1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
Mount Pinatubo, it was not immediately affected
by the initial evacuation order (fig. 48). Volcanologists
from the Philippine Institute of Vol -
canology and Seismology (PHILVOLCS) teamed
with colleagues from the US Geological Survey to
install several portable seismographs near the
northwest foot of the volcano and began recording
earthquake data. The joint team set up operations
on Clark AB and established the Pinatubo
Volcano Observatory (PVO). A network of
high-speed personal computers was set up at the
PVO to analyze data as it arrived from the vol -
cano monitoring locations. 4
For the remainder of April and May, the PVO
monitored the volcano. On 1 June, as 353d SOW
aircraft conducted local training operations, a
second cluster of earthquakes began to develop
approximately one kilometer to the northwest of
the volcano’s summit. A small explosion early on
3 June signaled the beginning of increased activity
near the summit that included minor ash emis -
sions and increased seismicity beneath the vents.
In response to the increased activity, PHILVOLCS
issued an alert level 3 announcement on 5 June
warning of a major pyroclastic eruption within
the next two weeks. 5
On Thursday morning, 6 June, the 353d SOW
leadership called all 1st SOS personnel and dependents
to gather in the squadron briefing
room. Colonel Stankovich, the 353d SOW vice
wing commander, began the briefing by describing
volcanic characteristics. He described Mount
Pl^nrlJflJ.
Figure 47. Map of Bangladesh (Source: AU Library, Maps and Charts Division, Maxwell
AFB, Ala.)
lltHlUll ^1i
370