USA Today : Air Force explains errant flight of nukes; 70 punished

Air Force explains errant flight of nukes; 70 punished

It was an "unacceptable mistake" resulting from an "unprecedented string of procedural errors" because of a "lack of attention to detail."

That's what top Air Force officials said today in describing how a B-52 accidentally carried six stealth nuclear-tipped missiles from North Dakota to Louisiana in late August. Nearly 36 hours passed before the Advanced Cruise Missiles were secured. The Air Force decided in March to retire the missiles and decommission the arsenal.

"We are making all appropriate changes to ensure this has a minimal chance of ever happening again," Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said at a Pentagon news conference.

The first official confirmation that nuclear missiles were involved in the Aug. 29-30 incident was a break in standard U.S. policy of never publicly confirming the location of nuclear weapons, Wynne noted.

Five officers were relieved of their duties as a result of the blunder, considered one of the worst breaches of nuclear-weapons handling in decades. Among the officers relieved of duty were Col. Bruce Emig, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, and Col. Todd Westhauser, commander of the 2nd Operations Group at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. The Washington Post previewed the punishments yesterday.

"There has been an erosion of adherence to weapons handling standards at Minot Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base," said Maj. Gen. Richard Newton, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for operations. The 5th Bomb Wing, which has 36 B-52s and is one of just two B-52 units, has been "decertified from its wartime mission."

The AP and CNN have about exactly what went wrong.

Update at 6:57 p.m. ET: AP says that in addition to the five officers who were disciplined, the Air Force has decertified 65 airmen from handling nuclear weapons.

(File photo of Advanced Cruise Missile, similar to those carried by the B-52H, via the Air Force)