NUCLEAR NEWS -

US AIR FORCE REMOVES 17 NUCLEAR OFFICERS FROM AUTHORITY

 

 

Demoralized, poorly trained, or undisciplined? - US Air Force strips 17 officers of authority to control and launch nuclear missiles.

The US Air Force stripped 17 officers to control and launch nuclear missiles after repeated failings over the last few years involving competence and discipline issues. 

The group's deputy commander said it is suffering "rot" within its ranks. Back in 2008 a Pentagon advisory group report found a "dramatic and unacceptable decline" in the Air Force's commitment to the mission.

Air Force Lt. Col. Jay Folds email describes a culture of indifference, with at least one intentional violation of missile safety rules and an apparent unwillingness among some to challenge or report those who violate rules. There are also complaints of about unwarranted questioning of orders from superior officers by launch crews and failure to address superiors with the proper respect.

Bruce Blair, who served as an Air Force ICBM launch control officer in the 1970s and is now a research scholar at Princeton University, said "The nuclear air force is suffering from a deep malaise caused by the declining relevance of their mission since the Cold War's end over 20 years ago,"

Blair said in an interview. "Minuteman launch crews have long been marginalized and demoralized by the fact that the Air Force's culture and fast-track careers revolve around flying planes, not sitting in underground bunkers baby-sitting nuclear-armed missiles."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-strips-17-officers-of-authority-to-control-and-launch-nuclear-missiles-2013-5