Nuclear safety slipped for years before Minot

[unhappycamper]

Airmen secure a cruise missile to a B-52 Stratofortress pylon during an alert generation exercise at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. Four Air Force generals who testified about the Minot incident and nuclear security said the service has lost its focus on the nuclear mission.


Nuclear safety slipped for years before Minot
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Feb 26, 2008 6:03:03 EST

Before airmen at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., lost track of six nuclear warheads in late August, nuclear security there had eroded to such a level that instead of using orange cones and multiple official placards to distinguish racks of non-nuclear missiles from nuclear-tipped ones, the 5th Bomb Wing was using 8-by-10-inch sheets of paper placed on the pylons.

That all changed Aug. 30, when Air Force officials discovered a B-52 Stratofortress bomber had mistakenly flown the six warheads from Minot to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and the glare of the national spotlight returned to America’s nuclear stockpile for the first time since the end of the Cold War.

Over the past four months, Air Force leaders have scrambled to review the nuclear program. On Feb. 11 and 12, they announced 132 recommendations to improve the service’s ability to protect the world’s most lethal weapons, the result of two internal reviews and a Defense Department investigation.

Four Air Force generals who testified about the Minot incident and nuclear security before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Feb. 12 said the service has lost its focus on the nuclear mission.

However, internal Air Force reports and safety records dating to 1992 show service officials received regular and consistent warnings about the erosion of nuclear safety standards. But there was no thorough examination of vulnerabilities until after the incident at Minot.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/02/airforce_250208_nukesafety/