Speaking of space, did you know during the moon landing NASA lost communication with them on their journey leaving the moon so they were broadcasting radio trying to find a signal and all of a sudden they pick up 1 radio communication and it was from our enormous satellite dish in Parkes NSW and we relayed info to NASA to guide them home from the moon. Imagine thinking you were lost in space with no communication and then out of nowhere some random aussie replies to your radio calls. "G'day mate, what's that? You just left the moon? No worries matey, I'll give NASA a buzz for ya"
It was known all along that NASA would loose communication at some point upon landing where they went for the first space walk. That's why so much planning went into this broadcast, as they knew it would happen. It wasn't by accident at all. The movie 'The Dish' shows this occurring from the Parkes Satellite, yet it was Honeysuckle Creek that was the one responsible for the broadcast. Parkes was only a back-up and used in the movie as Honeysuckle Creek does not exist anymore.🇦🇺
@@chich61The Dish was a fun movie but much of the information displayed was incorrect. It was filmed in Parkes due to the actual satellite dish at Honeysuckle Creek, which took over the planned broadcast, had been disassembled. Parkes was only a back-up in case something went wrong at Honeysuckle Creek. It's disrespectful to not remember the service that was given by the many from Honeysuckle Creek and handing it to Parkes because of a movie. The entire broadcast was planned, not picked up by accident, as the comment states. Much work and planning went into getting this right and it was just as the astronauts were exiting the limb to set foot on the moon for the first time that the broadcast from the US, Hawaii if memory serves, cut out and our broadcast from Honeysuckle Creek took over and provided the world with footage.🇦🇺
As an Aussie I agree with you. I’d rather nobody have this sort of power, but if someone has to, I don’t mind that it’s America as our two countries (along with Canada, UK and NZ) are incredibly similar.
I lived in Alice for 5 years. My youngest went to pre school with some of the kids of the soldiers that work at the base. Funny thing is, he has an American accent from learning to speak among the American kids lol.
Hey Ryan, Congratulations to you and your wife on the arrival of your beautiful new family member xx Now you'll just HAVE get to know one of Australia's biggest stars... The Wiggles! But if you are looking for new videos to review; I'd suggest you check out any of the "Russell Coight - All Aussie Adventures" videos - Its a well known Aussie comedy TV show. Keep up the great content, loving watching your reactions to our weird and wonderful country. :)
Hi, congratulations on your baby. I moved to Alice Springs in 1969 and lived there 18yrs. During this time we got to see the American Starlifter aircraft deliver the domes in parts at the then small airport. I grew up and made friends with alot of Americans. They also bought their left hand vehicles as in Alice our car clubs were apart of us. Back then there were no sealed roads from South Australia and we would get isolated with the rains. We repected always not to ask about the Space Base as we called it. It does look like a chip lol. There are some on site accommodation as you can tell also a cafeteria. They have a bus service to pickup and drop off staff. They are also provided with housing in town. Have had some awesome times with them. Usually a 2yr turn around for the staff returning to America was always heartbreaking but always very fond memories watching the base grow. Some partners were school teachers. I think I had about 5 over the years so we learnt quite abit about America even back then. Thankyou for sharing.
I’ve heard of Pine Gap over the years & knew it was top secret but I didn’t know it’s real purpose. Thanks Ryan. When I was a kid in the 60’s we had a rocket scientist across the road from us- originally from the UK. He & his family were awaiting relocation to move to Woomera- a rocket range.
In the 1960s my father and other bomb & missile experts spent a >year clearing Woomera of any UXB & explosives so that the site could be repurposed. Every 3rd or 4th weekend he drove home to the family in Richmond NSW on Friday and then back to Woomera on Sunday pm.
Ironically, I lived in Elizabeth a Satellite City in the 1960’s. We had so many Brits who emigrated to my town. In the class there were only 2 Australian kids. Also, nearby we had Edinburgh RAAF base & Weapons Research Establishment. My dad worked as a Plumber at both. Interesting about your dad & his work in the 60’s.
Fun fact the Australian coat of arms has a kangaroo and an emu because they cannot walk backwards which symbolises that Australia keeps evolving and going forward and doesn’t go backwards
The same coat of arms animals that must have been on roller skates for the past 9 YEARS of LNP conservative government, as we have DEFINITELY gone backwards!! Hopefully now that's changed!
When I used to work travelling from state to state, I was surprised to find that there were a lot of Americans living in Alice Springs and almost all of them either worked at Pine Gap themselves or lived with someone who does.
Pine Gap is a satellite surveillance base and Australian Earth station approximately 18 kilometres (11 miles) south-west of the town of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in the centre of Australia. It is jointly operated by Australia and the United States, and since 1988 it has been officially called the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (JDFPG); previously, it was known as Joint Defence Space Research Facility. The station is partly run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), US National Security Agency (NSA), and US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and is a key contributor to the NSA's global interception/surveillance effort, which included the ECHELON program. The classified NRO name of the Pine Gap base is Australian Mission Ground Station (AMGS), while the unclassified cover term for the NSA function of the facility is RAINFALL. Peace out.
It also sends EMF beams out to alter our weather , hence the name Operation Rainfall , they made the floods the eastcoast has copped and the drought prior to the floods , geoengineering is real , chemtrails are real
I was born in Darwin. My sister just moved away from Alice Springs and yes there is military base there. I thought most Australians knew about this. I have been there when I was in the military
I worked for an Australian Government entity in the 70's in a computer centre. We had an IBM system and we had an IBM technician permanently on site. One day after work a few of us went to the pub and the IBM tech got a little bit drunk and started to tell us about a place he used to work at called Pine Gap. He sobered up in about five seconds when he saw the expressions on our faces and left the pub. Pine Gap was never mentioned ever again.
What may also of interest, particularly to the locals, is that a Russian Foreign Minister has already stated that Pine Gap IS a nuclear target in the event of a nuclear war. He stated that 3 warheads would be assigned to the base from a Russian nuclear missile, because of the surrounding mountain ranges. They planned on one under-shooting ... one over-shooting .. and one on target. Scary stuff!!
Considering the distance I'd be surprised the Russians would have anything capable of reaching us and even if they did the flight time would be huge for detection and counter measures.
Pine Gap being a nuclear target really isn't saying much though - I grew up in Geraldton, WA and knew that we were a Soviet nuclear target because of our deep water port. Hell, I live in Port Hedland, WA now and we're a nuclear target here for much the same reason. Any town with a decent port is a nuclear target because they're the only weapon which could reliably disable naval ship docking and/or resupply for a decent timeframe. Hell, in WA we had/have other nuclear targets because of smaller military and spy bases, like Exmouth, Kojarena, etc. and these are just the publicly known targets - how many Echelon or Five Eyes bases are there around the country that aren't known to the general public but are known to nuclear powers like Russia and China?
My sister was born in Alice Springs. I’ve been there and it’s isolated. I’m used to living in rural Australia and having the nearest “town” over 2 hours drive, but you feel the isolation out there! Hope Jace is doing well! All the best to the three of you! 💜💜💜
I live in Alice Springs. Moved here 18yrs ago and was wondering why I met so many janitors,. Cleaners and gardeners... It's the go to what the Americans say they do as a job. Haha. Pine gap have their own buses that pick up people from different spots around town. The Nick name for the base here is space base. And they have space base houses for their employees around town. I'm particular suburbs you can definately spot which houses are space base houses as they look incredibly similar is appearance. But the more fancy their position, the fancier suburb they get to live in and you can't tell the houses apart. They can also get things shipped to them to the post office at the base, from supermarket things, to shipping their cars to Australia. There's American cars that drive on our roads here in Alice. They can even get the American equivalent of aluminium (the kitchen alfoil). There's a gym at the base as well as the pool. Lots of perks for employment if they work here, but often they can only renew their contract a few times before they have to move on to another base. Where I walk the dogs on some off road 4x4 tracks, you can see their space domes in the distance. Also the Green that you see happens every 6-10 yrs. Often it's dry and brown here, but those photos are obviously after consecutive bouts of rain.
Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt is a joint Australian and United States naval communication station located on the northwest coast of Australia, 6 kilometers (4 mi) north of the town of Exmouth, Western Australia. The station is operated and maintained by the Australian Department of Defence on behalf of Australia and the United States and provides very low frequency (VLF) radio transmission to United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and allied ships and submarines in the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean
It can't be overstated just how important Pine Gap is to America and for this reason alone why America would come to Australia's defense if it were attacked.
Also the reason the US basically overthrew the Australian Prime Minister back in the day, allegedly. Aussie Prime minister pulled out of Vietnam, criticized the US bombing of North Vietnam and there was basically fear within the US government that the "leftists [within the Labor Party would] try to throw overboard all military alliances and eject our highly classified US defence space installations from Australia"... So I'm sure they breathed a huge sigh of relief when John Kerr, who definitely had no ties with the U.S. decided completely on his own without any influence to invoke an archaic law that gave him as the governor general the power to remove the prime minister from his position... I do think it's kinda weird though how the U.S. would refer to him as "Our man Kerr" in leaked documents though even though they had no ties with him... Maybe they just really liked him?
Australia has to keep an eagle eyed view on the USA's military/defence politics because we have been inextricably militarily linked to each other since WW2, and will be until some other technology supersedes Australia's role as the military/aircraft carrier communication network for the USA for half the Earth, and NASA's communication hub for half the sky. For example Elon Musk's Starlink could possibly do the job now... but does the USA pentagon think Starlink is secure enough? Australia is the ONLY nation to go to war in alliance with the USA every single time since WW2. If the USA goes to war with China, at the moment, AFAIK, communications to run the war will go through Australia. Our stakes are high, and you'd better believe that when Donald Trump was president, and hung up midway through a scheduled phone call with the Australian Prime Minister, Donald Trump slapped the face of one of the USA's most steadfast and strategically important military allies.
I doubt we’d do much (after all the last time we even gave a hint of possibly saying no to America they (with the help of Britain) replaced our PM and filled our government with British/American spies and yes men)
Knowing the shit the CIA has done in the past, yeah, I really hate us being such close allies with the US that we just allow them to use us like this. We're not lap dogs. I wouldn't trust any of their officials (especially in regards to us just being collateral if we're ever attacked because of the US constantly provoking everyone) seem as though CIA operatives in the '60s themselves ignored the command of their high ups as to launch attacks like what happened during the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.
I remember a few years ago in Alice Springs, a guy was walking around town in broad daylight with a samurai sword and a few home made pipe bombs in his backpack, the only give away was the sword was sticking out of the bag when the public noticed it they called the cops, he was arrested and they had to call a bomb squad to disarm the bombs one one by one in the sands of the Todd River, upon reading about this incident on the papers I thought to myself, where did these bomb squad came from? As a native Australian living just north of Alice Springs who would go to Alice for sporting events and the Royal Shows on a monthly basis, I was wondering, where did those bomb squad came from, didn't know all those time until I've found out there is an American base just outside of town, which is Pine Gap, Australia's very own Area 51....
Congratulations to you both on the arrival of your special child. Just a bit of loving advice, make sure your wife sleeps as much as she can during these first few weeks, she has done something incredible, and is well deserving of rest. God bless you all.
Congrats on your new son. Great name by the way, it will mean a lot in the future trust me. I hope he brings you as much pure joy as mine has. God bless mate.
The Kangaroo and Emu are on the Australian Coat of Arms. Since Both species cannot walk backwards the inference is "keep walking forwards" as in keep advancing.
I’ve lived in 5 different states of Australia over the decades - most people I’ve met here and talked to, know or have heard of Pine Gap, but it’s fair to argue that a lot of people know very little about what it actually does.
The data collected by Pine Gap is primarily related to weapons testing in countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as the collection and analysis of this data allows the US and Australia to keep track of the progress of weapon development programs of those countries. This helps in enabling the US to stay ahead of potential enemies in technology and informs planning by military strategists.
Desmond Ball, a professor in Strategic Studies at Australian National University (A.N.U.), situated in the capital Canberra, exposed details of the operations at Pine Gap during the 1980s. His analysis was drawn from published, though difficult to obtain, material (it's called research). In this way he was able to avoid prosecution for revealing classified material. He has been credited as the man who 'saved the world' , because of his work in the U.S. with the Carter administration. He was able to convince the Americans that the idea of a 'limited' nuclear war was a fiction, thus making such an escapade with Russia an untenable policy position. When Ball attained his academic position at A.N.U., he gave as his referees Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger. I met Des Ball in Canberra in the mid 1970s, when he was an undergraduate at A.N.U. His sister was a friend of mine. To say that Des enjoyed a drink would be a colossal understatement. Many a time I saw him in the early morning, as he awoke from his slumbers, under one of the pool tables in the Refectory at the uni. Interestingly, in those politically-charged days of the Whitlam Govt. dismissal by the Governor-General (with the alleged involvement of the C.I.A), those on the left were convinced he was a stooge of the C.I.A., and those of a conservative bent saw him as a threat to the nation's security. He was neither. There is a slew of information on the Wiki site about him and in particular his more recent work as a strategic adviser to the para-military insurgents in Myanmar, just prior to his death from cancer, in 2016. He was a lovely feller, who was frighteningly intelligent, though you would hardly know it on first meeting him.
we also have the Jindalee over-the-horizon radar (we've given this tech to the US) which can detect stealth planes by bouncing off the ionosphere on top of the planes
Yes, we've known about Pine Gap every since it was built, and I suspect most of us don't really mind it being there. Its a very long way from anywhere and even if it was attacked, it wouldn't affect the rest of the country. And it would be very hard to attack anyhow, since Pine Gap itself would know about any kind of attack coming its way well before it got there.
There is one country every other country wants and that is Australia, for 3 reasons. It has all the natural resources that you may want. It has all the open area for population. But most importantly, if you don't have Australia included you don't have complete radar coverage of the world.
Check out.... Woomera in South Australia. That was another military American town within Australia. In fact it was a closed American owned town with American currency, postage stamps etc. I went to work there with the federal govt illegal immigrant processing facilities just as the American govt gave Woomera back to Australia. It was an incredible experience looking into what an American military base looked like. It was like a1950's/60's walk back in history. With a movie theatre, kids club, schools, an incredible hospital that was still immaculate. Totally amazing to see and experience. My daughter went to school in an American school, and she loved it. Sadly though this town had some horrific secrets involving radioactive materials, lots of still births, malformations of children that didn't survive. The cemetery is full of little ones. Incredibly sad.
Russia was the first nation to build and launch a satellite into earth orbit and the U.S.A. was the second nation. But did you know that Australia was the third nation to build and launch its own satellite? The U.S.A. is also very reliant on Australia's tracking and relay station in New South Wales for its space program. We relayed the tv signals from the moon landing to the U.S. so we go to see the images first. When the U.S. goes back to the moon in a few years our satellite dish at Parkes in N.S.W. will again play a crucial role in relaying the images to the U.S. There are other bases in Australia that are more secret than Pine Gap. Congratulations on the birth of your son and best wishes to your wife.
Do they still use Parkes for that type of work? I thought Tidbinbilla did all our deep space tracking these days. Edit: I had a look Tidbinbilla is the only one operated by NASA now, so they'll probably handle any comm's with the moon. As far as I know Parkes is only used as a Radio Observatory now... not to suggest that it's any less valuable in that role.
@@stever285 From what I remember, Tidbinbilla is an observatory mostly if not only, similar to Stromlo which got burnt down in the 2003 bushfires, where they look as compared to using radio. Yes, Parkes is still in use today 🙂 They had a small-ish planetarium at the Downer Club some 20 yrs ago. Left Canberra in 2006 and never looked back. That place ruined my life..... a nice place to visit yet will screw up your life totally in more ways than we can count if you live there. Out of 3-4 things I HATE, Canberra is one of them.
