The comments are fascinating. Early Warning
Getting the Military Out of the Nuclear Business William M. Arkin on National and Homeland Security http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2008/02/getting_the_military_out_of_th.html Embarrassed by last August's megaton-size screw-up, in which six nuclear weapons were inadvertently removed from their secure bunkers, loaded on B-52 bombers, and flown from North Dakota to Louisiana, with no one noticing for hours that the nukes were even loose (...Yeah, on planes staged for the Azores, a logistics point for US forces in the Middle East... Funny thing hunh? //lcm), the Air Force has toiled mightily to redeem itself, firing commanders, issuing new regulations, establishing panels, and finally pledging yesterday at a Senate hearing to do better and focus more on the vitality and importance of its nuclear workforce. The Air Force's Blue Ribbon commission readily admits that the emphasis on nuclear weapons since the Cold War has declined, "especially in flying units." It has formulated a back-to-fundamentals solution that on the surface solves the problem. But the Air Force's nuclear problem extends deep inside its land-based missile force as well, and the only sensible solution for the future is far more radical than anything the service can recommend...
