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Friday, September 21, 2007

Second Review Set of Bomber Nuke Flight


U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has requested a second examination of an August incident in which nuclear-tipped cruise missiles were loaded on to an Air Force bomber and flown over several states, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 14).

Personnel at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on Aug. 30 placed six missiles on the B-52 bound for Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.  That action violated a decades-old service policy barring U.S. bombers from flying with nuclear weapons during peacetime.

The Air Force is investigating the incident and expects to finish its review in a matter of weeks, said spokesman Lt. Col. Ed Thomas.

Meanwhile, Gates requested that former Air Force chief of staff Larry Welch head up a review by a Defense Science Board panel on the implications of the mishap.  The question to be answered is “does this incident reflect a larger problem with regard to the security and transfer of munitions?” said Gates spokesman Geoff Morrell.

The second review is not a reflection of concerns about the current investigation by Air Combat Command, Morrell said.

“I think [Gates] believes in an incident of this nature, it’s important to get to the bottom of it,” he said.  “And he believes an outside set of eyes may be additionally helpful to, sort of, get a better sense of what went wrong and how to avoid similar mistakes in the future.”

The Defense Science Board consists of civilian experts who provide advice to the Pentagon on scientific, technical and other issues (Robert Burns, Associated Press/San Luis Obispo Tribune, Sept. 20).

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