What is really sad is when I think back to the early 80’s when I was stationed in CA and SAC was still in charge, we executed the nuclear mission daily and a had a constant stream of realistic exercises. I know that that was during the Cold War but it really makes this story sorry is to realize how far the AF has managed to get away from what was one main missions, deep strategic strike.
BY: Knight Ridder, Military.com05/13/2008After the Air Force mistakenly flew nuclear weapons from North Dakota to Louisiana last year, the U.S. Strategic Command is taking a more active role in making sure nuclear stockpiles are safely stored and maintained, StratCom's commander says. StratCom inspectors now accompany Air Force officials on every nuclear safety and maintenance check, Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton said in an interview. StratCom also is planning live exercises and leading an internal review of its policies and the command's organization to foster a stronger focus on the nuclear deterrent mission -- the historic core of StratCom's predecessor at Offutt Air Force Base, the Strategic Air Command. "What we're doing now, and what we had stopped doing, is sending StratCom headquarters people out to observe the nuclear . . . inspections," said the former astronaut who took command of StratCom in October. "For every inspection that's gone on out there, we've now had headquarters personnel there," Chilton said. Questions about the security of the U.S. nuclear stockpile arose last summer. An Air Force B-52 was inadvertently armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., where the missiles were discovered 36 hours later. Among changes the error sparked was more direct StratCom oversight of nuclear safety procedures, Chilton said. The Air Force and Navy are responsible for maintaining and securing the nuclear weapons each service controls on aircraft, in missile silos and aboard submarines. But as the lead agency for the entire U.S. nuclear force, StratCom today is striving to better oversee the individual services' efforts and to create a newly energized focus on that nuclear mission, Chilton said. This fall, StratCom is planning operational exercises that will require nuclear forces -- including planes and command and control centers -- to mobilize as if a nuclear crisis actually were in motion. "We're going to go back to, 'Show me,'" Chilton said. "You're chartered to do this mission, so I'm going to ask you to show me you can do it during the exercise." Since the Cold War ended, StratCom-led nuclear exercises mostly have been simulated, Chilton said. Planners would act as though bombers were preparing to fly, rather than asking those bombers to actually prepare to take off. Now the exercises will be much more realistic. "If you're supposed to load up and take off and meet five tankers and fly for 20 hours, you're going to do that," Chilton said. He said the exercises will serve two purposes: "Not only does it send a strong signal to even the youngest members of our force that what they do is important. It also sends a deterrence signal and a level-of-seriousness signal to the rest of the world that we take this mission seriously and we're prepared to do it." At StratCom headquarters, Chilton's deputy commander, Vice Adm. Carl Mauney, is leading a group that meets quarterly to discuss how StratCom's organization could change to better meet the nuclear mission. Field-level nuclear commanders now report directly to StratCom's senior staff every week, creating a more direct link between the headquarters and the ground-level specialists. In addition to its historic role at the head of U.S. nuclear forces, StratCom has picked up a range of new missions since merging with U.S. Space Command in 2002. Those missions have grown to include cyberwarfare, missile defense, global strike and integration, global intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space and combating weapons of mass destruction.
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