The Bases are Loaded Trivia Quiz

Answer: Northern Greenland

Thule Air Base is located on the northwest shore of Greenland and is the U.S. Air Force's most northerly Air Base. The weather is so bad that it is accessible only three months each year. Supplies, including medication, equipment and food, must all be brought in or taken out within this small window of time.

This base is manned all year around. Its major job is to track ICBMs and any other incoming weapons aimed at North America, and to track all global satellites. Its construction was very difficult and required North America and Europe to work together in a joint effort.

The base is located less than 550 miles (885km) from the magnetic North Pole.

Answer: Great Salt Lake Desert

Dugway Proving Ground is located 85 miles (140 km) southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah. It encompasses 1,252.352 sq mi (3,243.576 kmē) of the great Salt Lake Desert, an area similar in size to the whole state of Rhode Island, and is surrounded on three side by mountains. Dugway's primary mission is the testing of biological and chemical weapons, and was chosen because of its isolated and secure environment.

In March of 1968 over 6,000 sheep died in Skull Valley, which is over 30 miles away from Dugway's testing sites. Necropsy proved they died from a nerve gas being tested at Dugway.

While the government did not openly take blame for the incident they did pay the ranchers for their losses.

Answer: Ionosphere

HAARP (High Frequency Auroral Research Program) is a highly classified facility whose main object of study is the ionosphere, the uppermost portion of the atmosphere. This facility is jointly run by the U.S. Air Force and Navy as well as the University of Alaska.

The classified status of this base has led to it being a favorite target of conspiracy theorists who have blamed it for numerous natural disasters.

Answer: It is housed 2,000 ft (600 m) inside a mountain

The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is housed 2,000 ft (600 m) inside Cheyenne Mountain southwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado. This unusual base is a bi-national base and is home to about 200 servicemen from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps, as well as personnel from the Canadian Military.

Its primary job is to collect and process data from radar, satellites and other sensors located all over the globe and to process this information in real time. This underground center is virtually invisible from the air, save for the two entrances into the mountain.

It is this facility that is responsible for issuing alerts of a possible nuclear attack anywhere in the world.

Answer: Gibraltar

The Devil's Tower Camp is located on Gibraltar, strategically located at a point where the Mediterranean Sea opens out to the Atlantic Ocean. Ceded to Britain in 1713 in the Treaty of Utrecht this location has been closely guarded ever since. The Devil's Tower Camp sits atop a 35 mile long system of tunnels which are used to practice trench and tunnel warfare.

The location is also conducive to parachute and sea diving training. The base may be one of the more inviting in this quiz - as long as you are above ground, that is!

Answer: The center of Australia

Located 11 miles (18km) southwest of Alice Springs in the heart of Australia, the Joint Defense Space Research Facility Pine Gap is jointly run by both the American and Australian Military. The airspace over the facility is the only location in the whole country that has a no-fly zone.

While much of its work is secret and highly classified, Pine Gap is known to have been involved in numerous military satellite operations and is also involved in signals intelligence collection. The exact geographical size and population is not known exactly, but at least 1,000 military and civilian personnel on loan to the military work at this location.

Answer: Alberta

CFB Suffield located in southern Alberta is the largest military base in Canada, as well as being the largest military base anywhere in the British Commonwealth. It is home to both British and Canadian military personnel. The total land area of this immense base covers over 1,040 sq. miles (2,690 km2).

It is a multipurpose military base that specializes in tank warfare training as well as biological and chemical warfare training and research.

Answer: Nellis Air Force Base

Nellis Air Force Base is the premier training facility for combat pilots. This location was chosen for its ideal weather and clear skies all year around. It is home to the United States Air Force Demonstration Squadron known as "The Thunderbirds". The huge military base covers over 15,000 sq. miles (39,000 km2) and the sound of jets and sonic booms can be heard 24 hours a day.

Answer: Golf balls

Found in Yorkshire, England RAF Menwith Hill is often called the largest electronic monitoring station found on the planet. It has multiple radomes which are large weatherproof geodesic structures that protect microwaves and radar antenna. They have the appearance of giant white golf balls. This location is used to monitor all communications that originate in the Soviet Union/Russia.

Answer: Edwards Air Force Base in California

Edwards Air Force Base in southern California is located in the flat terrain of the Mojave Desert. It is used for testing new plane designs, the landing of the Space Shuttles and other major aeronautical breakthroughs. It was here, in 1947, that Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier, and was the landing point for the round-the-world flight for the Rutan-Voyager which was the first aircraft to fly around the globe without stopping or refuelling.