Air Force Punishes Airmen for Nuclear Transport Mishap

The Air Force has taken swift action on those who many people felt put the country and the world in danger two months ago. According to a press release from the Air Force, 70 Airmen have been punished for a lack of security related to nuclear warheads flying across the United States. A B-52 flew from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, carrying six nuclear-tipped missiles and six missile silos. The silos were going to Barksdale to be decommissioned (with the warheads removed before transport), but no one had any knowledge of the active nuclear warheads onboard.

Because of that potential disaster, the Air Force launched a six week investigation and found several officers and airmen to be liable at both bases. Four officers were relieved of their command including Colonel Bruce Emig, who was the commander of the 5^th Bomb Wing in Minot Air Force Base. The 5th Bomb Wing has also been decertified from carrying out specific missions for the Air Force to include performing tactical ferrying operations. Several other officers and airman were also either relieved of their command or received administrative actions.

The Air Force also conducted a service-wide inventory of their nuclear weapons and procedures in handling them to ensure no other discrepancies could be found. They also implemented systems to enhance the management and tracking of those weapons.

The Air Force Secretary, Michael W. Wynne, assured that more procedures would be evaluated prior to recertification. "We are aggressively examining and implementing corrective measures to our weapons handling and transfer process," he said. "Corrective action will ensure our munitions are handled precisely and safely 100 percent of the time."

General Richard Newton, assistant deputy chief of staff for operations, assured that this was not a commonplace incident and that the weapons, despite several procedural errors, were under constant watch by Air Force members. "The extensive, six-week investigation found that this was an isolated event and the weapons never left the custody of Airmen and were never unsecured. However, this incident is unacceptable to the people of the United States and to the United States Air Force."

The B-52 Stratofortress is the Air Force's oldest active aircraft. It has the capability of carrying conventional as well as nuclear weapons. It has long-range flying capabilities and can reach as high as 50,000 feet, flying at subsonic speeds.

SOURCE:

Secretary of the Air Force Press Release

URL:

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123072687