In 1959 Air Defense Command (ADC) established a Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) Data Center (DC-18) was established at Beale AFB. The SAGE system was a network linking Air Force (and later FAA) General Surveillance Radar stations into a centralized center for Air Defense, intended to provide early warning and response for a Soviet nuclear attack. The Ground Air Transmitting Receiving (GATR) Site (R-18) for communications was located at , approximately 1.1 miles south-southwest from the SAGE building. Normally the GATR site was connected by a pair of buried telephone cables, with a backup connection of dual telephone cables overhead.