@@stever285 I recently heard a commentator who is a scientist who does commentary on Australia's pace program say that they intended to use Parkes again. Tidbinbilla may be committed to deep space tracking so it would be easier to use Parkes with any necessary upgrades. I must check this out.
BTW, this is a JOINT base between US & Australia. I'm not naïve enough to say that all of the information gathered there is available to Australia, but there has been enough hints over the years to know that we (Australia) get a lot of intelligence out of it being there.
It is probably the USA's most important tracking station after NORAD. It provides the same kind of early missile detection from the side of the world NORAD cannot detect. In addition to being the only ally that has fought alongside the USA in every major war since the World War One, this alone makes Australia a very valuable ally to America.
And do you really think that USA would ally with us.Never allied with anyone until their property(pearl harbour)WW2 and Lusitania in WW1.But we help with all their failed and false wars.
@@moorek1967 Indeed it isn't - well spotted. But the gentleman was referring to another mission that was transferred to Pine Gap when the Joint Defence Facility Nurrungar (located at Woomera) was closed down in 1999. Nurrungar's mission was missile warning (part of NORAD's ITWAA mission), using the DSP system. Once JDFN closed down, its antennae were moved up to Pine Gap, and that component became a remote relay station for DSP and SBIRS. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is USA's most important missile warning site, but it is certainly a vital component on the world-wide missile warning network that is coordinated out of NORAD - or at least it used to be when I was a satellite commander there some years back. I also worked the DSP and SBIRS programs at USAF Space Command - as it was known back then.
You should look into the Mullumbimby Stone Henge (which is the oldest Stone Henge in the world by more than 10x older than the English Stone Henge and WAY more intricate too).
I got offered a job out there but I turned it down years ago. Didn't want to live in the middle of know where. Its a joint base but Australia does all the maintenance and upkeep at Pine Gap.
Pine Gap isn't quite as secret as the video suggests, most Australians that are old enough and have paid enough attention to things beyond their own suburb know it exists and why, although plenty of people think Pine Gap is Australia's "Area 51". I first learned that Pine Gap was a "US base with eyes in the sky" after hearing Midnight Oil's 1982 song, Power and the Passion, which references Pine Gap and made me curiously start asking many questions, but at the time no one could tell me if it was military of space exploration, CIA or NASA, that had the eyes in the sky. Then in 1983 there was a massive womens protest for a couple of weeks just outside of Pine Gap, it made the news which sort of broke the silence about Pine Gaps existence a lot more, allegations about police brutality resulted in a big investigation, so Pine Gap was in the headlines a bit more than it would have liked back in the 80's. It more recently came to light through the declassification and release of some old documents that one of Australia's Prime Ministers, Gough Whitlam, who was dismissed in 1975 by the Governor General causing a political and constitutional crisis using an archaic law that still exists today but has only ever been used in this one case, was alleged dismissed not because of some bills and parliamentary bungling as originally claimed, but because of some really complex political CIA and Mi6 conspiracy to get rid of Whitlam over alleged threats to close Pine Gap. Pine Gap may have its secrets, but it's also had its share of media attention, dark stories, and conspiracy stories spread around about it over the past 40 or so years.
Fraser blocked supply and only the Coalition in the Senate could pass this money bill. Whitlam was out of office at the time of the Dismissal. Ford had replaced Nixon. According to Kim Beasley, Whitlam clashed with Nixon over the level of Australian control over Pine Gap.
There are actually a few cold deserts and you should look it up, it's fun. Deserts are known as such because they get little to no rain/snow and most cold deserts are considered such because it's too cold to snow there. They are usually still covered in snow because it doesn't get cold enough to melt. It's actually really interesting.
Hi Ryan, I live in eastern Australia, about an hour's drive inland from Newcastle in New South Wales. At 8:25 You mention the emu on the sign, that symbol with the kangaroo and emu is the Australian National Coat of Arms. Also, when talking about us as "Aussies", it's pronounced as if the "s" is a "z", sort of like the word "Ozziez" sounds. I am only a recent subscriber so many blessings for the birth of your little boy Jace. Keep the videos coming as its so much fun seeing your reactions.
Hey Ryan, great content. What many Americans don't know is how important Australian territory is for American surveillance. Most land, sea, air and space intelligence on this side of the world is routed through Australia to the USA. Another mysterious US/Australian joint base you might be interested in is the one at Exmouth which deals in submarine communication and intelligence. Another interesting Australian asset is the JORN network of over the horizon radars.
800 combined (Australian & American) staff. The number of American personal is much lower. All part of the '5 Eyes Network' that includes the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Congratulations to you and your wife on the birth of your son. I’ve known about Pine Gap since the early 1980s. There were small and then a bit larger protests there in the early-mid 80s which were widely reported in the Australian media. It was protests against a proposal to have nuclear weapons kept there. I was fairly young at the time (and thought it was in remote QLD lol) but I still remember seeing it on the news. I don’t recall hearing much about it in the decades since.
They intercept and listen to communications out of Asia for one thing. Besides, thinking of your USA -v Australia video, they're not gonna attack us while we've got Pine Gap. 😁
I feel that I have known about Pine Gap for ever. The name is silly because there are no pines natural to Australian mainland. Alice Springs is a small town and was important when we relied on the telegraph. I have heard that there is also no spring at Alice Springs. The main river, the Todd River is dry most of the time but happens to be flowing this year 2022 because we have had a lot of rain and unprecidented flooding
And the water supply Is predicted to run out within the next 100 years. Alice will need to move to another water source to survive!! Lived in Alice in 2016. It was challenging and interesting. Cold In Winter ; hot in summer . You get arrested if you get too close to pine gap…
There is one pine tree native to the Australian mainland: the Wollamai pine which was recently discovered in the Blue Mountains. It comes from the age of the dinosaurs. It has survived in one tiny place that has been kept secret to protect it as there are only a few trees there. It has been cloned so now people are able to buy it. Not cheap though.
Pine Gap (2018) 6 episodes. I recorded it when it was on local TV here in Oz. Also Operation Buffalo (2020) 6 episodes. about goings on in and around Maralinga, South Australia at the time of British nuclear testing.
It's not secret, in as much as we all know it's there. But while you're talking emoos vs emews, I have to let you know that 'Aussies' is not pronounced Ossies, it's pronounced Ozzies. Happy arvo 😊
I grew up in Alice Springs and was a child when the "Space base" was built and suddenly our little town and schools had lots of American kids. Very cool !! But I am 67 so it was a very long time ago lol
When there was a pay dispute few years ago an Australian employee was asked by the court. what is it you actually do? Employee refused to answer for security reasons.
It is NOT actually a CIA base, it is a bit more complex than that, it is actually a true joint facility and you have to understand that about 12 years ago , after NASA spent a billion to try an figure out scram jet tech , they failed and the University of Queesland succeeded, and in this the development of what you are told the US ( and Austrlaia) does not have - which they do...hypersonic missiles, ...now Pine Gap was a joint facility BEFORE this and there was an association with NORWAY for the hypersonic missile development, as they had a better window to launch for research development. This is to contecualise that PINEGAP does a bit more than just co ordinate sattelite coms.....
Australia is helping the US with Scramjets and over the horizon radar. The US is helping Australia with nuclear submarine technology and hopefully will provide Australia with B-21 availability. Siblings.
Ryan, more on this theme? North West Cape (communicates with nuclear submarines) and JORN (A radar system that can see for thousands of miles and can detect stealth aircraft). Peter
@@Dr_KAP Apologies, i was raised in Sydney. Nonetheless, I’ve always been fascinated with that town! The ONLY 1 like it in the world 🌎 I reckon!!! Needs more exposure… K
It's not much of a secret, we had a TV drama series about Pine Gap . Congrats on the birth of your baby .( we just added 35 000 to our migrant intake ,so we've got room if you're curious).
Hi Ryan, great video, your reaction they are great. America has all over the world Bases. Also in Germany has the US Army and the US Airforce also bases. The largest US Airfoce Base outside the US is Ramstein, Germay. The United States currently operates eleven bases in Germany. The majority of the bases are operated by the US Army, but the Marines and USAF also have bases in the country.
