US nuclear missile force poses a headache for military

Google – AFP, Daniel de Luce (AFP), 18 January 2014

A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile successfully launches on June 16,

 2010 from Launch Facility-10 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (US

Air Force/AFP/File)

Washington — The "missileers" who oversee America's land-based nuclear arsenal were once seen as the tip of the spear for the US military during the tense days of the Cold War.

But now the crews face questions about their discipline, their professionalism and even the rationale for their job.

Revelations this week that missile launch officers cheated on a proficiency exam -- the latest in a stream of embarrassing incidents -- has put the spotlight on a force that has posed a recurring headache to commanders for years.

An Air Force technician inspects an

 LGM-30G Minuteman III missile inside

a silo about 60 miles from Grand Forks

Air Force Base, in North Dakota (US Air

Force/AFP)

After announcing 34 officers had been suspended over the cheating at Malmstrom base in Montana, Air Force leaders called the scandal "unacceptable" and vowed to rectify the problem.

But concerns about declining standards in the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force are nothing new.

The trouble began after the demise of the Soviet Union, as the mission gradually received a lower priority and offered a less promising career path.

"Since the end of the Cold War, the Air Force level and intensity of concentration on its nuclear mission has declined conspicuously," a Pentagon review found in 2008.

The report was ordered by former defense secretary Robert Gates who fired the Air Force chief and civilian secretary after accounts of negligent handling of nuclear weapons.

At the time, Gates said there were signs of "a degradation of the authority, standards of excellence, and technical competence within the nation?s ICBM force."

Reforms were enacted, but inspections over the past year have turned up fresh problems at the missile sites.

In recent months, two senior commanders have been sacked for misbehavior, including the head of the ICBM force after he went on a drunken bender in a trip to Russia.

In October, officials said missile officers were caught twice failing to close the blast doors on their bunkers, violating a strict security rule. And authorities say crew members are under criminal investigation for illegal drug possession.

Air Force officers say the incidents do not add up to a crisis. But critics contend crews on nuclear-armed submarines or bombers do not seem to suffer the same level of disciplinary or performance problems.

'Pride in the mission'

Over the years, the Air Force has tried to boost the esprit de corps of the crews by introducing special uniforms and badges. And proposals to boost pay for the missile crews have been discussed for more than a decade.

A journalist reads an advance copy of

 former US Secretary of Defense Robert

M. Gates' book, "Duty: Memoirs Of A 

Secretary At War", on January 10, 2014,

in Washington, DC (AFP, Paul J.

Richards)

While expressing shock at the cheating revelations, General Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff, insisted on Wednesday the nuclear missiles were in safe, extremely competent hands.

The four-star general, however, acknowledged morale is not what it was during the Cold War, when working in Strategic Air Command (SAC) carried prestige and a path to promotion.

In that era "there was a pride in the mission," Welsh said. "There was a feeling that the mission was critically important."

He said the Air Force had to ensure crews understood their jobs remained just as vital, maintaining missiles that officials say serve as a "deterrent" against America's adversaries.

With 450 ICBMs at three bases in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming, more than 500 officers manage the weapons around the clock in steel cocoons 100 feet (30 meters) underground, rehearsing launch protocols again and again.

A former launch officer, John Noonan, has described the work as often tedious and solitary, except for the occasional "virtual" nuclear war exercise.

"Being a missileer means that your worst enemy is boredom. No battlefield heroism, no medals to be won," Noonan wrote in Wired magazine's "Danger Room" blog in 2011.

"The duty is seen today as a dull anachronism."

Other missile veterans still see the work as necessary and argue there is no collapse in morale among the crews.

For arms control advocates, the whole enterprise is absurd and the discipline problems are an inevitable byproduct.

General Mark Welsh testifies during a

 Senate Armed Services Committee 

hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington,

DC, November 7, 2013 (AFP, Saul Loeb)

"There's no purpose to their mission anymore," said Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, which promotes reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles.

The launch officers "pull 12, 24-hour shifts in underground bunkers waiting to push a button they know they're never going to push," said Cirincione, an author who also has served as an adviser to President Barack Obama's administration.

