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| Bomb wing will have more time to prepare for major inspection | |
| 2007-12-23 | |
The bomb wing was decertified in a portion of its wartime mission after a late August incident when six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles were mistakenly loaded at the Minot base onto a B-52 bomber from Barksdale AFB, La. A Barksdale crew then flew the plane to the base in Louisiana. Air Force officials at the Pentagon said the incident occurred because of airmen not following the proper procedures, along with a lack of leadership and supervision. On Wednesday, a team of command-level inspectors completed an Initial Nuclear Surety Inspection of the bomb wing. The inspectors have been at the base since Sunday. The inspectors at the base this week were here in advance of the official Nuclear Surety Inspection originally set to begin Jan. 23. The Nuclear Surety Inspection is a regularly scheduled inspection for the bomb wing. However, the successful completion of the Nuclear Surety Inspection and other inspections, as well as various high-level visits from Air Force officials, will determine whether the bomb wing will be recertified. “The Air Combat Command inspectors gave us a very thorough look and determined we deserve more time to incorporate the long-term changes in our procedures and to give our teams the opportunity to make those processes second nature,” said Col. Joel Westa, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing. “Inspections are always a good thing. They provide an objective look at the processes and procedures, and I believe this team is setting us up for success. I have full confidence in the hard-working airmen here who are committed to the mission." Westa replaced Col. Bruce Emig as the 5th Bomb Wing commander Nov. 1. Emig and several other officers from Minot and Barksdale were relieved from duties following the nuclear weapons incident. Most of the personnel with the bomb wing who were decertified were munitions people. The bomb wing operates and maintains B-52 bombers. “Our mission continues as we have been all along, and along with that, our priority is to make long-term improvements in how we do things, and our focus is on ensuring that we’re doing things the right way. When we are certain all the necessary changes have been made, command officials will inspect the base and make that determination when the time is right,” said Maj. Laurie Arellano, acting chief of Public Affairs at the Minot base. “Getting this mission perfected and recertified is the No. 1 priority of the command and the wing,” Arellano said. “We are taking a holistic look at the wing. That includes ensuring that we fill leadership positions that are currently vacant and build the teams necessary, with the leadership in place to oversee the long-term changes.” The bottom line is the command-level inspectors here this week determined more time is needed before the next inspection. “The inspectors have determined we need more time to make the necessary changes and allow us to accomplish long-term solutions, including filling critical leadership billets that are currently vacant,” Arellano said. “We are thankful we can take the time needed rather than being forced into an artificial timeline, so the NSI will be postponed until the wing and the command are confident the right people and processes are in place.” No date was set for the Nuclear Surety Inspection. The 91st Space Wing at the Minot base, which has Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, will go through its Nuclear Surety Inspection with Air Force Space Command headquarters as scheduled next month. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 ...The real clue here is the empty command billets. I don't know how the system is set up today, but when I was in SAC 78-84, an empty or newly filled (up to IIRC 60 days) command or supervisory billet was grounds for a pass on quite a bit. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-12-23 15:01 |