The Air Force has decided to relieve at least five of its officers of command and is considering filing criminal charges in connection with the Aug. 29 "Bent Spear" incident in which nuclear-armed cruise missiles were mistakenly flown from North Dakota to Louisiana, two senior Air Force officials said yesterday. Although senior Defense Department officials have not been fully briefed on the results of an Air Force probe of the incident, the sources said that at least one colonel is expected to lose his position and that several enlisted personnel will also be punished as part disciplinary actions that could be among the toughest meted out by the Air Force in years. The measures are expected to be formally announced tomorrow along with the detailed findings of an internal, six-week investigation into how a B-52 bomber crew mistakenly flew from one military air base to another with six nuclear warheads strapped to its wings. Air Force veterans have described the Aug. 29 incident as the one of the worst breaches in U.S. nuclear weapons security in decades. A senior Air Force official familiar with the investigation said officers will be relieved at both installations involved in the incident: Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and Barksdale Air Force Base, La. A colonel commanding one of the Air Force wings is likely to be the highest-ranking officer to be relieved, the official said. In addition, the official said, letters of reprimand will be issued to several enlisted service members. The personnel actions may be followed by criminal charges against one or more people, but that course of action is still being discussed at the highest levels of the Air Force, he added. The most likely such charge, he said, would be either dereliction of duty or willful disobedience of an order.
Although senior Defense Department officials have not been fully briefed on the results of an Air Force probe of the incident, the sources said that at least one colonel is expected to lose his position and that several enlisted personnel will also be punished as part disciplinary actions that could be among the toughest meted out by the Air Force in years.
The measures are expected to be formally announced tomorrow along with the detailed findings of an internal, six-week investigation into how a B-52 bomber crew mistakenly flew from one military air base to another with six nuclear warheads strapped to its wings. Air Force veterans have described the Aug. 29 incident as the one of the worst breaches in U.S. nuclear weapons security in decades.
A senior Air Force official familiar with the investigation said officers will be relieved at both installations involved in the incident: Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and Barksdale Air Force Base, La. A colonel commanding one of the Air Force wings is likely to be the highest-ranking officer to be relieved, the official said.
In addition, the official said, letters of reprimand will be issued to several enlisted service members. The personnel actions may be followed by criminal charges against one or more people, but that course of action is still being discussed at the highest levels of the Air Force, he added. The most likely such charge, he said, would be either dereliction of duty or willful disobedience of an order.
which reminds me... I forgot to post this story the other day....
U.S. Missile Goes Astray in Qatar A U.S. Army unit mistakenly launched a Patriot PAC-3 antiaircraft missile from an American base in the Persian Gulf country of Qatar, U.S. military officials said. The PAC-3 missile, an upgraded version of the Patriot, landed nearby on a farm and caused no damage, the Qatari military said, according to a statement carried by the Qatar News Agency. The land, about four miles north of the base at Camp As Sayliyah, may be owned by Qatari royal Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said an official at Central Command, the U.S. military headquarters for the Middle East. But Army Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, a spokeswoman for the Central Command in Qatar, said she did not think the land was owned by Thani. "It was an unexplained and accidental launch," she said. "It is under investigation." Military officials were reluctant to discuss the incident, partly because it is embarrassing and partly because the government of Qatar prefers that the U.S. military maintains a low profile in that country.
A U.S. Army unit mistakenly launched a Patriot PAC-3 antiaircraft missile from an American base in the Persian Gulf country of Qatar, U.S. military officials said.
The PAC-3 missile, an upgraded version of the Patriot, landed nearby on a farm and caused no damage, the Qatari military said, according to a statement carried by the Qatar News Agency. The land, about four miles north of the base at Camp As Sayliyah, may be owned by Qatari royal Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said an official at Central Command, the U.S. military headquarters for the Middle East.
But Army Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, a spokeswoman for the Central Command in Qatar, said she did not think the land was owned by Thani.
"It was an unexplained and accidental launch," she said. "It is under investigation."
Military officials were reluctant to discuss the incident, partly because it is embarrassing and partly because the government of Qatar prefers that the U.S. military maintains a low profile in that country.
"Goes astray."
Oops. Again.
The missile was fired by Battery A, 3rd Battalion of the 43rd Air Defense Artillery while it was training, the Central Command official said. PAC-3 missiles cost more than $4 million each, according to GlobalSecurity.org, a defense think tank.
$4 million missiles for target practice???
...we cannot afford children health insurance ´cause we must cover target practice contingencies in our >700 bases ´round the world... Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.
