'Loose Nukes' Get Four Colonels Fired

After a 6-week investigation, the Air Force has decided to "relieve" several of the commanding officers of the units involved with the B-52 that unknowingly flew several nuclear-tipped weapons from Minot AFB to Barksdale AFB. One of those is Colonel Bruce Emig, the brand-new commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot.

This incident is, of course, just plain unacceptable. There is no excuse for any lack of accountability of this type of weapons.

However, I wonder how much influence that new wing commander had over the day-to-day practices of the airmen who handle weapons in his wing. The same goes for the Operations Group commander at Barksdale, who is also being fired even though he and his troops appear to have followed correct procedures in reporting the problem as soon as it was recognized. It seems pretty severe to blame him for a jet showing up at his base loaded with nukes.

I don't intend to imply that these mistakes should be excused. If this was dealing with anything other than nuclear weapons, I might though. Even a wing commander can only be expected to have so much direct influence on his or her subordinates.

Military aviation is an awesome opportunity for great training, fun flying and valuable experience. However, there is a price to pay. No officer is allowed to be content just flying airplanes. There are always "additional" duties and responsibilities that get in the way of flying. Although some mistakes can be forgiven for new officers, many of those duties pose a threat of being fired for reasons in no way related to a person's ability to safely and effectively operate an aircraft. A person contemplating military aviation should consider this when choosing a career.