Air Force removes nine nuclear launch officers after cheating scandal
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/27/air-force-removes-nine-nuclear-launch-officers-after-cheating-scandal/
Air Force removes nine nuclear launch officers after cheating scandal
By Reuters
Thursday, March 27, 2014 18:13 EDT
By David Alexander and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) The head of the nuclear missile wing at a base in Montana resigned on Thursday and nine officers were removed from their jobs over a test-cheating scandal that involved 91 missile launch officers, the Air Force said.
Lieutenant General Stephen Wilson, head of the Air Forces Global Strike Command, said Colonel Robert Stanley, commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, had resigned on Thursday and would retire from the service.
The nine other officers, mainly colonels and lieutenant colonels, were removed from their positions of command at the Montana base that is home to a third of the nations nearly 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles. They will be reassigned to staff jobs and face discipline ranging from reprimands to courts martial for failures of leadership.
Wilson said the root of the problem was the emphasis on perfection in the nuclear mission at the Montana base and throughout the missile force, which led to cheating on exams in an effort to achieve the sort of perfect scores perceived to required for advancement and promotion.