagine how busy things were at the time. The Vietnam War and the Cold War kept us busy. I spent a lot of time in the photo lab on the roof. There were camera mounts and a sliding roof that were intended to be used to photograph flight paths of test rockets. I became the default photographer for the island until a photographer from Hickam was sent down. In 1972, a hurricane came right across the island and tore up things. We were evacuated to Honolulu during the storm. It's sad to see what has happened to the island since then.
Definitely need a respirator, Mold, and who knows what else is flying around in there.
i worked on 3rd floor of joc building installing teletype ,i was TDY from Clark ab in 1969 when Nixon came there
Amazing watching the videos of the early 1990's of the atoll. A tiny country had been created. A bit sad seeing it now. The upside is that it's become a nature reserve.
You must have come in through the Decon entrance.
Very cool video, thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
I’ll volunteer right now! Let me know.
I wouldn't even think of going to that island without a radioactivity measuring equipment.
@@jonnekjonneksson when we went in February 2024 we brought Geiger counters and dosimeters. We didn’t detect anything above normal background radiation.
@@AroundtheWorld-SallyandJames I see, that was thoughtful.
The birds how they can get fresh water??
These seabirds are able to drink salt water. They have salt glands connected to their bills that extract salt from their blood stream and excrete it through their nostrils.
I worked in the only building standing in1991
It sounds like they are going to re-open the base if you are taking military personnel and contractors out to do a runway survey and inspection. Did they say when they would start work?
They have to decide if it is suitable for what they have in mind. Won’t hear the results of that decision for a couple of months probably.
It sounds like they will probably be re-opening the base. I guess the Air Force has a need for the base and will probably move forward, I am assuming that it was the AirForce that went out to do the survey. I am not sure what the means for the sanctuary if it is re-opened. We will see what the Air force has planned for it in the future.
Runway survey and inspection? Are they looking at reopening this location
They are considering it for a test event. It’ll be some time before they make a decision.
Wondering how you retrieve fresh water on Johnston?
You use a desalination plant or reverse osmosis system. I don’t remember which Johnston used. Probably both over its service life.
@@AroundtheWorld-SallyandJames If I remember correctly it was reverse osmosis in 1999/2000.
😊I can still recall the the sound of that big rotating antenna on the top of JOC 😢
So what is up with all the personnel on Johnston atoll? Before was limited access. I think DOD is rethinking the usage of the islands. The question I have is was were all the buildings contaminated that needed to be torn down?
@@melheinrich5438 we were there for a runway survey and site inspection. AFRL is thinking they might want to use Johnston for some upcoming tests they are planning.
The buildings were not contaminated (although they did have lead paint). The Air Force just didn’t want to worry about the hazards and liabilities that an island full of collapsing buildings would bring. Better for all to make a clean sweep of it and remove them. They left the JOC to serve as a potential hurricane shelter.
@AroundtheWorld-SallyandJames My opinion is when DOD deactivates a base like Johnston, should think about the possibility of reusable of the future. Just like Wake and Midway Islands, would be cheaper to upgrade than to start from scratch.
@3:02 looks to be some sort of decontamination station. Telling folks to hold their breath while removing their mask implies that some sort of dust got on their masks that would be dangerous to inhale. There were various cleanups on that island related to plutonium contamination, asbestos, chemical weapons etc.
It was where agent orange was stored and destroyed.
I know this all too well.
Worked 70hr weeks in this building removing extremely friable asbestos within a type c supplied air containment in 2004-05 returning this island to the wild “Back to the Birds” they said.
In my opinion this was a severely unsupervised and unsafe project that I participated in. One of my biggest regrets.
Comment if you worked on Johnston Atoll and have any comments
Hi, my name is Manny Ramirez and I was on the closing team for this project, can't believe that it was 20 years ago this June since I left. I don't have any regrets about working there. It was cool to play a small part in the story of JI.
I worked type c asbestos abatement in schools, public buildings and industrial sites in midwest cities in the US in the 90's. But I can't imagine doing that in a place that had numerous nuclear launch test failure explosions, several nasty bio weapons tests, and was a storage and incinerator facility for every nasty weapon you can think of from WWII, the Cold War and Nam. And then I read a team was sent in the 2020's to eliminate 'Crazy Ants'. This place really needs a new name.
Does anyone know what these stanchions with hoops on top are?
11:40
Thx in advance ~
Those are instrument mounts. Telescopes, sensors, trackers, all kinds of equipment could be mounted on them. The roof of the building would then open up like a clamshell for whatever event they were observing.
What are the devices in the room at 11.47 ?
@@pasha12343 those are mounts for missile and satellite tracking instruments. The entire roof and upper portion of the walls lift up to give them an unobstructed view of the sky.
So is this place a hazard zone due to containments?
You talk about the "JOC" like we know what that is.
@@marlomontanaro3233 Joint Operations Center. It was the administrative hub of the island.
I thought this place is contaminated with nuclear waste and unsafe for anyone to visit accept for birds!
It’s not. That was all cleaned up ages ago. We did have Geiger counters and dosimeters. They didn’t register anything above normal background radiation.
@@AroundtheWorld-SallyandJamesNot so much nuclear waste as other highly toxic / known carcinogens like agent orange, etc.
@@AroundtheWorld-SallyandJames Still, it's not going to be turned into a fancy resort anytime soon. Wiki says it was actually put on the market for sale, for a short time anyway.
E' davvero assurdo cha andiate su un isola radioattiva e tossica come questa senza l'uso di una protezione adeguata per il viso 😢