Posted on 09/23/2007 2:37:16 AM PDT by Westlander
“The Saga of a ‘Bent Spear’”
I thought this was going to be a Bill Clinton story.
Didn’t a nuke fall in the ocean during the Cold War?
Give the large number of misleading, inaccurate and fraudulent stories published and broadcast by the Drive By Media in the last few years, I think we should file this under “dubious, waiting for confirmation”.
I think the majority of the concern lies with the fact that nobody noticed the missing nukes for 36 hours.
Somebody needs to put a bell on those things.
I’ve been in the field the past week and a half, and this was on the news before I left.
I’ve been in the field the past week and a half, and this was on the news before I left.
my understanding is that nukes are tipped
in red paint.
how was that missed?
The missile loaders were color blind?
nobody from the aircrew,
did a walkaround ??? !
I sorry but this is the point. Too many of these "unnamed sources" article turn out to be lies. The officers could be just retelling rumors they heard. They could not exist and the reporter may be simply making up the story. Or this could be spin being put out by bureaucrats in the Pentagon as part of the usual games in the budget wars.
"Oh my, how horrible, we cannot even keep track of our nukes cause of all the money we are wasting on Iraq/Afghanistan. Quick Congress, give us a bunch of more money in our budget so these sorts of things don't happen with NUKES!!!!" Panic, hysteria! The sky is falling! Quick give us money, more money, more money!!!!!
The ONLY people on the record here are RETIRED officers who were asked to respond to the Reporters claims. Until this is credibly verified by an ON THE RECORD source, this doesn't pass the smell test.
Anything by Pincus is DNC propaganda...
I think it was purposely leaked. If I were a dictator in say, oh the Middle East and I hear that there are nukes active, I would pause for a minute and wonder why.
This story is old news.
quotes from Sept 4th and 5th articles at Foxnews.com:
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.
According to the officials, the weapons are designed with multiple safety features that ensure the warheads don’t accidentally detonate.
Arming the weapons requires a number of stringent protocols and authentication codes that must be followed for detonation. And they are designed to withstand a significant impact, including an aircraft crash, without detonating.
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.
Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Ed Thomas said the Air Combat Command chief has ordered an investigation, but stressed that the public was never in danger.
“At no time was there a threat to public safety. It is important to note that munitions were safe, secure and under military control at all times. The error was discovered by Airmen during internal Air Force checks. The weapons were safe and remained in Air Force control and custody at all times,” Thomas said in a prepared statement.
He added: “All evidence we have seen so far points to an isolated mistake. ACC has directed a command-wide stand down to review process at all of our bases. Though this incident involved elements of only two of our wings, we believe we should take an opportunity for all units to review their procedures.”
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy put the SAC on alert. Alert meant that 1/3 of all B-52's must be armed and in the air at all times. (Its difficult for the Russians to find them) That alert stayed on until it was canceled by Jimmy Carter more than a decade and a half later. At least 1/3 of the B-52 fleet was in the air with nuclear weapons during this entire time. This whole story about a single bomber with 6 weapons for a day and a half is a big yawn.
Not really. The last time SAC flew armed airborne alert was in the late 'sixties, something called "Butterknife," or "Thule Monitor."
Ghastly missions; six hours flying north to an orbit point near Thule, twelve hours of flying racetracks and playing 'Trivia' with Thule Ground Control over the UHF and six hours flying south. It was a Butterknife mission that crashed near Thule (as the result of a crew compartment fire) and scattered nukes on Danish territory.
I believe there was one further set of Butterknife missions in the early '70s but these were unarmed as a result of the aforementioned crash.
More than once.
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