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'Bent Spear' betrays USAF neglect of nuclear mission
Caitlin Harrington JDW Staff Reporter - Washington, DC
Nathan Hodge JDW Staff Reporter - Washington, DC
Key Points
The investigation into how nuclear-armed missiles were accidentally loaded onto a B-52 has cited leadership and discipline issues
Some commentators are pressing for a new course in nuclear weapon policy and a cut in the US nuclear weapon inventory
A "breakdown of leadership and discipline" at two US Air Force ( USAF) bases led to an incident in which nuclear-armed missiles were accidentally loaded onto a B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber last year, according to an ongoing series of reviews.
In a 12 February testimony prepared for the Senate Armed Services Committee, three senior USAF generals summarised the findings to date and identified several factors that contributed to the incident. According to their testimony, the main cause of the August 2007 incident was a "unit-level leadership and discipline breakdown at Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB) and Minot AFB" that fostered disregard for established procedures. USAF investigations blame "an informal scheduling process" that led to the installation of the nuclear-armed pylon.
The USAF testimony also pointed to the declining attention being paid to the nuclear mission and diminishing experience for nuclear-trained officers.
In their testimony, the three senior USAF generals - Lieutenant General Daniel Darnell, Major General Polly Peyer and Major General Douglas Raaberg - noted a "declining focus" within the service on the strategic nuclear bomber mission.
"Since the end of the Cold War, aircraft units have taken on conventional commitments in the midst of an ever-increasing operational tempo and a continuously shrinking force," the testimony states. "Thus, the role of the strategic nuclear mission, especially in dual-tasked aircraft units, competed for time, attention and focus. The turning point of this diminished focus began when aircraft came off nuclear alert status."
The incident - referred to in US Department of Defense (DoD) parlance as a 'Bent Spear' - involved the mishandling of six nuclear-tipped AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missiles. In late August 2007 a pylon carrying the six missiles was accidentally installed on a B-52 at Minot AFB, North Dakota. The aircraft then flew to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, where munitions handlers discovered the error and notified their command.
Following the incident, DoD and service officials ordered several reviews of nuclear procedures in the USAF. In addition to a 'blue ribbon review' (BRR) initiated by the USAF chief of staff and a tactical-level investigation, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed retired USAF chief of staff Larry Welch to lead a Defense Science Board task force to review nuclear weapons security and lead a general review of DoD policies and procedures. Seven USAF leaders were removed from their posts, including one wing commander and two group commanders. In addition, the service temporarily relieved 90 airmen of nuclear duties.
The BRR panel, headed by Gen Peyer, said the high demands of conventional missions since 1991 have taken their toll on the nuclear mission.
"Since 1991 and the end of the Cold War, the forces assigned to operate, maintain and support the nuclear capability reduced accordingly," said Gen Peyer. "Increased operational tempo from 17 years of continuous combat and operating an ageing fleet and infrastructure competes for time and resources."
The BRR found that in general the USAF nuclear weapons inventory is "safe, secure and reliable", but it also made several recommendations for improvement, including: more robust and standardised training and development for nuclear-related USAF duties; the assignment of "experienced airmen" to nuclear-related billets; increased emphasis on nuclear mission skill sets in initial and refresher training; and more frequent and intense exercises.
The USAF investigation comes amid renewed debate in Washington over the future of the US nuclear arsenal. On 13 February a group of independent experts with long experience in nuclear weapons policy issued a new report that urged a series of unilateral steps for the United States, including de-alerting nuclear missiles and reducing the US nuclear arsenal to no more than 1,000 warheads.
The report - authored by analysts from the Federation of American Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Union of Concerned Scientists - urges the next US president to adopt a new course in nuclear weapons policy.
"The next US president can reduce the dangers that nuclear weapons pose to the US and to the rest of the world by taking unilateral steps to lessen US dependence on nuclear weapons," said Lisbeth Gronlund, a physicist and co-director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, in a statement. "It has been nearly two decades since the Berlin Wall came down, but US policy is still mired in Cold War-thinking."
The new report also calls for a halt to the further installation of ground-based missile defence interceptors and the development of new nuclear warhead designs.
In recent months former secretaries of state George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former secretary of defence William Perry and former senator Sam Nunn have publicly advocated a path towards eventual nuclear disarmament. The report supports many of their arguments.
Physicist Richard Garwin, one of the developers of the first US hydrogen bomb and a contributor to the report, said in a statement that a smaller US stockpile could still provide a credible deterrent. "The US should unilaterally cut its nuclear arsenal to no more than 1,000 nuclear warheads," he said. "There is no plausible threat that justifies maintaining more than a few hundred survivable nuclear weapons and no reason to link the size of US nuclear forces to those of any other country."
