1,600 nuclear weapons

That’s right.

In Kitsap County, on beautiful Hood Canal, 20 miles west of Seattle, is one of the biggest concentrations of nuclear weapons in the world. It’s called Sub Base Bangor. And it is the base for 8 nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed Trident submarines. 20 miles west of here.

If Kitsap County were its own country, it would be the world’s 3^rd largest nuclear weapons power.

As homeport for 8 Trident nuclear submarines, Sub Base Bangor is home base for 1,600 nuclear warheads. That is more nuclear weapons than Britain, France, and China…combined. And certainly much more than India, Pakistan, or Israel. Only the US and Russia have more nuclear weapons than those based out of Kitsap County, Washington.

What is Trident?

Trident is the centerpiece of the US nuclear arsenal, deploying 48% of the US operational nuclear force. Trident is a nuclear weapons system composed of 18 nuclear-powered submarines, 8 based at Sub Base Bangor, Washington, and 10 at Sub Base King’s Bay in Georgia. Each Trident submarine is armed with 24 long-range missiles. Each missile is loaded with 8 nuclear warheads. Each warhead on the Bangor-based subs has a destructive capability of 100 kilotons. That’s about 8 times as much as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, which killed 150,000 people.

One Trident submarine has the destructive capacity of 1,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

Here’s another way to think about Trident: Envision the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima. Pretend that it is possible to completely understand the meaning of just one of those bombings--all the destruction, all the waste, all the suffering, all of the death and pain and sadness. Now say the word "Hiroshima," while the images and feeling of the atomic bombing come over you. To understand just one Trident submarine, you’d have to say and think about Hiroshima at least 1,000 times. To understand the meaning of the whole Trident system, you’d have to do this 18,000 times.

The "Auschwitz of Puget Sound" is preparing the next Holocaust.

Nuclear weapons have been called "gas chambers without walls." And Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen has called Bangor "the Auschwitz of Puget Sound" and Trident "the global crucifixion of Christ." It’s only 20 miles away from here, in our back yard, its work being done in our name. Trident is always ready to launch its missiles, always on hair-trigger alert, always prepared to unleash untold catastrophe.

What can you take responsibility for?

Whether we like it or not, each of us bears some responsibility for the actions of our government. Could you take responsibility if our government launched Trident nuclear missiles on other people? Could you accept the consequences of a nuclear war? Or…can you take responsibility now for our government’s preparations for nuclear war and do something to stop those preparations? Can you take responsibility for actions being done in your name and do something to say "No. Not in my name."?

An invitation to nonviolence…

Gandhi said: "The moral to be legitimately drawn from the supreme tragedy of the bomb is that it will not be destroyed by counterbombs, even as violence cannot be by counter-violence. Humankind has to get out of violence only through nonviolence. Hatred can be overcome only by love." Trident can be overcome only by nonviolence. We invite you to take responsibility for Trident by practicing nonviolence and making your voice heard. There are many ways you can do this. Become informed about Trident. Call and write your elected officials. Join us in our actions to nonviolently resist Trident. (You can reach us at the addresses at the bottom.) Get involved. Care.