Been to Pine Gap for a look when I lived there. Was there maybe 15 minutes before 2 guys came out of nowhere and suggested we should leave…. Now. I accessed down the back of the rifle range. You can climb the range at Emily’s gap and see Pine Gap from there.
Super late to the conversation ~ I’m West Australian and the 1st time I heard of Pine Gap was when mh370 disappeared (I wondered how we did not see it)! I didn’t realise how far back the history was. Australia is full of army/naval bases all over our coast, being allies with the US means we have thousands of American soldiers living here and infrastructure to help 🤗🇦🇺
Its not there to watch things like domestic aircraft, althought yeah you have a point indonesia is our biggest point of interest in Australia, so yeah strange we didnt hear or see anything. Who knows they probably did, but cant reveal anything otherwise the monkeys will know we are spying on them
Now, that's a good idea. Let's break into Pine Gap. First prize is a free trip to Guantanamo Bay resort with free bed and breakfast and daily beatings. Thanks, but no thanks.
Congrats on the new Bubba! It might be because I'm nearly 60 but I thought Pine Gap was common knowledge over here! What most people don't know is there's an underground railway that goes there from Canberra! You might want to look it up, if nothing else it's interesting!
@@mehere8038 you just passed the gullibility test with flying colors! Couldn't get ya with the old drop bear routine because you already knew! We do enjoy winding up seppo's! It's like a sport to us but don't feel singled out we get everybody! Love ya work mate!
I'm not sure whether you can access it unless you use a VPN, but Netflix in Australia is currently screening a drama series called Pine Gap. I quite enjoy it!
I used to live in Alice Springs and I met lots of Americans who worked there. I remember asking dumb questions like "so what do you do?"... Apparently there's a lot of cleaners there 😂. I used to joke that Pine Gap must be the cleanest place in Australia.
Ryan mate, dunno if you're interested but a friendly note: here in OZ (Aus) we pronounce Aussie as Ozzie or Ozzy. Your ossie sounds a bit foreign. Just giving you a heads up mate, no worries.
I note that the presenter keeps stating that this is a US Intelligence facility, but the reality is, Pine Gap is a JOINT Defence facility. Australia doesn't just provide the land and the rubbish pick-up services. The US tried to ensure that they had control of the facility from the start, but the election of Labor PM Gough Whitlam in 1972, saw him insisting on it being a 'joint' operation as it was based within Australia ... and rightly so!! It was the reason behind the CIA's operation around Khemlani, a plot used to removed our properly elected Australian PM/Government from office ... something that was admitted to in later years. It has NOT been forgotten by many Australians and is a main reason behind the feeling of distrust in the US government and our dealings with them. It demonstrates STILL .. why we should NEVER trust foreign governments completely .. including the US government! The US has shown time and time again, that it will through friendly allies to the wolves if it suits their national interests. The information gathered at Pine Gap includes ALL satellite telecommunications, regardless of type ... phone/fax/emails ... EVERYTHING that comes out of this region. It operates, along with the other members of the 'Five Eyes' (FVEY) the ECHELON/TRANSIENT intelligence network ... that was denounced as just a 'conspiracy theory' by US authorities, until 2011 when the NSA finally confirmed its existence.
Nixon and Whitlam didn’t get along. Moreover, when SEA was less developed, Nixon did not want Australia to be in competition with the United States. That’s old news. We now have AUKUS.
@@TheZodiacz Only under LNP governments! These 'conservative' governments have ALWAYS sold us down the drain .. it's ONLY Labor governments that are serious about National Security and possess the ability to see it though. The LNP are great a talking about defence and making constant 'announcements' .. but if you look at their actual record .. they are hopeless!!
I remember the sacking of our Prime Minister, the wonderful Gough Whitlam by Sir John Kerr, the well known dipsomaniac. That and Morrisson’s 5 (or was it 6) ministries has convinced me how much we need to be a republic
There are green Oasis around Alice Springs with waterfalls rivers that you can't swim in because of Crocs. Temperature is like around 35 degrees but you can't get into that cool cold water. Many people have been eaten
Congratulations to you and your wife Ryan on the safe arrival of your son. My daughter lived in Alice Springs for a few years and I loved going to visit her and her family. Lol everyone in Alice Springs knows about Pine Gap so not a very good secret
A lot of Australians would like the answer to that. A truthful one. Not American and Australian Govt propaganda. They’ve got other bases here too. There’s even a map of them on the internet.
My family lived in Alice Springs - Alice for short. If you ever went out for drinks with any Americans who worked at pine gap, no matter how drunk they were - even at 2am and as drunk as a 3-headed Irish wino after a Saint Patrick's Day long-weekend - when you asked them what goes on there, they'd immediately stop talking - not a word!!! PS: congratulations 🎊 on having such a ripper bub. 🌞
Funnily enough, when I used to work for the Australian Federal Government, had a video call from an operator at Pine Gap. Ever see the CIA office scenes of "Patriot Games"?
Another interesting one was the extremely secretive joint US/Aus base called Nurrungar, near Woomera in South Australia. Woomera itself has plenty of stories as well
Speaking of space, did you know during the moon landing NASA lost communication with them on their journey leaving the moon so they were broadcasting radio trying to find a signal and all of a sudden they pick up 1 radio communication and it was from our enormous satellite dish in Parkes NSW and we relayed info to NASA to guide them home from the moon. Imagine thinking you were lost in space with no communication and then out of nowhere some random aussie replies to your radio calls. "G'day mate, what's that? You just left the moon? No worries matey, I'll give NASA a buzz for ya"
"The Dish" is a great movie about that.
It was known all along that NASA would loose communication at some point upon landing where they went for the first space walk. That's why so much planning went into this broadcast, as they knew it would happen. It wasn't by accident at all. The movie 'The Dish' shows this occurring from the Parkes Satellite, yet it was Honeysuckle Creek that was the one responsible for the broadcast. Parkes was only a back-up and used in the movie as Honeysuckle Creek does not exist anymore.🇦🇺
@@chich61The Dish was a fun movie but much of the information displayed was incorrect. It was filmed in Parkes due to the actual satellite dish at Honeysuckle Creek, which took over the planned broadcast, had been disassembled. Parkes was only a back-up in case something went wrong at Honeysuckle Creek. It's disrespectful to not remember the service that was given by the many from Honeysuckle Creek and handing it to Parkes because of a movie. The entire broadcast was planned, not picked up by accident, as the comment states. Much work and planning went into getting this right and it was just as the astronauts were exiting the limb to set foot on the moon for the first time that the broadcast from the US, Hawaii if memory serves, cut out and our broadcast from Honeysuckle Creek took over and provided the world with footage.🇦🇺
As an Aussie I agree with you. I’d rather nobody have this sort of power, but if someone has to, I don’t mind that it’s America as our two countries (along with Canada, UK and NZ) are incredibly similar.
I lived in Alice for 5 years. My youngest went to pre school with some of the kids of the soldiers that work at the base. Funny thing is, he has an American accent from learning to speak among the American kids lol.
Hey Ryan, Congratulations to you and your wife on the arrival of your beautiful new family member xx Now you'll just HAVE get to know one of Australia's biggest stars... The Wiggles! But if you are looking for new videos to review; I'd suggest you check out any of the "Russell Coight - All Aussie Adventures" videos - Its a well known Aussie comedy TV show. Keep up the great content, loving watching your reactions to our weird and wonderful country. :)
Yes, Russell Coight, John Farnham and Jimmy Barnes. If youvwant to see Aussie talent, see them
@@heatherwardell2501 skegss
Hi, congratulations on your baby.
I moved to Alice Springs in 1969 and lived there 18yrs. During this time we got to see the American Starlifter aircraft deliver the domes in parts at the then small airport.
