US strategic HQ staging big A-retaliation test

Hundreds of manned bombers and a Minuteman missile are being used in what the Strategic Air Command (SAC) calls the biggest and most comprehensive test of US nuclear retaliation ability. The SAC headquarters said the 20-day exercise, called Global Shield 81, would involve more than 100,000 people and 800 aircraft. Pentagon officials said the exercise was not related to any current world events or the change in administration, but had been planned for some time. However, it comes amid intense debate among military and political pl anners over US vulnerability to Soviet attack.