Air Force Brass Kicked to the Curb

After allowing armed nuclear weapons to be flown across the U.S. last August, after allowing nuclear components be shipped to Taiwan instead of the helicopter parts requested, after an Air Force base failed a “nuclear surety” inspection, the federal government finally acted in what can only be described as a token show of problem solving. The top military and civilian leaders of the U.S. Air Force were forced out simply to show the country that something is being done to avert future mishaps.

The problem of course goes much deeper than these two top officials, and the responsibility was ultimately theirs, but there still remains the real problem. Each individual who was involved in these ‘mishaps’ should have felt the duty, and should have been given every opportunity, to raise questions about what they are doing.

I know most underlings are not privy to the big picture and they don’t truly need to be, but, somewhere along the line concerns need to raised when something seems out of the ordinary. Something like when ‘live nuclear missiles’ are removed from storage, someone should have been alerted. Something like when ‘live nuclear warheads’ are taken out onto the flight line, someone should have noticed. Something like when ‘live nuclear-tipped missiles’ are loaded onto a bomber to fly across the U.S. (hell, anywhere) someone should have said let’s re-examine what we are doing here. Has all of this become so routine, and are these live nuclear missiles labeled in such a way as to be indistinguishable from unarmed nuclear weapons that such a mistake can so easily be made?

Shipping errors happen every day but when anything associated with nuclear weapons are so easily confused for anything else, then there are serious issues involved. Issues like lack of inventory control, sloppy job performance, basic human recognition that something just doesn’t seem right. Live Nuclear Warheads shipped across the United States. Doesn’t this seem, I don’t know, dangerous?

Yeah, the ultimate responsibility falls on the top brass, but that does not diminish the obligation of every individual below them right down to the grunt doing the physical labor from thinking about what they are doing. Everyone from that grunt’s supervisor on up the line better be open to any question or concern from their workers about the job they are performing. Allowing the military to become unquestioning, unthinking robots who simply follow orders just because those orders came from ‘on high’ is one of the greatest dangers we pose for ourselves.

When an individual wears that military uniform, they are taking on the responsible for the safety of this nation. The gravity of that responsibility is heavy and should never be taken for granted. That individual remains an individual who should be allowed to question authority. Questioning the validity of what you are doing focuses the attention of those around you onto the job at hand thus instilling a greater sense of responsibility. This act alone just might divert a disaster.