AP EXCLUSIVE: Nuke officers left blast door open

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By ROBERT BURNS

WASHINGTON (AP) - Twice this year alone, Air Force officers entrusted with the launch keys to nuclear-tipped missiles have been caught leaving open a blast door that is intended to help prevent a terrorist or other intruder from entering their underground command post, Air Force officials have told The Associated Press.

The blast doors are never to be left open if one of the crew members inside is asleep - as was the case in both these instances - out of concern for the damage an intruder could cause, including the compromising of secret launch codes.

Transgressions such as this are rarely revealed publicly. But officials with direct knowledge of Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile operations told the AP that such violations have happened, undetected, many more times than in the cases of the two launch crew commanders and two deputy commanders who were given administrative punishments this year.

The blast door violations are another sign of serious trouble in the handling of the nation's nuclear arsenal. The AP has discovered a series of problems within the ICBM force, including a failed safety inspection, the temporary sidelining of launch officers deemed unfit for duty and the abrupt firing last week of the two-star general in charge. The problems, including low morale, underscore the challenges of keeping safe such a deadly force that is constantly on alert but is unlikely ever to be used.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131022/DA9JFB702.html

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This April 15, 1997 file photo shows an Air Force missile crew commander standing at the door of his launch capsule 100-feet under ground where he and his partner are responsible for 10 nuclear-armed ICBM's, in north-central Colorado. Twice this year alone, Air Force officers entrusted with the launch keys to nuclear-tipped missiles have been caught leaving open a blast door meant to help prevent a terrorist or other intruder from entering their underground command post and potentially compromising secret launch codes, Air Force officials told The Associated Press. The missiles stand in reinforced concrete silos and are linked to the control center by buried communications cables. The ICBMs are split evenly among “wings” based in North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. Each wing is divided into three squadrons, each responsible for 50 missiles. (AP Photo/Eric Draper, File)

[MADem]

1. Claustrophobia....? Why would they flout such an obvious, entrenched rule? nt

[Orrex]

2. Dabney Coleman was right!

Where's the WOPR when you need it?

[jtuck004]

3. Oh, c'mon. It gets hot in there... n/t

[csziggy]

4. Maybe this is why they want to upgrade some components

In the bombs themselves. No link - it was in a original post here on DU the other day.

Maybe upgrading the components would add another layer of security in case something simple like keeping the doors closed is not done?

[joshcryer]

5. It made it sound like the facilities were unguarded on the outside.

It'd be interesting if a terrorist could get through the above ground security to get to the blast door. That's the real story here. It would have to be an inside job.

[Jesus Malverde]

8. I don't think they have sentries at the top. Just a locked gate and cameras.

Thats why they are freaking out.

[joshcryer]

9. I know they're low key facilities, but still.

The door up top that keeps the rain out has got to be locked, and there has to be an intrusion alarm topside. Yaknow, keypad entry thing, then if someone breaks in the door, alarm goes off, something like that.

Still, very weird to realize these facilities could be so "open" that a napping worker could have their pod commandeered.

[Major Nikon]

12. I've been to one of these facilities

There is an above ground facility above the launch control facility where military police, technicians, and a cook work. Someone would have to breach that facility first before they could gain access to the underground part.

[joshcryer]

13. I reckon clearance for that above ground facility would be high, too.

So you're not getting a 24-esque (TV show) cook getting hired and exploiting the napping workers...

[Major Nikon]

19. The cook is a USAF enlisted person

The Air Force cooks were a lot better than the civilian cooks that worked at most of the stateside chow halls, even though those ususally weren't all that bad. You got a menu and the cook would prepare whatever you wanted. The kitchen was well stocked and well equipped.

[joshcryer]

21. Well then.

I suppose there is a concern with doors being closed. If it's just any old enlisted peep, you could see some crazy-ass infiltrator getting inside.

[Alhena]

6. Put your hand on the key, sir!

[davidpdx]

14. One of those faces is very familiar and I didn't notice it until watching the clip today

Maybe the voice more so than the face given it's 30 years old.

Paging Mr. McGarry....paging Mr. Leo McGarry

&list=PL11050DB972A49EB2

[ThoughtCriminal]

7. Did you remember to unplug the iron?

Yes.

Did you check that the oven was off?

YES!

Did you make sure the toilet wasn't running?

YESSSS!!!

Did you lock the blast door to the nuclear missile?

Uhhhh...

[DeSwiss]

10. Win!

[Scootaloo]

11. Easy solution: Get rid of the missiles. Problem solved!

[Javaman]

15. "Hey Bob, is there a draft in here?" nt

[uriel1972]

16. "Close the Blast Doors... Close the Blast Doors"

Some unnamed Stormtrooper in Star Wars

[Kelvin Mace]

18. Much to my great annoyance

that line has been cut from every version of Star Wars I have seen since the original showing in '77.

You have Han and Chewie running down a hall and a stormtrooper tries to cut them off by ordering "Close the blast doors! Close the blast doors!"

Chewie and Han slip through just as the doors close, then the stormtroopers plow into the door, Three Stooges style and begin demanding "Open the blast doors! Open the blast doors!"

Every DVD/VHS/Laserdisc version I have ever seen omits the first part, thus killing a funny joke.

[Bradical79]

20. Really? I hadnt noticed.

My vhs copy has that scene, but it was recorded straight from tv in the 80s.

[Pterodactyl]

22. My first thought! They need that guy!

[kentauros]

17. "Well, I've been to one world's fair, a picnic, and a rodeo,

and that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard come over a set of earphones!"

[EX500rider]

23. More on this story:

Sounds like good reasons to open the door but per reg's should have waken his/her partner 1st.

"Recently the air force revealed that twice in the last two years launch control officers were punished for opening the heavily armored door to the launch capsule when only one of the launch officers was awake and present. In one case one of the launch officers was napping while the other opened the door to let an airman in to deliver a meal while in the second case a launch officer opened the door and left it open to let a repair crew come and do some work. The other launch officer was sleeping and was not awakened while the door was opened. The purpose of requiring both launch officers to be awake and present when the capsule door is open is to be prepared in case the people being let in are not who they say they are and are an attempt to take control of the capsule and carry out an unauthorized launches. There are actually a lot of other security procedures and systems to prevent such a takeover. But for anyone to succeed, the easiest place to start is inside the command capsule."

2 pistols Vs 1 pistol to defend the capsule won't make much of a difference though in a well planned determined attack. (ie many heavily armed and armored well trained operators)

http://strategypage.com/htmw/htlead/20131028.aspx