CommunityEditor
06-12-2008, 01:19 PM
A fundamental military tenet is that leaders take responsibility for their organization’s missteps.
That’s exactly what happened after Defense Secretary Robert Gates concluded senior Air Force leaders should be held accountable for failures in safeguarding nuclear weapons. Promptly and honorably, Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley resigned.
In 2005, the Air Force mislabeled four nuclear weapon triggers and sent them to the Defense Logistics Agency, which later shipped them to Taiwan. Last March, ground crews at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., failed to realize that they loaded six nuclear weapons aboard a B-52, a mistake that wasn’t discovered until after the plane had flown across the U.S. and spent the night on a runway at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
The Air Force disciplined personnel involved in both incidents, but Minot Air Force Base recently failed a long-awaited and delayed nuclear inspection. The report by Adm. Kirkland Donald, the chief of naval nuclear reactors, found the service’s corrective measures fell short. Donald heads the most exacting organization in the U.S. government. He oversees development, production, training and oversight of all naval nuclear reactors, and inspections by his subordinates are notoriously detailed.
As both Wynne and Moseley attest, the Air Force’s stewardship of nuclear weapons is a “sacred duty” in which the service fell short.
Donald’s detailed findings gave Gates the ammunition he needed to oust the two, both of whom had continually fought him on military health care, building more F-22s and other issues.
But more importantly, the findings highlight an ominous pattern that is emerging in all corners of the military: The pace and demands of 17 years at war dating back to the 1991 Persian Gulf War are taking their toll, and not just on those parts of the military that are not the focus of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Until the 1990s, all Air Force units underwent inspections at intervals ranging from six weeks to grueling week-long assessments every 18 months. But deployment demands and personnel cuts have led commanders to lighten up on their charges.
This was a breakdown in discipline. But it is not unique to the Air Force.
The Navy, which has also endured heavy op tempo while cutting its people, ships and planes, has suffered similar problems. Two front-line warships were declared unfit for combat earlier this year, and last year, a nuclear submarine crew was found to have forged key documents tracking operation of the ship’s reactor, staggering a community that prides itself on exacting standards.
Ironically, Gates has repeatedly accused the Air Force of being too focused on the next war. That may be true. But it is also possible that Gates is too preoccupied with the current war.
The strains on the Army and Marine Corps are well documented and have gotten much attention. It’s time the administration considers the strains across its other forces, strains that may be less apparent, but which are also critical to America’s national security.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_editorial_firings_061608/
That’s exactly what happened after Defense Secretary Robert Gates concluded senior Air Force leaders should be held accountable for failures in safeguarding nuclear weapons. Promptly and honorably, Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley resigned.
In 2005, the Air Force mislabeled four nuclear weapon triggers and sent them to the Defense Logistics Agency, which later shipped them to Taiwan. Last March, ground crews at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., failed to realize that they loaded six nuclear weapons aboard a B-52, a mistake that wasn’t discovered until after the plane had flown across the U.S. and spent the night on a runway at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
The Air Force disciplined personnel involved in both incidents, but Minot Air Force Base recently failed a long-awaited and delayed nuclear inspection. The report by Adm. Kirkland Donald, the chief of naval nuclear reactors, found the service’s corrective measures fell short. Donald heads the most exacting organization in the U.S. government. He oversees development, production, training and oversight of all naval nuclear reactors, and inspections by his subordinates are notoriously detailed.
As both Wynne and Moseley attest, the Air Force’s stewardship of nuclear weapons is a “sacred duty” in which the service fell short.
Donald’s detailed findings gave Gates the ammunition he needed to oust the two, both of whom had continually fought him on military health care, building more F-22s and other issues.
But more importantly, the findings highlight an ominous pattern that is emerging in all corners of the military: The pace and demands of 17 years at war dating back to the 1991 Persian Gulf War are taking their toll, and not just on those parts of the military that are not the focus of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Until the 1990s, all Air Force units underwent inspections at intervals ranging from six weeks to grueling week-long assessments every 18 months. But deployment demands and personnel cuts have led commanders to lighten up on their charges.
This was a breakdown in discipline. But it is not unique to the Air Force.
The Navy, which has also endured heavy op tempo while cutting its people, ships and planes, has suffered similar problems. Two front-line warships were declared unfit for combat earlier this year, and last year, a nuclear submarine crew was found to have forged key documents tracking operation of the ship’s reactor, staggering a community that prides itself on exacting standards.
Ironically, Gates has repeatedly accused the Air Force of being too focused on the next war. That may be true. But it is also possible that Gates is too preoccupied with the current war.
The strains on the Army and Marine Corps are well documented and have gotten much attention. It’s time the administration considers the strains across its other forces, strains that may be less apparent, but which are also critical to America’s national security.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_editorial_firings_061608/