Brian Bradley
NS&D Monitor
5/22/2015
Members of Minot Task Force 21 met this week with North Dakota Sens. John Hoeven (R) and Heidi Heitkamp (D); Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh; and Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, Air Force Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration; to discuss improvement and modernization of the nuclear enterprise. The question of how to fund the nuclear enterprise in a deep pool of competing demands lingers. “Some of the budget issues, I think, while there’s a fairly broad consensus that we need to have a good strategic deterrent capability, there are all kinds of play on and around and outside of that with the funding for the Air Force and the struggle with resources,” Mark Jantzer, Chairman of Minot Task Force 21, told NS&D Monitor.
Pentagon Still ‘Owns’ Improvement Initiatives
The House version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 matches the Obama Administration’s requests of $75.1 million for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, $178.9 million for Minuteman 3 squadrons, and $74.5 million for B-52 squadrons. Based on the pending legislation, “we’re probably as well-positioned as we could expect to be, so we’ll see how that flows through,” Jantzer said. One senator asked the Air Force officials about implementation of the recommendations outlined in one internal and one external review of the nuclear enterprise, both of which were completed last year, Jantzer said. Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced the start of several initiatives geared toward increasing attention to, and investments and morale throughout nuclear forces, and the service officials told the senators that DoD still “owns” the initiatives that Hagel outlined, and plans to continue moving forward with the actions, Jantzer said.
Boost Morale, Modernize Training of ICBM Crews
According to a press release, another topic discussed at the meeting was the need for the Air Force and DoD to improve infrastructure, boost morale, and modernize the training of intercontinental ballistic missile operations crew commanders. “Over the past several months, I have consistently stressed the need for investments in modernizing our nation’s nuclear forces in Minot. Today, I reinforced to General Welsh the need to work together to make sure our nuclear mission receives adequate attention and resources – including by upholding the commitments then-Defense Secretary Hagel made to improve our nuclear mission when he visited Minot last fall,” Heitkamp said in a statement.
She went on to say, “I’ll keep pushing for the long-term support our forces need, and the bipartisan bill I offered this month to protect B-52 bomber missions in Minot is just one step – together we can make sure communities in North Dakota and across the country are protected by necessary the deterrent our nuclear forces provide for years to come.”
Senate FY16 Spending Bill Would Provide $195M for LRSO Warhead
The meeting came the same week as the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which would provide $195 million for a program that will upgrade the warhead for the new Air Force long-range standoff (LRSO) cruise missile. “Minot Air Force Base is important to North Dakota and the community of Minot, but far more importantly, we need to remember that it protects all of America with its two legs of the nuclear triad,” Hoeven said in a statement. “That’s why we continue to work with the Air Force on initiatives to implement necessary upgrades not only to the cruise missile warhead, but also other projects to ensure we continue to have a modern, effective fleet.”
