The U.S. Air Force relieved six officers of their duties this week after their units failed an inspection that would keep nuclear weapon stockpiles secure in Minot, North Dakota.
The dismissals of two commanders and four subordinates occurred at the Minot Air Force Base, where two of the three legs of the nation’s nuclear triad are held.
The units failed a nuclear surety inspection, which tests how well units maintain and handle nuclear weapons.
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Although it is unclear what portion of the inspection the units failed because the results are classified, there has been no indication that the failure had to do with the actual handling of a nuclear weapon.
“We have deliberate and disciplined inspection protocols and we expect 100% compliance,” Col. Brus Vidal, a spokesman for Global Strike Command, told CNN. “Anything less than 100% compliance is unacceptable. It’s that important to us.”
Col. Gregory Mayer, the commander of the 5th Mission Support Group, and Maj. Jonathan Welch, the leader of the 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron, were the commanders dismissed, but the names of the four subordinates were not released.
Mayer’s unit consists of 1,600 military personnel and civilians who oversee base facilities and take care of the base’s infrastructure and troops. Welch was in charge of managing supply chains and planning deployments.
The nuclear surety inspection is designed to test how well personnel on the base can keep the country’s nuclear stockpile secure. It tests the units’ ability to maintain nuclear weapons, including testing the chain of command around the weapon. The commanders in question were dismissed over a loss of confidence in their ability to perform their assigned duties.
Although their failure was related to a single safety inspection, the units had not been in compliance with safety regulations for a long time, an unnamed defense official told the Associated Press.
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“These personnel actions were necessary to maintain the very high standards we demand of those units entrusted with supporting our nation’s nuclear mission,” Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Gebara, commander of the 8th Air Force, said.
Other bases have failed their inspections in the past. An Air Force nuclear missile unit at Malmstrom Air Force base in Montana failed a safety and security inspection due to tactical errors in 2013. The details of the failure in Montana were also classified after officials determined that releasing the results could show potential weaknesses in the country’s defense.
