In October 1969, the Nixon administration indicated to the Soviet Union that "the madman was loose" when the United States military was ordered to full global war readiness alert (unbeknownst to the majority of the American population), and bombers armed with thermonuclear weapons flew patterns near the Soviet border for three consecutive days.
Pada Oktober 1969, pemerintahan Nixon memberi tanda kepada Uni Soviet bahwa "orang gila ini sudah kebablasan" setelah militer Amerika Serikat disiagakan penuh untuk perang global (tanpa sepengetahuan penduduk Amerika Serikat), dan sejumlah pesawat pengebom bersenjata termonuklir terbang mondar-mandir dekat perbatasan Soviet selama tiga hari berturut-turut.