Mistakes by U.S. Air Force personnel left five nuclear warheads unaccounted for during a three-hour period on Aug. 30, according to Army Times.
Report: Air Force lost track of five nuclear missiles
Posted in * Culture-Watch, Military / Armed Forces
The airlines lose my luggage too, on occasion.
“I don’t know what’s scarier, losing a nuclear weapon or that it happens so often there’s actually a term for it.”
– [url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115759/]Broken Arrow (1996) [/url]
Hey, there’s a term for a detonation creating risk of war. Seen many of those lately?
Oh darn, I just hate when that happens. “Honey, have you seen my nukes?”
Will, darling, try retracing your steps. Where was the last place you remember having your nukes? Have you looked under the bed? . . . Oh I found them, little Stewie was trying to take over the world again.
Sounds like one of those “Geek Squad” commercials.
“While you’re here, can you take a look at this?”
or
“Do you want to play a game?”
Maybe Congress can authorize billions of dollars so the Air Force can get little lo-jack devices for all the missiles. Or at least, maybe they could have a big ad campaign on all bases with signs and posters saying ” Did you forget your nukes?”. The possibilities are endless…
Let’s see; Why do we worry about Iran nad others making nuclear weapons when all they have to do is wait and the Air Force will lose a few. Are these bombs really lost or do we have some counting errors to think about?
They found them. They were ‘mixed in’ with some other cargo and on the wrong plane.
They were mistakenly checked through to O’Hare.
(I feel just a bit guilty making light of this incident, because the military takes nuke safety extraordinarily seriously; I expect heads will roll over this.)
In the silver lining department . . .
At least the Air Force fesses up (indeed, had to fess up) about the loss. The resulting embarrassment creates a healthy set of incentives for care. Official Secrets Acts and successful Chernobyl-style cover-ups would facilitate chronic carelessness. Openness pays real dividends.
Heads have rolled.
The 5th Bombardment Wing (the whole wing) has been decertified for munitions operations. I have been told that “the commander” has been relieved, but whether that is the Wing, Group, Squadron or ALL of them I don’t know.
This was a career-ending AT BEST event for a lot of people. I would not be the least bit surprised if the pilot in command of the A/C went to prison. Some others might as well.
“Air Force lost track of5 nuclear missiles”
Woopsies…
If memory serves, they still haven’t found that one they lost off the coast of Savannah, GA, a few decades back.
Openness pays real dividends.
Yes, thank goodness.
I’m an Air Force retiree, and I find it very hard to believe that that B-52’s Aircraft Commander didn’t know what was loaded on his aircraft’s weapons pylons or in his bomb bay! It’s his JOB to know! Too bad “Old Ironpants” LeMay isn’t still around……he’d have had the responsible crews for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
So far the munitions squadron commander has been relieved. I think there will be others.
I [b]HOPE[/b] there will be others.
The Air Force does take security around “special weapons” very seriously. I remember when I was in AFROTC in college. We were on a tour of Dyas (spelling) Air Force Base in Abilene, TX. We were on the flight line being escorted by some B52 pilots and SPs. Someone saw a truck going out to a B52 way out on the line and asked “What’s going on there?” One of the “smart” cadets said: “They’re probably loading nukes on the ready 52s.” One of the “smart a$$” cadets said: “Ivan? You bring da camera?” He ended up face down on the tarmac with an M-16 at the back of his neck. There are some things you just don’t joke about on a flight line at an Air Force Base
YBIC,
Phil
It’s “Dyess” AFB, and believe me, those SPs have orders to shoot to kill! I remember when I was stationed at Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, MT back in the late 60s, when an SR-71 landed and was taxiing to the main ramp for refueling. You couldn’t get within 100 yards of that bird! That’s how seriously the Air Force takes security!
In a year and town I shall not mention, I was about one minute from ordering a sailor with an M14 and a Marine with an M203 to fire up a tourist vehicle that did not seem to take me very seriously over the bullhorn, and kept getting closer to an event.
Andy Borowitz reports that “after a B-52 pilot flew over several U.S. states carrying nuclear warheads, the Air Force said that it would discontinue its use of Mapquest.”