10 Mysterious Military Sites in America

Military sites are located all around America, and even the world. Many of these are easily accessible and can be found with a simple online search. However, some military sites remain very secretive to this day. Many of these secret sites are located well behind barbed-wire fencing or deep underground. It’s tough to locate these sites, and it’s nearly impossible to find out what these locations are used for.

This list delves into ten mysterious military sites in America.

Related: 10 Absurdly Deadly Military Jobs

10 Raven Rock

Tucked away in the farmlands of Pennsylvania near the Maryland state line lies the Raven Rock Mountain Complex, also known as the Underground Pentagon. The underground bunker was built in the 1950s as a relocation site for the Pentagon in case of a catastrophic emergency. The site only saw emergency use once when Dick Cheney was evacuated to the site on September 11th, 2001.

Raven Rock has its own power plant, underground reservoirs, and food reserves. It is rumored to house hundreds of people and could hold thousands in the event of an emergency. Most people have no idea what is inside the site. Amazingly, it can be compared to a small city with its own fire department, medical facilities, and police department with individual buildings built inside the massive area.^[1]

9 Fort Detrick

Fort Detrick in Maryland is used today as the Army’s base for biological research and consists of more than 600 buildings across 13,000 acres (5,261 hectares). Fort Detrick is less private than many other military sites. However, there are still several restrictions and unknown work happening at the location. The site is used for research into toxins and antitoxins and defense against diseases. It is also used for the study of plant pathogens, worldwide communications, and medical material management.

Before the site was used as a biomedical research facility, Fort Detrick was home to the CIA’s top-secret chemical and mind control empire. The CIA’s mind control program MK-ULTRA was designed to develop biological weapons that could be used against war enemies. Chemists were assigned to find military uses for toxic bacteria and to work on mind control projects. The site housed an arsenal of poisons that could cause the worst diseases. This military site has changed over the years, but there are likely several secrets still unknown throughout the history of the site.^[2]

8 Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is in Dayton, Ohio, and it is divided into two separate administrative areas known as Area A and Area B. The two areas are separated by railroad tracks and a state road. Area A is the larger of the two and contains a runway complex, offices, and industrial facilities. Area B is less than half the size of Area A and is made up mostly of research facilities.

This Air Force base has been at the center of several conspiracy theories and myths involving secrets and aliens. Conspiracy theorists believe “Hangar 18” was located at the base and contained UFO debris and even alien bodies resulting from a UFO crash. Many believe there are also secret tunnels throughout the base, and some think that ghosts exist on the property. None of these theories or myths have been confirmed, and the United States Air Force denies these claims.^[3]

7 Cheyenne Mountain Complex

Located near the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, sits the underground facility known as the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The complex is a United States Space Force installation and defensive bunker. The bunker is believed to have survived a nuclear attack as it hides behind 2,500 feet (762 meters) of granite inside of a mountain. The command base is also sealed by 25-ton (22.7-metric ton) doors and supports many personnel in case of an emergency.

What exactly goes down in this secret underground complex? We may never fully know, but we do know that the facility consists of 15 three-story buildings that are connected by tunnels. The complex has its own water supply, power plant, and heating and cooling system, and the granite and steel protect electronics from electromagnetic energy pulses caused by nuclear explosions. It’s known as one of the most secure facilities in the world, but it may also be one of the most mysterious facilities in the world as well.^[4]

6 Area 6

In 2016, a mysterious mile-long airstrip popped up on Google Earth in the Nevada desert. The site of the airstrip is roughly 12 miles (19.3 km) northeast of the famous Area 51, and this Nevada National Security Site is known as Area 6. The site has held four nuclear tests that led to six detonations. A handful of hangars also accompany the large landing strip, but it is unknown what has been conducted at the site since first being built in the 1950s.

