.Air Force Struggles in Another Nuke Test
The Air Force's already-battered nuclear corps just suffered another blow, Danger Room has learned. An internal inspection has found flaws in the way the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana handles and protects its nuclear weapons.
The Air Force's nuclear mission has come under increasing scrutiny, after a series of embarrassing mishaps, damining reports, and fired officers. Last fall, the Air Force's 5th Bomb Wing lost track of six nuclear warheads. Then, in March, the service discovered that it had inadvertently shipped four Minuteman nuclear warhead nosecone fuses to Taiwan, thinking they were helicopter batteries. In May, the service flunked a nuclear surety inspection, when security personnel couldn't even be bothered to stop playing videogames on their cellphones. By June, Defense Secretary Robert Gates had sacked the top civilian and military leaders of the Air Force. A total of 15 officers (including six generals) were disciplined, over the mishaps.
The Air Force is now in the process of reconstituting its atomic forces, so it can, in Gates' words, "return the Air Force’s nuclear mission to the standards of excellence for which it was known throughout the entire Cold War." But those standards aren't universally in place, yet. Just last week, Air Force Times broke the news that a fire inside the equipment room of a nuclear launch facility was allowed to burn for five days, before being extinguished. And now, there are reports of serious issues in the tests at Malmstrom.
The two-week combined Nuclear Surety Inspection (NSI) and Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI), which ended today, "involved over 70 inspectors... touch[ed] every facet of the base's wide reaching responsibilities," an internal Air Force document notes.
"The wing remains certified to continue operations and training for its strategic mission. However, inspectors did identify deficiencies in several areas," the document adds, without specifying the flaws.
Wired
The Air Force's nuclear mission has come under increasing scrutiny, after a series of embarrassing mishaps, damining reports, and fired officers. Last fall, the Air Force's 5th Bomb Wing lost track of six nuclear warheads. Then, in March, the service discovered that it had inadvertently shipped four Minuteman nuclear warhead nosecone fuses to Taiwan, thinking they were helicopter batteries. In May, the service flunked a nuclear surety inspection, when security personnel couldn't even be bothered to stop playing videogames on their cellphones. By June, Defense Secretary Robert Gates had sacked the top civilian and military leaders of the Air Force. A total of 15 officers (including six generals) were disciplined, over the mishaps.
The Air Force is now in the process of reconstituting its atomic forces, so it can, in Gates' words, "return the Air Force’s nuclear mission to the standards of excellence for which it was known throughout the entire Cold War." But those standards aren't universally in place, yet. Just last week, Air Force Times broke the news that a fire inside the equipment room of a nuclear launch facility was allowed to burn for five days, before being extinguished. And now, there are reports of serious issues in the tests at Malmstrom.
The two-week combined Nuclear Surety Inspection (NSI) and Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI), which ended today, "involved over 70 inspectors... touch[ed] every facet of the base's wide reaching responsibilities," an internal Air Force document notes.
"The wing remains certified to continue operations and training for its strategic mission. However, inspectors did identify deficiencies in several areas," the document adds, without specifying the flaws.
AFSPC [Air Force Space Command] is ensuring experienced instructors augment the wing's aggressive plan to address the root causes of these deficiencies. The AFSPC IG [Inspector General] will return to inspect appropriate aspects of the 341st Missile Wing within 90 days in accordance with established Department of Defense and Air Force guidance.
It is important to note NSIs/ORIs are extremely detailed and demand the absolute highest standards of compliance and accountability. There is no margin for error in operations within the Nation's nuclear enterprise. This inspection highlights AFSPC's commitment to correcting deficiencies identified in recent reports and as inspectors look rigorously and deeper during inspections and find discrepancies, the benefits of this careful examination is paramount to the reliability of our nuclear enterprise.
Wired
posted by madtom at 9:34 PM
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