Retired USAF general and Heinz Award winner George Lee Butler listed his home in Laguna Beach this month with an asking price of $9.995 million.

Butler was the last head of SAC, the non-naval cold war monitor and response arm of the military, before retiring in 1994; he’s put his post-career energies into nuclear disarmament and dialogue. He owned the property for an unknown number of years.

The 5-bedroom house is perched in an enviable spot in Irvine Cove, and boasts an unusual degree of privacy for the area. The views are also unusually fine, and the 1988-built home is designed around them, packing Catalina and ocean views into as many rooms as possible.

The hardwood-paneled great room is the heart of the house. It features ceilings of at least 12’, as well as a fireplace and a bank of glass; a broad series of clerestories gives it a lovely sense of continuation, and an upper floor gallery opens up the rest of the house to discovery. The dining room adjacent features a wet bar, while the kitchen sports tile floors, dark blue trim, and a curving window to illuminate the dayroom.

The exterior living space works in a pool, spa and sunlounge within a multi-level terrace. The lot is just under a third of an acre.

Butler founded NGO the Second Chance Foundation in 1999, and helmed it until it dissolved in 2001. The organization was dedicated to continuing the disarmament cause, and keeping dialogue on the subject constant. This year, the ‘Doomsday Clock’ is set at two minutes to midnight. Only 1953 can match 2019’s potential for catastrophic global nuclear disaster. How’s that for progress?