Sentinels in the Air (1956)

• 59%
• 1956
• Documentary
• Howard Winner

Part of the U.S. defense against an unnamed enemy is the Air Force Reserve. After setting the context of the threat of atomic warfare, we venture to Marietta, Georgia, where we see reservists at evening seminars. We meet a half dozen of them, who, in their civilian lives work at a hardware store, a car dealership, and a poultry farm. Then, there's a scramble, a simulated drill, in which the civilians race to the base and assume their military roles - from colonel to pilots to communications specialists. In the middle of the Cold War, these civilian soldiers are part of the sentinels in the air.