The Ordinary Cold War: The Ground Observer Corps and Midcentury Militarization in the United States.

An essay is provided which discusses the U.S. Air Force's Ground Observer Corps (GOC), U.S. civil defense and American militarization during the Cold War of the late 1940s and 1950s, including the GOC's role in monitoring airplanes in the U.S. under the Air Force's Operation Skywatch. An overview of the efforts to recruit volunteers for the GOC program is provided.