I grew up and made friends with alot of Americans. They also bought their left hand vehicles as in Alice our car clubs were apart of us. Back then there were no sealed roads from South Australia and we would get isolated with the rains. We repected always not to ask about the Space Base as we called it. It does look like a chip lol. There are some on site accommodation as you can tell also a cafeteria. They have a bus service to pickup and drop off staff. They are also provided with housing in town. Have had some awesome times with them. Usually a 2yr turn around for the staff returning to America was always heartbreaking but always very fond memories watching the base grow. Some partners were school teachers. I think I had about 5 over the years so we learnt quite abit about America even back then. Thankyou for sharing.
lovely story, glad you made friends, did you never think to ask wtf they were doing on the base????
@@brunetteXer us space base and the video explains it.
I'm a bit late to the party but wanted to say congratulations to you and the missus on your new born baby. Love your content mate.
I’ve heard of Pine Gap over the years & knew it was top secret but I didn’t know it’s real purpose. Thanks Ryan.
When I was a kid in the 60’s we had a rocket scientist across the road from us- originally from the UK. He & his family were awaiting relocation to move to Woomera- a rocket range.
In the 1960s my father and other bomb & missile experts spent a >year clearing Woomera of any UXB & explosives so that the site could be repurposed. Every 3rd or 4th weekend he drove home to the family in Richmond NSW on Friday and then back to Woomera on Sunday pm.
Ironically, I lived in Elizabeth a Satellite City in the 1960’s. We had so many Brits who emigrated to my town. In the class there were only 2 Australian kids. Also, nearby we had Edinburgh RAAF base & Weapons Research Establishment. My dad worked as a Plumber at both.
Interesting about your dad & his work in the 60’s.
Ry, you said “Emu” not Emooo…I’m so proud of you 🎉🇦🇺👍
Fun fact the Australian coat of arms has a kangaroo and an emu because they cannot walk backwards which symbolises that Australia keeps evolving and going forward and doesn’t go backwards
Also the only coat of arms that is eaten by the locals 🤣
@@cyriloliver6747 Good old Aussie humour - we love them...so tastey
Kangaroo tails are sold in community stores in the NT.. Emu egg omelette is sold in WA restaurants
The same coat of arms animals that must have been on roller skates for the past 9 YEARS of LNP conservative government, as we have DEFINITELY gone backwards!!
Hopefully now that's changed!
@@Lolliegoth *tasty
just about every Aussie knows about pine gap so I guess it's only a secret to Americans
When I used to work travelling from state to state, I was surprised to find that there were a lot of Americans living in Alice Springs and almost all of them either worked at Pine Gap themselves or lived with someone who does.
Pine Gap is a satellite surveillance base and Australian Earth station approximately 18 kilometres (11 miles) south-west of the town of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in the centre of Australia. It is jointly operated by Australia and the United States, and since 1988 it has been officially called the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (JDFPG); previously, it was known as Joint Defence Space Research Facility.
The station is partly run by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), US National Security Agency (NSA), and US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and is a key contributor to the NSA's global interception/surveillance effort, which included the ECHELON program. The classified NRO name of the Pine Gap base is Australian Mission Ground Station (AMGS), while the unclassified cover term for the NSA function of the facility is RAINFALL. Peace out.
It also sends EMF beams out to alter our weather , hence the name Operation Rainfall , they made the floods the eastcoast has copped and the drought prior to the floods , geoengineering is real , chemtrails are real
Riiight... so a satellite surveillance base that is owned by the US and operated by the CIA and NSA and NRO there's something more to it
I was born in Darwin. My sister just moved away from Alice Springs and yes there is military base there. I thought most Australians knew about this. I have been there when I was in the military
I'm in my fifties and have known about it for as long as I can remember. I also worked somewhere in a govt or other agency
@@ForTheBirbs I agree I have known about it from about the mid 70s or so.
I worked for an Australian Government entity in the 70's in a computer centre. We had an IBM system and we had an IBM technician permanently on site. One day after work a few of us went to the pub and the IBM tech got a little bit drunk and started to tell us about a place he used to work at called Pine Gap. He sobered up in about five seconds when he saw the expressions on our faces and left the pub. Pine Gap was never mentioned ever again.
What may also of interest, particularly to the locals, is that a Russian Foreign Minister has already stated that Pine Gap IS a nuclear target in the event of a nuclear war.
He stated that 3 warheads would be assigned to the base from a Russian nuclear missile, because of the surrounding mountain ranges. They planned on one under-shooting ... one over-shooting .. and one on target.
Scary stuff!!
Overshooting...Oops Adelaide???
Is it irony, if Russia is no more, after the Russia missile launches are detected at Pine Gap?
@@Kayenne54 😂🤣would we notice? Although our red wine market might suffer a loss🤣🤪
Considering the distance I'd be surprised the Russians would have anything capable of reaching us and even if they did the flight time would be huge for detection and counter measures.
Pine Gap being a nuclear target really isn't saying much though - I grew up in Geraldton, WA and knew that we were a Soviet nuclear target because of our deep water port. Hell, I live in Port Hedland, WA now and we're a nuclear target here for much the same reason. Any town with a decent port is a nuclear target because they're the only weapon which could reliably disable naval ship docking and/or resupply for a decent timeframe. Hell, in WA we had/have other nuclear targets because of smaller military and spy bases, like Exmouth, Kojarena, etc. and these are just the publicly known targets - how many Echelon or Five Eyes bases are there around the country that aren't known to the general public but are known to nuclear powers like Russia and China?
My sister was born in Alice Springs. I’ve been there and it’s isolated. I’m used to living in rural Australia and having the nearest “town” over 2 hours drive, but you feel the isolation out there!
Hope Jace is doing well! All the best to the three of you! 💜💜💜
I live in Alice Springs. Moved here 18yrs ago and was wondering why I met so many janitors,. Cleaners and gardeners... It's the go to what the Americans say they do as a job. Haha. Pine gap have their own buses that pick up people from different spots around town. The Nick name for the base here is space base. And they have space base houses for their employees around town. I'm particular suburbs you can definately spot which houses are space base houses as they look incredibly similar is appearance. But the more fancy their position, the fancier suburb they get to live in and you can't tell the houses apart. They can also get things shipped to them to the post office at the base, from supermarket things, to shipping their cars to Australia. There's American cars that drive on our roads here in Alice. They can even get the American equivalent of aluminium (the kitchen alfoil). There's a gym at the base as well as the pool. Lots of perks for employment if they work here, but often they can only renew their contract a few times before they have to move on to another base. Where I walk the dogs on some off road 4x4 tracks, you can see their space domes in the distance. Also the Green that you see happens every 6-10 yrs. Often it's dry and brown here, but those photos are obviously after consecutive bouts of rain.
Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt is a joint Australian and United States naval communication station located on the northwest coast of Australia, 6 kilometers (4 mi) north of the town of Exmouth, Western Australia. The station is operated and maintained by the Australian Department of Defence on behalf of Australia and the United States and provides very low frequency (VLF) radio transmission to United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and allied ships and submarines in the western Pacific Ocean and the eastern Indian Ocean
It can't be overstated just how important Pine Gap is to America and for this reason alone why America would come to Australia's defense if it were attacked.
Also the reason the US basically overthrew the Australian Prime Minister back in the day, allegedly. Aussie Prime minister pulled out of Vietnam, criticized the US bombing of North Vietnam and there was basically fear within the US government that the "leftists [within the Labor Party would] try to throw overboard all military alliances and eject our highly classified US defence space installations from Australia"... So I'm sure they breathed a huge sigh of relief when John Kerr, who definitely had no ties with the U.S. decided completely on his own without any influence to invoke an archaic law that gave him as the governor general the power to remove the prime minister from his position...
I do think it's kinda weird though how the U.S. would refer to him as "Our man Kerr" in leaked documents though even though they had no ties with him... Maybe they just really liked him?
Australia has to keep an eagle eyed view on the USA's military/defence politics because we have been inextricably militarily linked to each other since WW2, and will be until some other technology supersedes Australia's role as the military/aircraft carrier communication network for the USA for half the Earth, and NASA's communication hub for half the sky.
