Hagel: Pentagon to Increase Funding to Rejuvenate Nuclear Enterprise
Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
11/14/2014
The Defense Department plans to increase funding for the U.S. nuclear enterprise by an additional 10 percent over the next five years to help reform the nation’s aging nuclear deterrent, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Nov. 14. The funding will be reflected in the Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request, and will follow the more than approximately $15 billion the Pentagon has requested for the nuclear mission in Fiscal Year 2015. The funding represents the latest batch of reforms spurred by a pair of reports detailing fundamental flaws in the physical maintenance, management and proficiency of the Air Force’s two legs of the nuclear triad, Hagel said. “We will need to make billions of dollars of additional investments in the nuclear enterprise over the next five years. This new funding, which will be detailed in our budget submission next year, will be critical to continue improving upkeep and security while addressing shortfalls that undermine morale in the nuclear force. There is much more we need to do leading up to our nuclear modernization program in the next decade,” Hagel said.
After revelations detailing widespread cheating among Malmstrom AFB missileers surfaced in January, Hagel commissioned an internal report and an external report on the nation’s nuclear weapons enterprise. A copy of the external report was released Nov. 14, along with a fact sheet on the internal report. Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Larry D. Welch and former commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command Adm. John C. Harvey led the independent review, completed in June. Former Pentagon official and current National Nuclear Security Administration Principal Deputy Administrator Madelyn Creedon led the internal review.
In addition to finding that leaders within the nuclear enterprise had micromanaged and failed to deliver on resource commitments, the Welch/Harvey report found a “significant disconnect” between the level of dedication displayed by airmen in the nuclear enterprise and what was expected by their senior leaders. “The Review did not find a coherent, integrated structure and synchronized set of activities that could be characterized as a DoD ‘nuclear enterprise,’ the report states. “Instead, the Review found a loose federation of separate nuclear activities often imbedded in and indistinguishable from support for and execution of a wide range of non-nuclear activities.” The report recommends quarterly meetings between senior leadership of U.S. Strategic Command and OSD, open acknowledgement of the nuclear enterprise’s flaws and accountability of senior commanders in STRATCOM.
Rank Requirements
In addition to increased funding, Hagel has authorized elevating the rank requirement for the Global Strike commander from three to four stars, and the requirement for the Air Force’s chief of strategic deterrence and nuclear integration from two to three stars, according to a DoD document. The requirement was established to ensure that the leaders’ ranks are “commensurate with the importance of the mission relative to the rest of their services,” the document states. Currently, those posts are respectively occupied by three-star Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson and two- star Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak. “I’ll hold our leaders accountable up and down the chain of command,” Hagel said.
Speaking at a press conference, both Hagel and Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work cited a culture of micromanagement and a severe lack of resources felt throughout the nuclear missile force. “Inspections became the reason why you were inspecting,” Work said. “They weren’t helping the force; they were a burden on the force. Both the internal and external review made that clear.” Later this month, DoD leadership will make changes to weapons inspection and security regimes at missile bases, aimed at taking pressure off airmen, Hagel and Work said.
One Wrench for Three Air Force Bases
Among the review panels’ findings was dilapidation in launch centers and a lack of essential equipment necessary for missileers to do their job. For instance, Hagel confirmed that the panels found that Global Strike Command used one wrench needed to attach warheads to 450 Minuteman 3s spread among Malmstrom, F.E. Warren and Minot AFB’s. “It is true,” Hagel said. “I think it’s indicative of the depth and width of what has happened over the last few years … a lack of focus, no attention to some of these specific areas. It wasn’t just resources. Partly, it’s cultural—people taking their eye off the ball—which we recognize is important, especially for the American people.” Hagel said that the three bases had previously Federal Expressed the wrench among the different locations, but added that the bases now each have one copy of the wrench needed to attach equipment, and will soon have two copies of that wrench.
Force Integrity
Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, emphasized the integrity and service of his teammates, and said most of the airmen were disappointed when news of the cheating broke. “Most of our teammates and warriors come to work every day with integrity and commitment to service and this mission,” he said. “There have been some stumbling blocks. … Most of our folks were very committed to the point to where they were very perturbed with the performance by those who demonstrated flaws in their integrity.” Wilson echoed Haney’s sentiments at the press conference. “The less than 1 percent of our folks are the ones that are messing up,” Wilson said. “With the culture, what had happened over the last couple of years was a culture of micromanagement. And so today, what you’ll see across our Air Force, certainly in our nuclear business, is this is about leadership and it’s about empowerment. We’re empowering our airmen, and we’re removing obstacles for their success.”
