In the years following the Korean War, heightened tensions between the United States and Soviet Union led the U.S. Air Force to establish a network of radar stations to protect American air space from a surprise communist attack. Using the most sophisticated radar technology available, airmen manned stations in some of the most isolated places in the country. The Miles City Air Force Station, one of eight radar stations in Montana, was established in 1954 as the home of the 902nd AC&W (Aircraft Control and Warning) Squadron. Located in the badlands near Miles City, it played an important role during the Cold War. Its three radar domes tracked both friendly and enemy aircraft with the military's most modern equipment. The station was a self-contained community with administrative and support facilities, communications, recreational and supply buildings, and quarters for single and married airmen. Hot summers, brutally cold winters, rattlesnakes, and abundant Black Widow spiders constantly intruded, but the 902nd efficiently carried out its mission until Air Force priorities changed and the station closed in 1968.