Commanders have said they would support reducing the costly arsenal of land-based nuclear missiles, as weapons aboard submarines are able to reach any target on the globe. But lawmakers whose states host the silos oppose any cutbacks, he said.

"This is an outdated command, fielding obsolete weapons...," he said.

"The only mission for the ICBM is to immolate millions of innocent civilians."

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China calls for joint efforts to advance nuclear disarmament

Xi says China will stick to denuclearization of Korean peninsula

Ten nations urge new push for non-proliferation - (30 April 2011)

“.. Westerwelle told journalists that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the international Nuclear Test Ban Treaty should be adopted by all countries, adding that the production and mining of all fissile material for nuclear weapons should be banned internationally. He called for resuscitating the Geneva Disarmament Convention.

Attending the talks with Germany were Japan, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Chile, Poland, Mexico, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Last year, these countries formed the group Friends of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. ..”

‘Those silly things are still there’: US nukes stored in Netherlands

22 American nuclear bombs are stored in the Netherlands: media
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Nuclear Powers to Sign Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone

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Matthew’s Message - May 12, 2013 - (Matthew channelled by Suzanne Ward)

“… There is legitimate speculation and also strategic dire rumors about where Syria's civil war may lead. There will be no more "full blown" international wars and attempts to use nuclear weaponry will not be successful. Ultimately, the freedom fighters in Syria will be victorious and, like other countries where the citizenry ousted despotic rulers, that nation also will go through a period of unrest before achieving social and leadership stability. …”

SaluSa channelled by Mike Quinsey – March 29, 2013

“.. The darkness will eventually play itself out and is already losing its power to create more fear. In this respect, in spite of the apparent threat of war, know that it will no longer be allowed. The Galactic Federation of Light is aware of the intentions of all Superpowers and we will prevent any attempts to start a global war. ..”

 "Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  8 - The End of War

The last one is the best. For thousands of years on this planet, Human Beings have warred with each other. If you take a look at the reasons they warred with each other, you will quickly see there aren't any good ones - land, resources, greed. Those are not reasons. That is a description of old energy. Those are not reasons. Reasons would be perhaps defense against an aggressor. But what if there is no longer the consciousness of the aggressor?

When I appeared in my partner's life more than 20 years ago, I said to him privately that the first messages we're going to give will be unbelievable. There would be laughter. We told him that Human nature and consciousness itself would change, and that the seeds of peace would be planted and there would come a time where there is no more war. Indeed, the laughter was great because humans look at history and they see patterns based on an absolute energy called Human Nature. "Impossible! There always has to be war. There always has been. Therefore, there always will be." This is you, in a box, in a black and white potential, where you can only see the black and white of what is and the black and white of what has been. You have no idea the shades of color that are there in your consciousness and the beauty of the love of God.

North Korea is on the edge of change, as we told you it might be. What did this require? The death of the old energy, and I want you to watch this take place. The advisors of the young leader are going to do their best to pull him back into an old energy. This free choice of his will be far different than his father, for he sees some color. Watch for these things. They'll take longer than you want, but it is the beginning of the beginning.

You'll see a fresh unification of South America sooner than not, for what is going to take place potentially this year in Venezuela. You'll see Iran changing. We have no clock. These are the potentials. These can change with free choice. These are not prophecies. This is a reality shift, dear ones, so number eight becomes the propensity not to war again. This is what Humans are going to want. This is what governments are going to want. There is a wisdom factor that will begin to happen on the planet that is grander than what you think is possible. For when you look at government, what do you think about? You see dysfunction, and there is an axiom that says the more people that try to do something together, the worse it gets. It all settles to the lowest common denominator. I'm telling you even those things are going to become old energy concepts. Instead, you're going to watch wisdom become the top potential.

I have no clock. I cannot tell you when. I can just tell you it is in the works, and there will be the seeds of it for you to observe soon - right now, in every single of the eight categories I showed you.

There are those who will say, "Well, Kryon, you're doing a lot more predictions than you used to." I want to tell you what's going on, dear one. I am not predicting anything. I am just telling you what's already there in the potential soup of your reality. That's what Humans are doing on this planet, and for those who believe this communication, you should breathe a sigh of relief and say, "It's about time." ….”