Caitlin Harrington JDW Staff Reporter - Washington, DC
Nathan Hodge JDW Staff Reporter - Washington, DC
Key Points
The investigation into how nuclear-armed missiles were accidentally loaded onto a B-52 has cited leadership and discipline issues
Some commentators are pressing for a new course in nuclear weapon policy and a cut in the US nuclear weapon inventory
A "breakdown of leadership and discipline" at two US Air Force ( USAF) bases led to an incident in which nuclear-armed missiles were accidentally loaded onto a B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber last year, according to an ongoing series of reviews.
In a 12 February testimony prepared for the Senate Armed Services Committee, three senior USAF generals summarised the findings to date and identified several factors that contributed to the incident. According to their testimony, the main cause of the August 2007 incident was a "unit-level leadership and discipline breakdown at Barksdale Air Force Base (AFB) and Minot AFB" that fostered disregard for established procedures. USAF investigations blame "an informal scheduling process" that led to the installation of the nuclear-armed pylon.
The USAF testimony also pointed to the declining attention being paid to the nuclear mission and diminishing experience for nuclear-trained officers.
In their testimony, the three senior USAF generals - Lieutenant General Daniel Darnell, Major General Polly Peyer and Major General Douglas Raaberg - noted a "declining focus" within the service on the strategic nuclear bomber mission.
"Since the end of the Cold War, aircraft units have taken on conventional commitments in the midst of an ever-increasing operational tempo and a continuously shrinking force," the testimony states. "Thus, the role of the strategic nuclear mission, especially in dual-tasked aircraft units, competed for time, attention and focus. The turning point of this diminished focus began when aircraft came off nuclear alert status."
The incident - referred to in US Department of Defense (DoD) parlance as a 'Bent Spear' - involved the mishandling of six nuclear-tipped AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missiles. In late August 2007 a pylon carrying the six missiles was accidentally installed on a B-52 at Minot AFB, North Dakota. The aircraft then flew to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, where munitions handlers discovered the error and notified their command.
Following the incident, DoD and service officials ordered several reviews of nuclear procedures in the USAF. In addition to a 'blue ribbon review' (BRR) initiated by the USAF chief of staff and a tactical-level investigation, US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed retired USAF chief of staff Larry Welch to lead a Defense Science Board task force to review nuclear weapons security and lead a general review of DoD policies and procedures. Seven USAF leaders were removed from their posts, including one wing commander and two group commanders. In addition, the service temporarily relieved 90 airmen of nuclear duties.
The BRR panel, headed by Gen Peyer, said the high demands of conventional missions since 1991 have taken their toll on the nuclear mission.
"Since 1991 and the end of the Cold War, the forces assigned to operate, maintain and support the nuclear capability reduced accordingly," said Gen Peyer. "Increased operational tempo from 17 years of continuous combat and operating an ageing fleet and infrastructure competes for time and resources."
The BRR found that in general the USAF nuclear weapons inventory is "safe, secure and reliable", but it also made several recommendations for improvement, including: more robust and standardised training and development for nuclear-related USAF duties; the assignment of "experienced airmen" to nuclear-related billets; increased emphasis on nuclear mission skill sets in initial and refresher training; and more frequent and intense exercises.
The USAF investigation comes amid renewed debate in Washington over the future of the US nuclear arsenal. On 13 February a group of independent experts with long experience in nuclear weapons policy issued a new report that urged a series of unilateral steps for the United States, including de-alerting nuclear missiles and reducing the US nuclear arsenal to no more than 1,000 warheads.
The report - authored by analysts from the Federation of American Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Union of Concerned Scientists - urges the next US president to adopt a new course in nuclear weapons policy.
"The next US president can reduce the dangers that nuclear weapons pose to the US and to the rest of the world by taking unilateral steps to lessen US dependence on nuclear weapons," said Lisbeth Gronlund, a physicist and co-director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, in a statement. "It has been nearly two decades since the Berlin Wall came down, but US policy is still mired in Cold War-thinking."
The new report also calls for a halt to the further installation of ground-based missile defence interceptors and the development of new nuclear warhead designs.
In recent months former secretaries of state George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former secretary of defence William Perry and former senator Sam Nunn have publicly advocated a path towards eventual nuclear disarmament. The report supports many of their arguments.
Physicist Richard Garwin, one of the developers of the first US hydrogen bomb and a contributor to the report, said in a statement that a smaller US stockpile could still provide a credible deterrent. "The US should unilaterally cut its nuclear arsenal to no more than 1,000 nuclear warheads," he said. "There is no plausible threat that justifies maintaining more than a few hundred survivable nuclear weapons and no reason to link the size of US nuclear forces to those of any other country."
