[MilCom] Heads rolling on B-52 incident

[Jeremy Patrick]

Without knowing the actual full picture, this firing could well have been the commander responsible for ordering nukes loaded on the flight, not just a scapegoat thing.  I do find it rather hard to believe that 6 warheads were 'accidentally' loaded.  Not being the person who deals with nukes I'm not quite sure what they look like, but I would think there are a fair number of distinct markings tell-tailing the difference.
I don't know all the regs on flights carrying nukes, but if the order came down for this flight, with or without the knowledge of the flight crew, the were (hopefully) just following orders for a flight.  At whatever point the accident was figured out, the order for the nukes to be loaded may have originated from this commander's desk.  Given what the article says, this could be true, or not.  


----- Original Message ----
From: "Amtrak35 at aol.com" <Amtrak35 at aol.com>
To: milcom at mailman.qth.net
Sent: Wednesday, September 5, 2007 1:59:13 PM
Subject: [MilCom] Heads rolling on B-52 incident

Personally I don't see the big deal but I'm not in charge of Nuke inventory...


AF commander fired over mishandling of nuclear warheads
By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press 
Posted Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 1:09 pm

WASHINGTON — A B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear warheads and 
flown for more than three hours across several states last week, prompting an 
Air Force investigation and the firing of one commander, Pentagon officials 
said today.

Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the 
mishandling of the weapons "deeply disturbing" and said the committee would 
press the military for details.

The plane was carrying Advanced Cruise Missiles from Minot Air Force Base, 
N.D, to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Aug. 30, said the officials, who spoke 
on condition of anonymity because of a Defense Department policy not to 
confirm information on nuclear weapons.

The missiles, which are being decommissioned, were mounted onto pylons on the 
bomber's wings and it is unclear why the warheads had not been removed 
beforehand.

The Air Combat Command has ordered a command-wide stand down on Sept. 14 to 
review procedures, officials said. They said there was minimal risk to crews 
and the public because of safety features designed into the munitions.

In addition to the munitions squadron commander who was relieved of his 
duties, crews involved with the mistaken load — including ground crew workers — 
have been temporarily decertified for handling munitions, one official said.

The investigation is expected to take several weeks.

The incident was first reported in Military Times newspaper.




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