Nuclear Warheads Mistakenly Flown Across U.S.

http://www.nbc5i.com/news/14047820/detail.html ^ | 9/5/07 | staff

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An Air Force squadron commander has been relieved of his command after five nuclear weapons were mistakenly loaded aboard a B-52 and flown cross-country from North Dakota to Louisiana last week, NBC News reported.

Five 150-kiloton warheads were attached to cruise missiles that were flown from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to be dismantled, but they should have been removed, according to officials.

Military officials insist the warheads remained "under control" at all times and did not pose a danger. Click here to find out more!

The squadron commander, however, was immediately relieved of duty and is expected to lose his nuclear certification because "the Air Force has lost all confidence in his ability to handle nuclear weapons."

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More details here, restricted from posting sources.

http://tinyurl.com/379brl

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Nuke this thread, someone posted it two minutes prior to this one.

[agere_contra]

"Will you please stop shooting at the thermonuclear warheads?"

[Brilliant]

I keep one of those nuclear bombs under the seat cushion in my boat... You mean you’re not supposed to do that?

[Scythian]

I heard Jack Baur did a high elevation free fall to board the plain, disarm the nukes, and turn it around ...

[Redleg Duke]

Nuclear surety is an unforgiving mistress. I was in a nuclear-capable artillery unit in the Guard and no mistakes were allowed. None whatsoever!

This squadron commander knew the rules. No sympathy.

[Thrownatbirth]

I was a Terrier wing-and-fin man. It’s unbelievable someone lost focus to that degree.

[Eastbound]

Sound like all the ingredients for a good spy thriller. Lessee, we could have one of the bombs rattle loose and bury itself in Death Valley, not far from a prospector's shack. The prospector finds the bomb a few weeks later and thinking it was a dud, covers it with some tailings and forgets about it for a few years. Needing to replace a water trough that fed his sluice, he remembers the dud and decides to dis-assemble the missile and salvage the casing.

Somebody should sell the idea to Tom Clancey. He'd love it.

[Old Retired Army Guy]

Should have gone to Iran!

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It's been done: Broken Arrow

[Eastbound]

Just my weak attempt at humor. Clancey already did it. “The Sum Of All Fears.”

[Cvengr]

Iran might have been safer than Louisiana.

[Publius6961]

Click here to find out more!

No I won't.
Forgive me if I pass.

Only a technoidiot would deem this a "big" story!

[HardStarboard]

>>>Iran might have been safer than Louisiana.<<<

Yep!! My first thought is that I wish these had been found "inadvertently" included in a shipment of war material to the Middle East. ,p> Just a gentle reminder to Ahmadinejoke that we, already, have more nuclear weapons than we can count.

[HardStarboard]

Format correction...

>>>Iran might have been safer than Louisiana.<<<

Yep!! My first thought is that I wish these had been found "inadvertently" included in a shipment of war material to the Middle East.

Just a gentle reminder to Ahmadinejoke that we, already, have more nuclear weapons than we can count.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

In Clancy’s book Sum of all Fears, the nuke was an islambomb homemade job. I never saw the movie.

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You’re forgiven.