For example Elon Musk's Starlink could possibly do the job now... but does the USA pentagon think Starlink is secure enough?
Australia is the ONLY nation to go to war in alliance with the USA every single time since WW2. If the USA goes to war with China, at the moment, AFAIK, communications to run the war will go through Australia. Our stakes are high, and you'd better believe that when Donald Trump was president, and hung up midway through a scheduled phone call with the Australian Prime Minister, Donald Trump slapped the face of one of the USA's most steadfast and strategically important military allies.
I doubt we’d do much (after all the last time we even gave a hint of possibly saying no to America they (with the help of Britain) replaced our PM and filled our government with British/American spies and yes men)
Congratulations on the birth of your son! That is so wonderful. Mrs Kerry from Australia.
I've been to Pine Gap, protesting. Ripping a piece off the fence, and getting threatened with arrest. Yankee go home.
Knowing the shit the CIA has done in the past, yeah, I really hate us being such close allies with the US that we just allow them to use us like this. We're not lap dogs. I wouldn't trust any of their officials (especially in regards to us just being collateral if we're ever attacked because of the US constantly provoking everyone) seem as though CIA operatives in the '60s themselves ignored the command of their high ups as to launch attacks like what happened during the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.
I remember a few years ago in Alice Springs, a guy was walking around town in broad daylight with a samurai sword and a few home made pipe bombs in his backpack, the only give away was the sword was sticking out of the bag when the public noticed it they called the cops, he was arrested and they had to call a bomb squad to disarm the bombs one one by one in the sands of the Todd River, upon reading about this incident on the papers I thought to myself, where did these bomb squad came from? As a native Australian living just north of Alice Springs who would go to Alice for sporting events and the Royal Shows on a monthly basis, I was wondering, where did those bomb squad came from, didn't know all those time until I've found out there is an American base just outside of town, which is Pine Gap, Australia's very own Area 51....
Congratulations to you both on the arrival of your special child. Just a bit of loving advice, make sure your wife sleeps as much as she can during these first few weeks, she has done something incredible, and is well deserving of rest. God bless you all.
Congrats on your new son. Great name by the way, it will mean a lot in the future trust me. I hope he brings you as much pure joy as mine has. God bless mate.
The Kangaroo and Emu are on the Australian Coat of Arms. Since Both species cannot walk backwards the inference is "keep walking forwards" as in keep advancing.
I just turned my tablet on. Congrats to you and your wife on the birth of your son mate. I hope they are both doing well.
I’ve lived in 5 different states of Australia over the decades - most people I’ve met here and talked to, know or have heard of Pine Gap, but it’s fair to argue that a lot of people know very little about what it actually does.
The data collected by Pine Gap is primarily related to weapons testing in countries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as the collection and analysis of this data allows the US and Australia to keep track of the progress of weapon development programs of those countries. This helps in enabling the US to stay ahead of potential enemies in technology and informs planning by military strategists.
If you would set up a postal address people would send you all sorts of stuff to react to and baby things esp. My wife makes beanies.
Yes Ryan i would like to send you something for the baby?? I so sorry? I forgot the baby's name, my bad.. Good AVO to you Mate
Desmond Ball, a professor in Strategic Studies at Australian National University (A.N.U.), situated in the capital Canberra, exposed details of the operations at Pine Gap during the 1980s. His analysis was drawn from published, though difficult to obtain, material (it's called research). In this way he was able to avoid prosecution for revealing classified material.
He has been credited as the man who 'saved the world' , because of his work in the U.S. with the Carter administration. He was able to convince the Americans that the idea of a 'limited' nuclear war was a fiction, thus making such an escapade with Russia an untenable policy position. When Ball attained his academic position at A.N.U., he gave as his referees Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger.
I met Des Ball in Canberra in the mid 1970s,
when he was an undergraduate at A.N.U. His sister was a friend of mine. To say that Des enjoyed a drink would be a colossal understatement. Many a time I saw him in the early morning, as he awoke from his slumbers, under one of the pool tables in the Refectory at the uni.
Interestingly, in those politically-charged days of the Whitlam Govt. dismissal by the Governor-General (with the alleged involvement of the C.I.A), those on the left were convinced he was a stooge of the C.I.A., and those of a conservative bent saw him as a threat to the nation's security. He was neither.
There is a slew of information on the Wiki site about him and in particular his more recent work as a strategic adviser to the para-military insurgents in Myanmar, just prior to his death from cancer, in 2016. He was a lovely feller, who was frighteningly intelligent, though you would hardly know it on first meeting him.
we also have the Jindalee over-the-horizon radar (we've given this tech to the US) which can detect stealth planes by bouncing off the ionosphere on top of the planes
... Which annoyed the USAF considerably, when they found out. :)
Congrats on the new arrival Ryan. Best of luck to the three of you!
Yes, we've known about Pine Gap every since it was built, and I suspect most of us don't really mind it being there. Its a very long way from anywhere and even if it was attacked, it wouldn't affect the rest of the country. And it would be very hard to attack anyhow, since Pine Gap itself would know about any kind of attack coming its way well before it got there.
There is one country every other country wants and that is Australia, for 3 reasons. It has all the natural resources that you may want. It has all the open area for population. But most importantly, if you don't have Australia included you don't have complete radar coverage of the world.
Also makes us the first place to nuke if it came to another world war. when fighting it's best to blind your enemy first, bye bye Alice Springs.
Check out.... Woomera in South Australia. That was another military American town within Australia. In fact it was a closed American owned town with American currency, postage stamps etc. I went to work there with the federal govt illegal immigrant processing facilities just as the American govt gave Woomera back to Australia. It was an incredible experience looking into what an American military base looked like. It was like a1950's/60's walk back in history. With a movie theatre, kids club, schools, an incredible hospital that was still immaculate. Totally amazing to see and experience. My daughter went to school in an American school, and she loved it.
Sadly though this town had some horrific secrets involving radioactive materials, lots of still births, malformations of children that didn't survive. The cemetery is full of little ones. Incredibly sad.
Russia was the first nation to build and launch a satellite into earth orbit and the U.S.A. was the second nation. But did you know that Australia was the third nation to build and launch its own satellite? The U.S.A. is also very reliant on Australia's tracking and relay station in New South Wales for its space program. We relayed the tv signals from the moon landing to the U.S. so we go to see the images first. When the U.S. goes back to the moon in a few years our satellite dish at Parkes in N.S.W. will again play a crucial role in relaying the images to the U.S. There are other bases in Australia that are more secret than Pine Gap. Congratulations on the birth of your son and best wishes to your wife.
Some of the info also went thru Honey Suckle Creek and Deakin Phone Exchanges in the day as well :-)
@@erniesulovic4734 Thanks for the extra information Ernie.
Do they still use Parkes for that type of work? I thought Tidbinbilla did all our deep space tracking these days. Edit: I had a look Tidbinbilla is the only one operated by NASA now, so they'll probably handle any comm's with the moon. As far as I know Parkes is only used as a Radio Observatory now... not to suggest that it's any less valuable in that role.
@@stever285 From what I remember, Tidbinbilla is an observatory mostly if not only, similar to Stromlo which got burnt down in the 2003 bushfires, where they look as compared to using radio. Yes, Parkes is still in use today 🙂 They had a small-ish planetarium at the Downer Club some 20 yrs ago. Left Canberra in 2006 and never looked back. That place ruined my life..... a nice place to visit yet will screw up your life totally in more ways than we can count if you live there. Out of 3-4 things I HATE, Canberra is one of them.
@@stever285 I recently heard a commentator who is a scientist who does commentary on Australia's pace program say that they intended to use Parkes again. Tidbinbilla may be committed to deep space tracking so it would be easier to use Parkes with any necessary upgrades. I must check this out.
BTW, this is a JOINT base between US & Australia. I'm not naïve enough to say that all of the information gathered there is available to Australia, but there has been enough hints over the years to know that we (Australia) get a lot of intelligence out of it being there.
Congratulations- you and he are legends! You’re by far the best reactor ever and I’m sure he will be as well!!!
