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US Air Force sacks nuclear commander after blunders
Space War ^ | 10/15/2009 | Staff Writers

Posted on 10/15/2009 5:26:52 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld

The US Air Force said on Thursday the commander of a nuclear wing had been sacked after his unit failed a safety inspection, trucks carrying missile parts crashed and officers under him fell asleep with launch codes in hand. Colonel Christopher Ayres, commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, was removed Wednesday "due to loss of confidence in his ability to command," Air Force Space Command said in a statement.

The Air Force has tried to improve its handling of the country's nuclear arsenal after a series of mishaps and blunders led to the sacking of the service's top civilian and military leaders last year.

"We must uphold the highest standards within the nuclear enterprise," said General Robert Kehler, head of Air Force Space Command, who approved the firing.

The removal of the wing commander came days after an Air Force investigation blamed "driver error" for an August accident in which a truck carrying parts for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) went off the road and tipped on its side.

In the bizarre accident, the driver had become distracted by "a large insect" that landed on his back, the Air Force said.

Another truck carrying an ICBM rocket booster crashed last year, the Air Force Times reported.

The 91st Missile Wing, which oversees 150 Minuteman II ballistic missiles, also failed an inspection by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in 2008, Captain Toni Tones, a spokeswoman for Air Force Space Command, told AFP.

The wing passed a second inspection this year, she said.

In another embarrassing incident, three Air Force officers at the wing fell asleep in July 2008 while in possession of classified components containing missile launch codes for ICBMs. The three officers were disciplined over the incident, Tones said.

(Excerpt) Read more at spacewar.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: icbm; minotairforcebase; minutemanmissile; missile; missilewing; nuclearcommander; nuclearweapons; nuclearwing; spacecommand; usaf; usairforce
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1 posted on 10/15/2009 5:26:53 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
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To: sonofstrangelove

I hate to tell everyone this but if what I have seen in the Air Force, leadership is SERIOUSLY LACKING!


2 posted on 10/15/2009 5:31:26 PM PDT by US Navy Vet
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To: sonofstrangelove

Not sure why it matters..Obama is working on putting China and Russia in charge of our nukes anyway.


3 posted on 10/15/2009 5:32:08 PM PDT by penelopesire ("The only CHANGE you will get with the Democrats is the CHANGE left in your pocket")
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To: sonofstrangelove

Oddly enough, Colonel Ayres was replaced by a Brigadier General named Jack Ripper.


4 posted on 10/15/2009 5:37:55 PM PDT by Iron Munro (When seconds count, the police are only minutes away)
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To: Iron Munro

Precious bodily fluids alert...


5 posted on 10/15/2009 5:51:04 PM PDT by snarks_when_bored
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To: sonofstrangelove
"a large insect"

No, it was a GIANT METAL INSECT!.

6 posted on 10/15/2009 5:52:26 PM PDT by Rome2000 (OBAMA IS A COMMUNIST CRYPTO-MUSLIM)
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To: US Navy Vet
At least a missile silo didn't surface under a Japanese trawler or hit an underwater mountain. (SARC)

Seriously, the mission of nuclear deterrance in the USAF was taken over by the fighter mafia. All old SAC weenies know fighter pilots have big egos and little brains.

7 posted on 10/15/2009 5:52:46 PM PDT by pfflier
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To: Iron Munro

No, Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper, JR. I think his old man had some kind of an accident in the bathroom back in the 60’s.

parsy, who don’t care it if hairlips everybody on Bear Creek


8 posted on 10/15/2009 5:54:14 PM PDT by parsifal (Abatis: Rubbish in front of a fort, to prevent the rubbish outside from molesting the rubbish inside)
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To: Iron Munro

***...replaced by a Brigadier General named Jack Ripper.***

Ever notice how much Jack D Ripper looked like General Curtis LeMay?


9 posted on 10/15/2009 5:56:50 PM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (You talkin' ta me? YOU TALKIN TO ME! Well just who are you talkin' to?)
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To: sonofstrangelove

“his unit failed a safety inspection, trucks carrying missile parts crashed and officers under him fell asleep with launch codes in hand.”

Scary. I suspect the relieved commander’s replacement is going to keep the men rather *busy* in the coming days. Maybe they’ll find out just how many toothbrushes it takes to scrub an ICBM? ;)


10 posted on 10/15/2009 6:12:18 PM PDT by DemforBush (Somebody wake me when sanity has returned to the nation.)
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To: sonofstrangelove

Big mistake to merge the old TAC and SAC into Air Combat Command back in the mid-90’s. Hopefully, the new Global Strike Command will help resolve some of these problems.


11 posted on 10/15/2009 6:23:17 PM PDT by ops33 (Senior Master Sergeant, USAF (Retired))
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To: sonofstrangelove
It wasn't the crash or the sleepy officers that got the Wing Commander fired. It was this that did him in -- "his unit failed a safety inspection"....
12 posted on 10/15/2009 6:32:17 PM PDT by Red Steel
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To: ops33

Don’t count on it.


13 posted on 10/15/2009 6:37:41 PM PDT by US Navy Vet
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To: Red Steel

good. those things are dangerous. that’s the whole idea. besides the obvious loss of life if a fire or other accident happened, the politics of this country are fragmented enough that an accident might lead to political destruction of the nuke program. the iww would love to use such a catastrophe for their own ends.


14 posted on 10/15/2009 6:55:44 PM PDT by sig226 (My President was President of the week at the Norwegian Slough Academy.)
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To: penelopesire
Not sure why it matters..Obama is working on putting China and Russia in charge of our nukes anyway.

It matters because if there is a nuclear incident serious enough, world pressure will strip us of our major deterrent to attack by adversary nuclear armed countries....North Korea for one.

15 posted on 10/15/2009 7:13:02 PM PDT by Rapscallion (Tyrant Obama declares war on more American freedoms every day.)
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To: sonofstrangelove
91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota

Where do they send you if you screw up at Minot? An Alaska DEW site?

/johnny

16 posted on 10/15/2009 7:13:32 PM PDT by JRandomFreeper (God Bless us all, each, and every one.)
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To: milford421

Ping.


17 posted on 10/15/2009 7:37:27 PM PDT by nw_arizona_granny ( http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/21813ht92/posts?page=1 [Survival,food,garden,crafts,and more)
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To: sonofstrangelove

Just WOW. I can’t believe that THREE fell asleep at ONCE, with classified docs in their hands! LOL. Were thay all on DRUGS?


18 posted on 10/15/2009 7:39:55 PM PDT by 2harddrive
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To: sonofstrangelove
three Air Force officers at the wing fell asleep in July 2008 while in possession of classified components containing missile launch codes for ICBMs

No worries, I'm sure the Russkies and ChiComs aren't taking any notice.

Does anybody wonder what 'discipline' the Chinese would have for their commanders if this happened? Hmmmmm?

Let's just be done with this farce - email the launch codes to the ChiComs with a CC to the Russkies. THis movie is getting BORING and long.

19 posted on 10/15/2009 8:57:49 PM PDT by Moe Tzadik
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To: sonofstrangelove
three Air Force officers at the wing fell asleep in July 2008 while in possession of classified components containing missile launch codes for ICBMs

No worries, I'm sure the Russkies and ChiComs aren't taking any notice.

Does anybody wonder what 'discipline' the Chinese would have for their commanders if this happened? Hmmmmm?

Let's just be done with this farce - email the launch codes to the ChiComs with a CC to the Russkies. This movie is getting BORING and long.

20 posted on 10/15/2009 9:00:00 PM PDT by Moe Tzadik
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