Olney Federal Support Center

The Olney Federal Support Center is an underground U.S. government facility owned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and located in Montgomery County, Maryland.[1] The center occupies 75 acres (30 ha) of property 2.0 miles (3.2 km) west of Laytonsville, Maryland, on the site of a former Nike missile base.[2][3] It is a communications, satellite teleregistration, and data network facility with various functions, both known and unknown to the general public. The facility at one time housed the FEMA Alternate Operations Center (FAOC)[4] as a control center for the National Warning System.[2][5][6] It is also part of the National Radio System, a high-frequency radio network that links FEMA's emergency operations centers.[2]

References

  1. Lew, H.S. (1999). Supporting Document for Rehabilitation Cost Estimates of FEMA Existing Buildings. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Bunkers Beyond the Beltway: The Federal Government Backup System". The Lay of the Land (Center for Land Use Interpretation). Spring 2002. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  3. "Olney O&M Support". General Services Administration. July 25, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  4. The Alternate National Warning Center (ANWC) was renamed the FEMA Alternate Operations Center (FAOC) in 1999. See National Warning System Operations Manual. Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2001. p. 1-3. The FAOC may have since relocated to the FEMA Regional Center in Thomasville, Georgia. See Rivera (June 2, 2004). "The Government Underground: FEMA/Military Bases Itch to be Only Game in Town". Portland Independent Media Center.
  5. "Alternate Special Warning Facility: Olney Special Facility". Federation of American Scientists. July 25, 1998. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  6. Goodwin, Jacob (August 7, 2010). "FEMA Needs Armed Guards at Secretive Federal Support Center in Gaithersburg, MD". Government Security News. Retrieved March 21, 2013.

Coordinates: 39°12′33″N 77°06′23″W / 39.2093°N 77.1063°W