Original vintage 1964 Electronic Communications Inc (ECI) advertisement for the company's Airborne Command Post communications system, used by the U.S.’s Strategic Air Command for communication with its airborne, nuclear-weapon equipped bomber aircraft.
“Who put the red telephone in the sky? The Strategic Air Command’s red telephone is as much a part of our deterrent strength as the nuclear firepower it controls. Through SAC’s Airborne Command Post, Electronic Communications Inc provides an airborne communications system that can survive a nuclear attack.”
Dimensions: Approx. 11 inches wide by 8.25 inches high.
U.S. Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a Cold War-era Department of Defense Specified Command and an Air Force (USAF) Major Command (MAJCOM) responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) components of the United States military's strategic nuclear forces from 1946 to 1992, active for most of the Cold War. SAC was also responsible for strategic reconnaissance aircraft; airborne command posts; and most of the USAF's aerial refueling aircraft.
At the height of the Cold War in 1983, SAC controlled a total of 37 different wings, and it operated 1,000 Minuteman II and III ICBMs, 48 LGM-25C Titan II ICBMs, 316 B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers, 56 FB-111 Aardvark fighter-bombers. Supporting these, SAC operated 615 KC-135 Stratotanker refuelers, alongside 14 EC-135 'Looking Glass' and several E-4 'Nightwatch' command and control aircraft, the latter of which supported U.S. Continuity of Government planning and implementation. Reconnaissance aircraft included the SR-71 Blackbird, U-2 'Dragon Lady', and RC-135.
In 1992, as part of an overall post-Cold War reorganization of the USAF, SAC was disestablished as both a Specified Command and as a MAJCOM. Its personnel and equipment redistributed among the Air Combat Command (ACC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), and Air Education and Training Command (AETC), while SAC's central headquarters complex at Offutt AFB, Nebraska was concurrently transferred to the newly created United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), which was established as a joint Unified Combatant Command to replace SAC's Specified Command role.
In 2009, SAC was reactivated and redesignated as the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), which eventually acquired all USAF bomber aircraft and the ICBM force, inheriting the role of its predecessor.
SAC has left a lasting cultural impact in addition to its military legacy. The most prominent slogan associated with SAC is the official motto, “Peace Is Our Profession.” This phrase captured the command's role in maintaining peace through deterrence during the Cold War.
Another unofficial slogan became part of SAC lore: “To err is human; to forgive is not SAC policy.” This saying reflected the high standards and strict discipline within SAC, where precision and accountability were paramount due to the critical nature of its mission. Additional, unofficial slogans include "Peace Through Strength" and "Peace Through Superior Firepower.”
Electronic Communications, Inc. (ECI)
Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, ECI was a defense contractor that manufactured specialized control and communication systems—such as control computers and multiplexers—for the U.S. Air Force, including the SAC and its Post Attack Command and Control System (PACCS). ECI built critical hardware like the AN/ACC-1 and AN/ACC-2 frequency-division/multiplexer systems used in SAC airborne and ground command networks, and it was awarded major U.S. Air Force contracts (such as a multi-million dollar award in 1979 via the Rome Air Development Center) to develop jam-resistant, secure voice communications for military pilots and command element.
Today, the name is also associated with ECI Systems, a commercial and public safety security integrator providing alarms, cameras, and two-way radio networks
