Signals alert the military to lightning or severe weather

I live in Security, and at times I can hear the reveille playing at Fort Carson at 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Once in a great while, I hear a siren followed by a male voice giving some kind of instructions, but I just can’t quite make out the words. I heard it after a brief hail storm. I have heard it in the middle of the day and even late at night, and I don’t think the voice always says the same thing. Could you find out about the siren — when it is used, and for what?
- Diana Beatty

ANSWER: Both the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base and Fort Carson play “Reveille” in the mornings and “Taps” at 10 p.m. weeknights to signal the beginning and end of each workday. At 5 p.m. the Army plays “Retreat,” and at 5:30 p.m. the Air Force plays “The Star Spangled Banner.”

The sirens alert everyone on post or base — particularly those downrange or out in the open — to lightning strikes in the vicinity and/or severe weather and the voice explains the alert. The Air Force Academy issues alerts with blinking lights and public-address announcements.