In the same vein as other threads that deals with how far up
should responsibility goes when things go wrong within an
organization... see below for a CNN report
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The top military and
civilian leaders of the U.S. Air Force were forced out Thursday
over the handling of nuclear weapons, the Defense Department
secretary said.
Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary Michael W.
Wynne resigned over the department's concern over two incidents,
including the August flight of a B-52 bomber that flew across the
country with nuclear weapons.
"Focus of the Air Force leadership has drifted" in terms of
handling nuclear weapons and equipment, Defense Secretary Robert
Gates said.
In August, a B-52 bomber flew from North Dakota to Louisiana
with the crew unaware that six nuclear-tipped missiles were on
board. Four officers were relieved of duty afterward, including
three colonels.
Gates also cited this year's discovery that components designed
to arm and fuse nuclear warheads were accidentally shipped to
Taiwan in 2006.
Critics also cite last month's news that the Air Force's 5th
Bomb Wing failed a defense "nuclear surety" inspection -- despite
having months to prepare and being under close scrutiny after the
previous incidents. The inspection found deficiencies in the wing's
ability to protect its part of the nation's nuclear stockpile.
The resignations come after a report on a Navy admiral's
investigation that criticized the Air Force's reactions to the
incidents.
Gates said the report "depicts a pattern of poor performance" in
which Air Force brass didn't act to improve security after mishaps
and Air Force personnel handling nuclear weapons consistently
failed to follow existing rules.
Air Force leaders "not only fell short in terms of specific
acts, they failed to recognize systemic problems, to address those
problems or, when beyond their authority to act, to call the
attention of superiors to those problems," Gates said.
The investigation found that although the Taiwan incident didn't
compromise the integrity of the U.S. nuclear force, it represented
"a significant failure" by the Air Force to ensure sensitive
military components, Gates said.
Gates said the report concluded that erosion in the branch's
command and oversight standards helped lead to the incidents, and
that they could have been prevented if the oversight programs had
functioned correctly.
He said he asked for the resignations after consulting President
Bush.
Sen. Carl Levin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed
Service committee, welcomed Gates' decision.
"Secretary Gates' focus on accountability is essential and had
been absent from the office of the Secretary of Defense for too
long," Levin said. "The safety and security of America's nuclear
weapons must receive the highest priority, just as it must in other
countries."
Rep. Edward J. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and a senior
member of the House Homeland Security Committee, also welcomed the
resignations.
Markey said he's long been concerned about what he called a
series of dangerous Air Force missteps in handling nuclear
weapons.
"The magnitude and frequency of these errors indicate a
deep-seated problem within Air Force culture, practice and
training," Markey said. "The entire Department of Defense should
immediately recommit itself to ensuring the safety and security of
our nuclear stockpile before one of these mistakes has lethal
consequences."
A senior military source said the August nuclear weapons
incident was the straw that broke the camel's back but that other
leadership issues also factored into Moseley's and Wynne's
resignations.
A previous investigation into the B-52 flight uncovered a
"lackadaisical" attention to detail in day-to-day operations at the
air bases involved, an Air Force official
said in October.
Maj. Gen. Dick Newton, assistant deputy chief of staff for
operations, said the investigation found "a failure to follow
procedures" by "a limited number of airmen" at the two bases.
Newton defended the procedures themselves.
Wynne is not the first secretary of a military branch to resign
since Gates became Defense secretary.
In March 2007, Gates announced the resignation of Army
Secretary Francis J. Harvey in the wake of reports of substandard
conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.