Wednesday, November 19, 2014

U.S. nuclear Trouble Comes Full Circle

The trouble began here, trouble that has torn at the core of the nuclear Air Force and compelled two of the last three secretaries of defense — first Robert Gates and now Chuck Hagel — to ask: Who is minding the store?
Minot Air Force Base has had its share, and then some, of bad publicity about nuclear weapons foul-ups, followed by hard questions from Washington about why it and other nuclear bases are caught in a recurring cycle of trouble and recovery.
Buried in the grasslands north and west of this small North Dakota city are 150 Minuteman 3 ballistic missiles, each tipped with a single nuclear warhead capable of destroying people and places halfway across the globe. Each is on "alert," ready to be launched at a moment's notice at all hours. No holidays here.
Minuteman Missile
Another 300 Minuteman missiles are in launch silos in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.
The trouble is not so much the Minuteman, although it passed its intended life span decades ago.
The trouble is the creaky equipment and facilities that keep the missiles armed, secure and ready for a launch order from the president.
The trouble also is the sagging morale of the men and women entrusted to operate the weapons.
B-52 Bombers
The problems have accumulated: drug use, exam cheating, domestic abuse, security violations, training lapses and inspection failures. Last year one senior officer at Minot summed it up by lamenting "rot" at the heart of the force.
It's not just the Minuteman force, either.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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