AIR FORCE DISCIPLINES 17 ICBM OFFICERS FOR POOR PERFORMANCE

Seventeen Air Force officers stationed at Minot Air Force Base in N.D. had their ability to stand guard over the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile fleet removed for 60 days after poor performance on a series of evaluations led an Air Force official to suggest that there was “rot” within the 91st Missile Wing, the Associated Press reported yesterday. In the latest nuclear embarrassment for the Air Force, airmen performed poorly during a March inspection of Minuteman III launch operations and had not rebounded when the deputy commander of the wing, Lt. Col. Jay Folds, took the drastic action of sidelining the officers. The overall performance of the unit was deemed “satisfactory,” which the AP said was two levels below the highest inspection rating. “And now we’re discovering such rot in the crew force that your behavior while on alert is accepting of” weapons safety rule violations, possible code compromises and other failings, “all in the name of not inconveniencing yourselves,” Folds said in an April 12 internal email, according to the AP.  

The Air Force said officers are sometimes stripped of their authority to operate nuclear missiles, but never before have as many as 17 officers had that ability removed at once. The officers are getting additional training before they return to duty, the Air Force told the AP. “We are frustrated anytime we’re performing less than we expect of ourselves,” Col. Robert Vercher, commander of the 91st Missile Wing, told the AP, adding: “There was a problem. And we will fix it.” The Air Force has gone to great lengths to rejuvenate its nuclear ranks after the unauthorized transport of nuclear warheads on the wing of a bomber and accidental shipment of nuclear fuses to Taiwan led Defense Secretary Robert Gates to fire Air Force Chief of Staff Michael “Buzz” Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne.