thedrifter
09-09-07, 05:40 PM
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?
Heads roll after Air Force loses track of six nukes
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Posted : September 17, 2007
It was like something out of “Dr. Strangelove.” Unfortunately for the Air Force, it didn’t happen on a movie screen. On Aug. 30, a B-52 Stratofortress flew from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and, unbeknownst to the aircrew, was carrying six nuclear warheads. News of the discovery mushroomed into embarrassment on a global scale and sent the Air Force brass scrambling to figure out how it could have happened and to assure the public that they really mean it when they say this shouldn’t happen again.
The service launched an investigation headed by a two-star general, and the squadron commander and airmen responsible for losing track of the nuclear warheads have been relieved of duties pending results of the investigation. Oh, and they had to inform the president. Never a good thing.
The Air Force’s worst day since the invention of the sand trap began when it was discovered that the B-52, which was supposed to transport a group of Advanced Cruise Missiles to Barksdale for decommissioning, actually flew with six nuclear warheads on the missiles.
This left the warheads unaccounted for during the roughly three-and-a-half hour flight between the two bases, causing the Barksdale leadership to rush the appropriate security personnel out to the flight line, sources said.
Air Force officials said the transfer was conducted safely and the American public was never in danger since the weapons were in Air Force custody and control at all times.
But few critics were placated by the Air Force’s reassurances.
“Nothing like this has ever been reported before, and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible,” said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force.
Ellie
Heads roll after Air Force loses track of six nukes
-
Posted : September 17, 2007
It was like something out of “Dr. Strangelove.” Unfortunately for the Air Force, it didn’t happen on a movie screen. On Aug. 30, a B-52 Stratofortress flew from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and, unbeknownst to the aircrew, was carrying six nuclear warheads. News of the discovery mushroomed into embarrassment on a global scale and sent the Air Force brass scrambling to figure out how it could have happened and to assure the public that they really mean it when they say this shouldn’t happen again.
The service launched an investigation headed by a two-star general, and the squadron commander and airmen responsible for losing track of the nuclear warheads have been relieved of duties pending results of the investigation. Oh, and they had to inform the president. Never a good thing.
The Air Force’s worst day since the invention of the sand trap began when it was discovered that the B-52, which was supposed to transport a group of Advanced Cruise Missiles to Barksdale for decommissioning, actually flew with six nuclear warheads on the missiles.
This left the warheads unaccounted for during the roughly three-and-a-half hour flight between the two bases, causing the Barksdale leadership to rush the appropriate security personnel out to the flight line, sources said.
Air Force officials said the transfer was conducted safely and the American public was never in danger since the weapons were in Air Force custody and control at all times.
But few critics were placated by the Air Force’s reassurances.
“Nothing like this has ever been reported before, and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible,” said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force.
Ellie