Congratulations to you and your wife on the birth of your baby boy and I hope that he has beautiful blue eyes just like yours, Ryan.
It is probably the USA's most important tracking station after NORAD. It provides the same kind of early missile detection from the side of the world NORAD cannot detect. In addition to being the only ally that has fought alongside the USA in every major war since the World War One, this alone makes Australia a very valuable ally to America.
And do you really think that USA would ally with us.Never allied with anyone until their property(pearl harbour)WW2 and Lusitania in WW1.But we help with all their failed and false wars.
NORAD isn't the CIA.
@@moorek1967 Indeed it isn't - well spotted. But the gentleman was referring to another mission that was transferred to Pine Gap when the Joint Defence Facility Nurrungar (located at Woomera) was closed down in 1999. Nurrungar's mission was missile warning (part of NORAD's ITWAA mission), using the DSP system. Once JDFN closed down, its antennae were moved up to Pine Gap, and that component became a remote relay station for DSP and SBIRS. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is USA's most important missile warning site, but it is certainly a vital component on the world-wide missile warning network that is coordinated out of NORAD - or at least it used to be when I was a satellite commander there some years back. I also worked the DSP and SBIRS programs at USAF Space Command - as it was known back then.
Most of that went over my head. One thing I did learn is you say data and we say darta.
Congratulations on the birth of your new bub. Hope all is going well so far. Love his name to.
You should look into the Mullumbimby Stone Henge (which is the oldest Stone Henge in the world by more than 10x older than the English Stone Henge and WAY more intricate too).
I got offered a job out there but I turned it down years ago. Didn't want to live in the middle of know where. Its a joint base but Australia does all the maintenance and upkeep at Pine Gap.
Pine Gap isn't quite as secret as the video suggests, most Australians that are old enough and have paid enough attention to things beyond their own suburb know it exists and why, although plenty of people think Pine Gap is Australia's "Area 51". I first learned that Pine Gap was a "US base with eyes in the sky" after hearing Midnight Oil's 1982 song, Power and the Passion, which references Pine Gap and made me curiously start asking many questions, but at the time no one could tell me if it was military of space exploration, CIA or NASA, that had the eyes in the sky. Then in 1983 there was a massive womens protest for a couple of weeks just outside of Pine Gap, it made the news which sort of broke the silence about Pine Gaps existence a lot more, allegations about police brutality resulted in a big investigation, so Pine Gap was in the headlines a bit more than it would have liked back in the 80's. It more recently came to light through the declassification and release of some old documents that one of Australia's Prime Ministers, Gough Whitlam, who was dismissed in 1975 by the Governor General causing a political and constitutional crisis using an archaic law that still exists today but has only ever been used in this one case, was alleged dismissed not because of some bills and parliamentary bungling as originally claimed, but because of some really complex political CIA and Mi6 conspiracy to get rid of Whitlam over alleged threats to close Pine Gap. Pine Gap may have its secrets, but it's also had its share of media attention, dark stories, and conspiracy stories spread around about it over the past 40 or so years.
Fraser blocked supply and only the Coalition in the Senate could pass this money bill. Whitlam was out of office at the time of the Dismissal. Ford had replaced Nixon. According to Kim Beasley, Whitlam clashed with Nixon over the level of Australian control over Pine Gap.
There are actually a few cold deserts and you should look it up, it's fun. Deserts are known as such because they get little to no rain/snow and most cold deserts are considered such because it's too cold to snow there. They are usually still covered in snow because it doesn't get cold enough to melt. It's actually really interesting.
Hi Ryan, I live in eastern Australia, about an hour's drive inland from Newcastle in New South Wales. At 8:25 You mention the emu on the sign, that symbol with the kangaroo and emu is the Australian National Coat of Arms. Also, when talking about us as "Aussies", it's pronounced as if the "s" is a "z", sort of like the word "Ozziez" sounds.
I am only a recent subscriber so many blessings for the birth of your little boy Jace. Keep the videos coming as its so much fun seeing your reactions.
Congratulations to you and your wife on the arrival of your beautiful new son x
Hey Ryan, great content. What many Americans don't know is how important Australian territory is for American surveillance. Most land, sea, air and space intelligence on this side of the world is routed through Australia to the USA. Another mysterious US/Australian joint base you might be interested in is the one at Exmouth which deals in submarine communication and intelligence. Another interesting Australian asset is the JORN network of over the horizon radars.
so why can we not get full internet coverage ha . all.over oz.
@@janegarnham aus net been bottlenecked since 90s intentionally
Omg yes, that aerial pic of Pine Gap does look like a circuit board/chip 😅😅
800 combined (Australian & American) staff.
The number of American personal is much lower.
All part of the '5 Eyes Network' that includes the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Congratulations to you and your wife on the birth of your son.
I’ve known about Pine Gap since the early 1980s. There were small and then a bit larger protests there in the early-mid 80s which were widely reported in the Australian media. It was protests against a proposal to have nuclear weapons kept there. I was fairly young at the time (and thought it was in remote QLD lol) but I still remember seeing it on the news. I don’t recall hearing much about it in the decades since.
They intercept and listen to communications out of Asia for one thing. Besides, thinking of your USA -v Australia video, they're not gonna attack us while we've got Pine Gap. 😁
I feel that I have known about Pine Gap for ever. The name is silly because there are no pines natural to Australian mainland. Alice Springs is a small town and was important when we relied on the telegraph. I have heard that there is also no spring at Alice Springs. The main river, the Todd River is dry most of the time but happens to be flowing this year 2022 because we have had a lot of rain and unprecidented flooding
And the water supply
Is predicted to run out within the next 100 years. Alice will need to move to another water source to survive!! Lived in Alice in 2016. It was challenging and interesting. Cold In Winter ; hot in summer . You get arrested if you get too close to pine gap…
There is one pine tree native to the Australian mainland: the Wollamai pine which was recently discovered in the Blue Mountains. It comes from the age of the dinosaurs. It has survived in one tiny place that has been kept secret to protect it as there are only a few trees there. It has been cloned so now people are able to buy it. Not cheap though.
Congrats, on the little fella mate, all the best wishes for the future..
There is a tv series on Netflix called Pine Gap that’s centred around characters working at the base
Pine Gap (2018) 6 episodes. I recorded it when it was on local TV here in Oz.
Also Operation Buffalo (2020) 6 episodes. about goings on in and around Maralinga, South Australia at the time of British nuclear testing.
my oldest son is called Jace , congrats and I hope he is a great sleeper like mine was
Hey Ryan you are learning a lot about Australia. It would be good if other Americans could learn about others countries as well.
It's not secret, in as much as we all know it's there.
But while you're talking emoos vs emews, I have to let you know that 'Aussies' is not pronounced Ossies, it's pronounced Ozzies.
Happy arvo 😊
😂 happy arvo
you didn't want to mention that literally NO ONE says "happy arvo"
@@brunetteXer He knows that.
Had breakfast at Alice Springs once. Didn't see much it was about 3.00AM. (Special arrangement for the RNZAF.)
Congratulations on the safe arrival of your son. He is very cute.
I grew up in Alice Springs and was a child when the "Space base" was built and suddenly our little town and schools had lots of American kids. Very cool !! But I am 67 so it was a very long time ago lol
Congratulations on becoming a father Ryan , it will be your most important role in life and I'm sure you will do it well .
As an older American, we must make it known that we the public in America neither endorse or approve of the CIA anywhere.
i was there both my kids being born , now in the blink of an eye , im 71, but i gave my kids time things and love.
🫃congratulations on the safe arrival of your precious baby boy.
When there was a pay dispute few years ago an Australian employee was asked by the court.
what is it you actually do?
Employee refused to answer for security reasons.
It is NOT actually a CIA base, it is a bit more complex than that, it is actually a true joint facility and you have to understand that about 12 years ago , after NASA spent a billion to try an figure out scram jet tech , they failed and the University of Queesland succeeded, and in this the development of what you are told the US ( and Austrlaia) does not have - which they do...hypersonic missiles, ...now Pine Gap was a joint facility BEFORE this and there was an association with NORWAY for the hypersonic missile development, as they had a better window to launch for research development. This is to contecualise that PINEGAP does a bit more than just co ordinate sattelite coms.....
