posted on Jun, 6 2008 @ 10:23 AM
Maybe it was because after the carring the bombs across the USA they didnt learn anything at Minot.
The 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., has failed its
much-anticipated defense nuclear surety inspection, according to a Defense Threat Reduction Agency report.
DRTA inspectors gave the wing an “unsatisfactory” grade Sunday after
uncovering many crucial mistakes during the weeklong inspection, which began
May 17. They attributed the errors primarily to lack of supervision and
leadership among security forces.
Inspectors from Air Combat Command also participated, but the Air Force
refused to provide specifics on their findings.
Security broke down on multiple levels during simulated attacks across the base, including against nuclear weapons storage areas, according to the
DTRA report, a copy of which was obtained by Air Force Times. Inspectors watched as a security forces airman played video games on his
cell phone while standing guard at a “restricted area perimeter,” the DTRA
report said. Meanwhile, another airman nearby was “unaware of her duties and responsibilities” during the exercise.
The lapses are baffling, given the high-level focus on Minot since last
August, when 5th Bomb Wing airmen mistakenly loaded six nuclear-tipped
cruise missiles onto a B-52 Stratofortress and flew them to Barksdale Air
Force Base, La., where the plane sat on the flight line, unattended, for
hours. That incident not only embarrassed the Air Force, but raised concerns worldwide about the deterioration in U.S. nuclear safety standards. Col.
Joel Westa took command of the 5th Bomb Wing following that fiasco.
After it failed an initial nuclear surety inspection, or dry run, in
December, Westa acknowledged this inspection was going to be the “most
scrutinized inspection in the history of time.”
Even so, airmen were unprepared.
FAILED AGAIN!!