Air Force nuke officers caught up in big cheating scandal

[Zarvan]

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/15/politics/air-force-nuclear-scandal/index.html?hpt=hp_t1#
Air Force: Nuke officers caught cheating
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Pentagon says scandal involves 34 officers
• Cheating done by text that shared proficiency exam answers
• Those implicated served at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana
• Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said to be disturbed by scandal at nuclear base

(CNN) -- The U.S. Air Force's nuclear command has been rocked by a cheating scandal involving nearly three dozen officers.

Cheating on a proficiency exam involving intercontinental missile launch officers at the Global Strike Command at Malmstrom Air Force base in Montana apparently was carried out around last August and September by text and appears to be the largest incident of its kind, the Pentagon said.

"This is absolutely unacceptable behavior and it is completely contrary to our core values in the Air Force and as everybody here knows, the No. 1 core value for us is integrity," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told reporters.

Officials said the nuclear arsenal is secure.

The case involving 34 officers with the 341st Missile Wing stemmed from a drug possession investigation at multiple air bases in the United States and overseas. Two of those caught up in the cheating episode have been linked to the other probe, officials said.

Sixteen officers were ultimately found to have actually cheated on the monthly proficiency exam while the rest knew the answers had been shared with others and did not report the violation, the Pentagon said.

All those disciplined in the investigation are no longer certified to conduct nuclear operations. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh indicated there are enough officers on hand to securely maintain the nuclear missiles in Montana.

He also echoed concern expressed by James about the integrity of the officers overseeing those caught up in the widespread cheating.

"We're going to look into this with every means at our disposal," he said.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel "was deeply troubled" to learn of the allegations and "he strongly supports the aggressive steps the Air Force is taking in response to them," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement.

Hagel just returned from visiting ICBM officers in Wyoming.

There are approximately 190 officers overseeing readiness of nuclear weapons systems in Montana, meaning the scandal has touched nearly 20% of that force.

The Air Force said all officers in the command will be re-tested by the end of Thursday.

This is the latest incident to rock the Air Force nuclear operations.

Last year, a missile unit at Malmstrom failed a safety and security inspection.

They operate about a third of the 450 Minuteman III nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles in the U.S. force, according to the Air Force statement.

Also last year, another outfit based at Minot, North Dakota, did poorly in an inspection, resulting in the removal of 17 military personnel from their jobs.
Air Force nuke officers caught up in big cheating scandal - CNN.com

 

[BDforever]

Americans

 

[elis]

So JEW USA can nuke Iran later and blame their drugged workers

 

[ejaz007]

34 USAF Nuke Officers Implicated In Cheating Investigation

Thirty-four missile officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., have been implicated in the largest occurrence of cheating in the US Air Force’s nuclear force, top Air Force leaders said Wednesday.

Agents with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, while investigating reports of narcotics possession at Malmstrom, found that a nuclear missile officer with the 341st Missile Wing allegedly texted the answers to a monthly missile launch officer test to 16 other missile officers. Seventeen other officers admitted to at least knowing of the cheating, without reporting the activity to their higher-ups, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh and Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at a Pentagon briefing.

Two of the 34 officers are implicated in both the cheating and narcotics possession investigations.

Even with the seemingly constant drip of bad news related to intercontinental ballistic missile crews, Air Force leaders maintain their confidence in the nuclear missile force.

“This is not about the compromise of nuclear weapons, it’s about compromise of the integrity of some of our airmen,” Welsh said.

The investigation includes 34 of about 190 missile officers at Malmstrom. Welsh said he doesn’t yet know if any of those involved were supervisors. The airmen were reportedly second lieutenants through captains.

The test was in the August to September time frame, and as a result, all nuclear missile officers will be retested by close of business Thursday. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, 100 officers have been retested, with three failures, Welsh said.

Going forward, Air Force Global Strike Command has directed nuclear surety inspections at the three missile wings: Malmstrom; F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.; and Minot Air Force Base, N.D.

James, Welsh and Navy Adm/ Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, will each visit the ICBM bases in the coming weeks to oversee the response to the investigation.

James said that it is too early to say if any others will be implicated in the investigation but that “everybody is accountable. There’s nobody who escapes accountability in the Air Force.”

34 USAF Nuke Officers Implicated In Cheating Investigation | Defense News | defensenews.com