It is believed that the area is now used to test unmanned aerial vehicles. The tests conducted at Area 6 include sensor operations, computer development, and airframe modifications. The runway is too small for fighter jets. However, the hangars are large enough to hold several MQ-9 Reaper planes, a drone capable of performing strikes and reconnaissance against targets. It’s possible that the future of war aircraft is being developed and researched at this location.^[5]

5 Camp Peary

Camp Peary is a 9,000-acre (3,642-hectare) military base located in Virginia that hosts covert CIA training better known as “The Farm.” The secret reservation is where top candidates master skills such as shooting, parachuting, meditation, and recruiting assets. The existence of The Farm is widely known, but the U.S. government has never formally acknowledged the site. The site is heavily secured, and CIA trainees can spend months at the property while learning their skills.

Candidates start with mild training while sitting behind a desk, but those who show promise eventually work their way to a 007-style spy school. This is where courses such as speed boat handling and defensive driving are offered to trainees. Other skills of the trade that must be learned include communicating in codes, infiltrating hostile counties, and retrieving messages from dead drops. They also endure grueling training to learn how to withstand captivity and torture while training at The Farm.^[6]

4 Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity

During World War II, the Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity facility was established in North Carolina for blimps conducting anti-submarine surveillance. The base was transformed into a weapons testing facility in the 1960s, and it was even used as a training facility for the CIA, FBI, SEALs, and other units. The base even had a mock-up of Osama bin Laden’s hideaway that was used by Navy SEALs before they invaded the terrorist’s location.

It is mainly unknown what happens at the facility, but we do know that special military operations are located there today. The CIA uses the space for paramilitary and counter-terrorism courses. They use explosives to simulate terrorist bombs that have taken place in other parts of the world. The explosions can be felt and heard for miles from the base.^[7]

3 Dugway Proving Ground

Some of the most dangerous biological and chemical agents in the world are being held at a facility in Utah. The facility is known as the Dugway Proving Grounds and is a testing site for the United States Army. The top-secret facility is in the desert of Utah, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Salt Lake City, where biological and chemical weapons are regularly tested. The site is located on a whopping 801,505 acres (3,243 square km) of the Great Salk Lake Desert, which is about the size of Rhode Island.

In 1968, more than 6,000 sheep mysteriously died 30 miles (48 km) away from the testing site. The sheep were found to have died from a poisonous chemical, and the incident was referred to as the Dugway Sheep Kill incident. Their deaths coincided with the Army’s tests of open-air nerve agents. The Army never admitted liability, but they did pay for the loss of the sheep.

The base has also drawn attention over the speculation of UFOs being stored at the facility, but no proof has been provided. The base is highly confidential as it holds some of the military’s top classified research.^[8]

2 Fort Meade

The National Security Agency, better known as NSA, is located at Fort Meade in Maryland. It is also home to other headquarters, such as the United States Cyber Command, the Defense Courier Service, and the Defense Information Systems Agency. Since Fort Meade is home to several different units, this means that A LOT happens at this site.

In the 1970s, the United States conducted telepathic experiments based out of Fort Meade. These experiments focused on using extrasensory perception to gain information about locations that can’t be seen by the human eye due to distance and other impediments. Many considered the project to be a success and believed that psychic techniques for military use would be effective, but the project was later seen as an expensive failure.

The NSA headquarters and operations building located at Fort Meade is a large, modern, boxy structure covered with one-way dark glass preventing anyone from seeing inside. It is also lined with copper shielding to help trap sounds and signals to prevent espionage. The official responsibility of the NSA is the global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data. Still, nobody really knows what goes on inside the secretive building.^[9]

1 Mount Weather

The Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center is in Virginia and is home to FEMA’s National Emergency Coordinating Center. It is also the location of a secretive underground bunker to shelter the President and other top-rank officials in case of an emergency. The site is surrounded by a 10-foot (3-meter) high fence that is topped with six strands of barbed wire. Motorists who come too close to the site will be watched through binoculars, shadowed by security cars, and escorted away if coming to close.

The underground complex has its own water source, power plant, refrigerators for food storage, cafeterias, a hospital, sleeping quarters, a radio and television studio, and anything else needed to house the top-ranking U.S. officials in case of a catastrophe. There are a couple of hundred people who work full-time at the site, and they have taken a vow to not speak of Mount Weather. The site was mostly secret until 1974 when a Boeing 727 jetliner crashed near the site of Mount Weather. Even though the public now knows about the location, it is still mostly a mystery what goes on at the site.^[10]