Sorry ’bout the broken link in my previous post - I’ve been playing around with Google Chrome and, although I think it loads pages much faster, it still has some beta issues. Here is the crux of the story:
“The Air Force is creating a new command to manage the nation’s nuclear arsenal better after a series of embarrassing missteps in the handling and oversight of its most sensitive materials.
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told reporters Friday that the service is shifting its nuclear-capable bombers, missiles and staff into a new Global Strike Command. So far officials have spent more than $200 million on the reorganization effort, and expect to spend another $270 million during the budget year that began Oct. 1. Air Force leaders could not provide a total cost or staffing for the new command, which will be led by a lieutenant general, the force’s second-highest rank.
Donley said the latest shuffle would be a “new starting point” that would reinvigorate the service’s nuclear mission. He also said it would help the Air Force focus on the arsenal’s management, no matter how small it might become under future international agreements.”
The last paragraph is interesting. Those of us a little older might remember the humorous story about “What the Captain Meant To Say” which transposed an official Viet Nam era account of a dog fight with what the pilot actually said, F words and all.
I wonder if, in this instance, what the captain really meant to say is that after 4 November 08 the new Commander in Chief will give us just slightly more confidence in the security of our strategic arsenal than what we have in, say, Pakistan’s. Just thinking out loud.
Radar! Good to see you.
I think what the Captain meant to say was, “Well, we tried to let the fighter pilots run nukes and those guys can’t follow a checklist to save their asses.”
Comment by Timmer — 20081027 @ 0614
I had to laugh out loud that the command billet when from the CyberCommand to the strategic command. And I agree with the checklist comment. As they said back in the day, “To err is human, to forgive is not SAC policy.” I don’t know how anyone could take nukes that lightly …
Bob
(446th Strategic Missile Sqdn 1979-1983)
Comment by Bob — 20081027 @ 0758
I don’t know how anyone could take nukes that lightly …
Well, ya know. They just _sit_ there day after day. It’s gotta be kinda boring and lackluster just watching a bit of ordnance that you pray will never actually be used.
What I’m reminded of is that competence is fleeting. SAC was the best in the world at it did. Twenty years later their descendants look around and mutter ‘wait, last month we had _ten_ of those in inventory and there are only five in the bunker _this_ month …’
Comment by Brian Dunbar — 20081027 @ 1555
What’s really scarey to me is that they carried nukes in a B-52 over CONUS. That means they either didn’t complete their pre-flight or worse, their pre-flight didn’t include looking at the weapons!
Comment by Timmer — 20081027 @ 1634
Good lord, at this rate General LeMay is probably revolving in his grave with sufficient speed so that if you ran some connecting cables to the right place, you could probably generate sufficient electricity to power a small city.
Gads, guys - remember when the ultimate compliment in military-ese was “Strac” - for STRategic Air Command?
Comment by Sgt. Mom — 20081027 @ 1740
Gads, guys - remember when the ultimate compliment in military-ese was “Strac” - for STRategic Air Command
Heh. I remember that STRAC stood for
Silly Troops Running Around (in) Circles.
Comment by Brian Dunbar — 20081027 @ 2205