Australia is helping the US with Scramjets and over the horizon radar. The US is helping Australia with nuclear submarine technology and hopefully will provide Australia with B-21 availability. Siblings.
Ryan, more on this theme? North West Cape (communicates with nuclear submarines) and JORN (A radar system that can see for thousands of miles and can detect stealth aircraft). Peter
Breaking into Pine Gap!
Been done
PS… there’s also another town around that area known as Coober Pedy…. It’s an underground TOWN! Citizens there LIVE underground!!!!
Coober Pedy is in South Australia 😉
@@Dr_KAP Apologies, i was raised in Sydney. Nonetheless, I’ve always been fascinated with that town! The ONLY 1 like it in the world 🌎 I reckon!!! Needs more exposure… K
@@katchiewilliams4638 no probs I’m a NSW girl too but Coober Pedy fascinates me
@@Dr_KAP LOL 😂 it’s like The World’s “Best Kept Secret” 🤫
The Netflix show "Pine Gap" was really interesting, and a good bit of drama.
Hey Ryan, Congratulations to you and your wife on the arrival of your beautiful new family member xx
Fun fact we here in Australia are known as little America, I've heard this term on multiple occasions
It's not much of a secret, we had a TV drama series about Pine Gap . Congrats on the birth of your baby .( we just added 35 000 to our migrant intake ,so we've got room if you're curious).
So happy for you and your other half. Recon the little fella needs an Ozzie nickname. I’ll start the ball rolling with “Bruce”
Don't be cruel.
Maybe they're keeping an eye on the dingoes
Hi Ryan, great video, your reaction they are great. America has all over the world Bases. Also in Germany has the US Army and the US Airforce also bases. The largest US Airfoce Base outside the US is Ramstein, Germay. The United States currently operates eleven bases in Germany. The majority of the bases are operated by the US Army, but the Marines and USAF also have bases in the country.
The rent for pine gap is FN huge and it's literally in the middle of know where, it's like 50 bucks per grain of sand.
Congratulations on your new born Mate. 🍻🎉✌🏾
Coober Pedy would be a cool topic to cover someone! It's an underground town
Been to Pine Gap for a look when I lived there. Was there maybe 15 minutes before 2 guys came out of nowhere and suggested we should leave…. Now.
I accessed down the back of the rifle range. You can climb the range at Emily’s gap and see Pine Gap from there.
Super late to the conversation ~ I’m West Australian and the 1st time I heard of Pine Gap was when mh370 disappeared (I wondered how we did not see it)! I didn’t realise how far back the history was.
Australia is full of army/naval bases all over our coast, being allies with the US means we have thousands of American soldiers living here and infrastructure to help 🤗🇦🇺
Its not there to watch things like domestic aircraft, althought yeah you have a point indonesia is our biggest point of interest in Australia, so yeah strange we didnt hear or see anything. Who knows they probably did, but cant reveal anything otherwise the monkeys will know we are spying on them
Now, that's a good idea. Let's break into Pine Gap. First prize is a free trip to Guantanamo Bay resort with free bed and breakfast and daily beatings. Thanks, but no thanks.
Dude congratulations, been waiting to hear you had your kid
11:15 An Emu with a camera. Those tank like birds can do great recon.
Great program Ryan , just shows how our world works … Shane no one has shared this since 1966… we must laugh
Congrats on the new Bubba! It might be because I'm nearly 60 but I thought Pine Gap was common knowledge over here! What most people don't know is there's an underground railway that goes there from Canberra! You might want to look it up, if nothing else it's interesting!
🤣 wtf? who came up with that obvious bs? Fair dinkum mate, you've really got a few roos loose!
@@mehere8038 you just passed the gullibility test with flying colors! Couldn't get ya with the old drop bear routine because you already knew! We do enjoy winding up seppo's! It's like a sport to us but don't feel singled out we get everybody! Love ya work mate!
I'm not sure whether you can access it unless you use a VPN, but Netflix in Australia is currently screening a drama series called Pine Gap. I quite enjoy it!
I used to live in Alice Springs and I met lots of Americans who worked there. I remember asking dumb questions like "so what do you do?"... Apparently there's a lot of cleaners there 😂. I used to joke that Pine Gap must be the cleanest place in Australia.
Loving your videos! Really wholesome and fun to watch
Ryan mate, dunno if you're interested but a friendly note: here in OZ (Aus) we pronounce Aussie as Ozzie or Ozzy. Your ossie sounds a bit foreign. Just giving you a heads up mate, no worries.
I note that the presenter keeps stating that this is a US Intelligence facility, but the reality is, Pine Gap is a JOINT Defence facility. Australia doesn't just provide the land and the rubbish pick-up services.
The US tried to ensure that they had control of the facility from the start, but the election of Labor PM Gough Whitlam in 1972, saw him insisting on it being a 'joint' operation as it was based within Australia ... and rightly so!!
It was the reason behind the CIA's operation around Khemlani, a plot used to removed our properly elected Australian PM/Government from office ... something that was admitted to in later years. It has NOT been forgotten by many Australians and is a main reason behind the feeling of distrust in the US government and our dealings with them. It demonstrates STILL .. why we should NEVER trust foreign governments completely .. including the US government!
The US has shown time and time again, that it will through friendly allies to the wolves if it suits their national interests.
The information gathered at Pine Gap includes ALL satellite telecommunications, regardless of type ... phone/fax/emails ... EVERYTHING that comes out of this region.
It operates, along with the other members of the 'Five Eyes' (FVEY) the ECHELON/TRANSIENT intelligence network ... that was denounced as just a 'conspiracy theory' by US authorities, until 2011 when the NSA finally confirmed its existence.
Nixon and Whitlam didn’t get along. Moreover, when SEA was less developed, Nixon did not want Australia to be in competition with the United States. That’s old news. We now have AUKUS.
Yeah joint control, LOL. If by control you mean Australia being told to jump and asking how high, sir?
@@TheZodiacz Only under LNP governments!
These 'conservative' governments have ALWAYS sold us down the drain .. it's ONLY Labor governments that are serious about National Security and possess the ability to see it though.
The LNP are great a talking about defence and making constant 'announcements' .. but if you look at their actual record .. they are hopeless!!
I remember the sacking of our Prime Minister, the wonderful Gough Whitlam by Sir John Kerr, the well known dipsomaniac. That and Morrisson’s 5 (or was it 6) ministries has convinced me how much we need to be a republic
@@lynneperry7454 Whitlam was sacked because he couldn't get supply, he changed our original constitution by stealth.
There are green Oasis around Alice Springs with waterfalls rivers that you can't swim in because of Crocs. Temperature is like around 35 degrees but you can't get into that cool cold water. Many people have been eaten
Congratulations to you and your wife Ryan on the safe arrival of your son. My daughter lived in Alice Springs for a few years and I loved going to visit her and her family. Lol everyone in Alice Springs knows about Pine Gap so not a very good secret
A lot of Australians would like the answer to that. A truthful one. Not American and Australian Govt propaganda.
They’ve got other bases here too. There’s even a map of them on the internet.
My family lived in Alice Springs - Alice for short. If you ever went out for drinks with any Americans who worked at pine gap, no matter how drunk they were - even at 2am and as drunk as a 3-headed Irish wino after a Saint Patrick's Day long-weekend - when you asked them what goes on there, they'd immediately stop talking - not a word!!! PS: congratulations 🎊 on having such a ripper bub. 🌞
Funnily enough, when I used to work for the Australian Federal Government, had a video call from an operator at Pine Gap.
Ever see the CIA office scenes of "Patriot Games"?
Another interesting one was the extremely secretive joint US/Aus base called Nurrungar, near Woomera in South Australia. Woomera itself has plenty of stories as well
i watch this dude all the time even tho i already live in austrailia
Me too 🤣