20 Strange Military Bases That Few People Have Been Allowed To See
Is there anything more mysterious than a secret military base? The world is full of these clandestine places, many of which are situated on remote islands, set into the bowels of mountains, or hidden behind miles of razor wire and armed guards. Often, the official stories given about their purposes seem like they barely scratch the surface of the truth, but are we simply letting our imaginations run away with us? Is the real answer much more prosaic than we want to believe? Let’s investigate!
1. Area 51
When talking about top-secret military bases, the first port of call has got to be Area 51! This infamous site in the middle of the Nevada desert has become a byword for “UFO conspiracy” over the years: it is supposedly where the Roswell flying saucer was taken after it crashed to Earth in New Mexico.
Little green men aren’t the only things theorists suggest have been covered up at the base, though. There are also wild conspiracies involving energy weapons being created as well as time travel and teleportation experiments.
Groom Lake, Nevada
A more rational explanation about why Area 51 has been classified for so many years is that the U.S. Army used it for nuclear testing. Los Angeles Times Magazine writer Annie Jacobson wrote Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base.
Within its pages she claimed to have discovered evidence of top-secret aircraft-related tests. According to her research, the Department of Defense, CIA, and Atomic Energy Commission have all used the base to develop planes that can fly faster than Mach 3.
2. Trinity Test Site
If you — like nearly $1 billion worth of moviegoers all across the world — saw Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer in summer 2023, then you’ll know exactly what the Trinity Test Site is. On July 16, 1945, Trinity, the world’s first nuclear test explosion, took place in the Journada del Muerto — “Dead Man’s Journey” — desert in New Mexico.
These days, the Trinity site is still a highly secure military complex, and it is surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. And yes, weapons are still regularly tested there.
New Mexico
Despite its ongoing use, though, the Trinity Site isn’t completely closed to visitors. The army hosts an open-house event twice a year, and the first 5,000 people to arrive get to tour it for free. Naturally, because of the movie, it’s expected that the October 2023 open house will see a massive surge in popularity.
Army historian Jim Eckles told CNN, “The Oppenheimer movie resurrected concerns we’ve lost sight of. That thousands of nuclear warhead missiles are still out there, able to launch. We need clever, intelligent people to deal with the sequence that began at Trinity.”