Friday, November 14, 2014

Pentagon To Announce Massive Shakeup Of U.S. Nuclear Forces



Pentagon Studies Reveal Major Nuclear Problems -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will have to spend billions of dollars over the next five years to make emergency fixes to its nuclear weapons infrastructure, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will announce on Friday, after two separate Pentagon studies concluded that there are “systemic problems across the nuclear enterprise,” according to senior defense officials.

The reports are a searing indictment of how the Air Force’s and Navy’s aging nuclear weapons facilities, silos and submarine fleet have been allowed to decay since the end of the Cold War. A broad review was begun after academic cheating scandals and the dismissal of top officers for misbehavior, but it uncovered far more serious problems.

For example, while inspectors obsessed over whether every checklist and review of individual medical records was completed, they ignored huge problems, including aging blast doors over 60-year-old silos that would not seal shut and, in one case, the discovery that the crews that maintain the nation’s 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles had only a single wrench that could attach the nuclear warheads.

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More News On The Pentagon About To Announce A Massive Shakeup Of U.S. Nuclear Forces

Key findings in AP investigation of problems in Air Force nuclear missile corps -- AP
Hagel to order nuke force overhaul to fix failures -- AP
U.S. defense secretary to announce nuclear operations overhaul -- Reuters
Pentagon to overhaul nuclear weapons programs following reviews -- Washington Post
Hagel to announce overhaul of U.S. strategic nuclear forces -- Washington Times
US nuclear arms: Hagel to announce major reform -- BBC
US nuclear force reviews find security flaws and poor leadership -- The Guardian
Hagel to unveil reforms for troubled US nuclear force -- AFP
Chuck Hagel To Order Shake-Up Of US Nuclear Forces, Following Series Of Scandals -- IBTimes
Reports: Pentagon to overhaul scandal-ridden nuclear force -- Al Jazeera

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