US flies nuclear weapons over US...by mistake

[OneTimeSBX]

PLEASE someone explain how we are in the middle of a war overseas, and someone let this slip???

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070905/ts_nm/usa_military_nuclear_dc

[DaemonSeid]

PLEASE someone explain how we are in the middle of a war overseas, and someone let this slip???

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070905/ts_nm/usa_military_nuclear_dc

"Ooops...my bad." the president said as the nuclear mushroom cloud settled down in Louisiana

[OneTimeSBX]

poor, poor, Louisiana *smh*

and its not like it took off, and then 15 minutes later, someone caught the mistake and called it back...

[shinerbock]

Thanks Bush!

[Tom Earp]

Thanks Bush!


No not Bush.

Sloppy Military handling.

Someone will pay for this and are now doing just that.

Doctor Strange Love, where are you?

[Kevin]

Thanks Bush!

That bastard.

[AlethiaSi]

MISTAKENLY?!!!! Don't you think you would NOTICE a nuclear warhead, let alone 5?!?!

[OneTimeSBX]

there just shouldnt have been a mistake. these werent just bombs. they were NUCLEAR. a light should have gone off for someone, somewhere, to ask "uh, why are we flying these to Louisiana?"

this truly makes me nervous. what mistakes have been made that we dont know about??

[DaemonSeid]

My 2 fave lines from the article

... but the Air Force on Wednesday said the flight never threatened public safety.



yeah...ok....


and then

"All evidence we have seen so far points to an isolated mistake," Thomas said.

which confirms... "Oops my bad!"

[KSig RC]

there just shouldnt have been a mistake. these werent just bombs. they were NUCLEAR. a light should have gone off for someone, somewhere, to ask "uh, why are we flying these to Louisiana?"

this truly makes me nervous. what mistakes have been made that we dont know about??

I KNOW! And with that extensive history of bombs just falling right off of planes, God . . . I just shudder to think.

[OneTimeSBX]

WHO is so comfortable that they werent the slightest bit paranoid that they were well within "meet your maker" distance of these things? i would keep two eyes on those things the entire time i was nearby!

now im starting to imagine them leaning on them and smoking cigarettes, or sitting on top eating their lunches!

[DaemonSeid]

WHO is so comfortable that they werent the slightest bit paranoid that they were well within "meet your maker" distance of these things? i would keep two eyes on those things the entire time i was nearby!

now im starting to imagine them leaning on them and smoking cigarettes, or sitting on top eating their lunches!

speaking of ... there was the plane that 'accidentally' machine gunneda jersey school...remember that?

http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=2525881

[OneTimeSBX]

speaking of ... there was the plane that 'accidentally' machine gunned a jersey school...remember that?

http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=2525881
the same group of serial screw-ups, perhaps?

[PiKA2001]

WHO is so comfortable that they werent the slightest bit paranoid that they were well within "meet your maker" distance of these things? i would keep two eyes on those things the entire time i was nearby!

now im starting to imagine them leaning on them and smoking cigarettes, or sitting on top eating their lunches!

You guys are just as funny as the the DoD. When I first heard about this my initial thoughts were how..did..this..."mistakenly"...happen. I mean, think about it.
-Nukes are kept in undisclosed locations under STRICT lock and key. They aren't just laying around with other munitions. Plus they are marked diff as well, so I find it hard to believe that some airman mistakenly did this by himself.
-Nukes are always being transported - How do you think they get to Minot to begin with? The strange thing is, the DoD never talks about the transportation of nuclear warheads, so whats with plastering this all over the news now?
-Lastly, isn't this interesting that this happens a week after Russia resumes their long range bomber flights?

[DaemonSeid]

You guys are just as funny as the the DoD. When I first heard about this my initial thoughts were how..did..this..."mistakenly"...happen. I mean, think about it.
-Nukes are kept in undisclosed locations under STRICT lock and key. They aren't just laying around with other munitions. Plus they are marked diff as well, so I find it hard to believe that some airman mistakenly did this by himself.
-Nukes are always being transported - How do you think they get to Minot to begin with? The strange thing is, the DoD never talks about the transportation of nuclear warheads, so whats with plastering this all over the news now?
-Lastly, isn't this interesting that this happens a week after Russia resumes their long range bomber flights?

maybe they got mixed in with the WMDs

[jon1856]

You guys are just as funny as the the DoD. When I first heard about this my initial thoughts were how..did..this..."mistakenly"...happen. I mean, think about it.
-Nukes are kept in undisclosed locations under STRICT lock and key. They aren't just laying around with other munitions. Plus they are marked diff as well, so I find it hard to believe that some airman mistakenly did this by himself.
-Nukes are always being transported - How do you think they get to Minot to begin with? The strange thing is, the DoD never talks about the transportation of nuclear warheads, so whats with plastering this all over the news now?
-Lastly, isn't this interesting that this happens a week after Russia resumes their long range bomber flights?
I agree with you. I was wondering why the "noise" about this now?
I have been by several Air Force bases (including Plattsburg during the real cold war), sub bases and lived in NYC when there were live Nike missiles based near by.

As pointed out, "we" generally do not say much about nukes. So why now?

[texas*princess]

MISTAKENLY?!!!! Don't you think you would NOTICE a nuclear warhead, let alone 5?!?!

No crap~!

When I saw that on cnn.com I was :eek:

[DeltAlum]

-Nukes are always being transported - How do you think they get to Minot to begin with? The strange thing is, the DoD never talks about the transportation of nuclear warheads, so whats with plastering this all over the news now?

Gee,

Consider me amazed!

I would have guessed that nuclear armed aircraft overflew the US pretty much all the time.

Unless they're intentionally armed, nukes are pretty safe -- even if the vehicle carrying them crashes.

I don't consider this a problem.

Does that make me a hawk?

[KSig RC]

Gee,

Consider me amazed!

I would have guessed that nuclear armed aircraft overflew the US pretty much all the time.

Unless they're intentionally armed, nukes are pretty safe -- even if the vehicle carrying them crashes.

I don't consider this a problem.

Does that make me a hawk?

Not at all - it makes you informed. Really, it's kind of sad that at this point you're either a reactionary or a "hawk", you know?

Nuclear weapons don't work like eggs - if you drop them, they don't just break. The electronic components are actually quite complicated, and (generally) require a detonation system (beyond just "hitting the ground" - most explode before the ground, to increase damage).

So yeah - these things fly all the time, just because "someone didn't know" there likely wasn't any danger, and all that stuff beyond the sketchy circumstances behind this being news-worthy.

[jon1856]

Not at all - it makes you informed. Really, it's kind of sad that at this point you're either a reactionary or a "hawk", you know?

Nuclear weapons don't work like eggs - if you drop them, they don't just break. The electronic components are actually quite complicated, and (generally) require a detonation system (beyond just "hitting the ground" - most explode before the ground, to increase damage).

So yeah - these things fly all the time, just because "someone didn't know" there likely wasn't any danger, and all that stuff beyond the sketchy circumstances behind this being news-worthy.
A B-52 crashed several years ago off of Spain. While it took awhile to find them, all 5(?) bombs were found intact.

IIRC several other events as well.

[DeltAlum]

What worries me more than an aircraft was carrying nuclear arms is that it was a B-52. Those things were built in the 1950's. I'd be more worried about one of them falling on my head than nukes.

I'm really kidding (sort of), but during the Cold War a percentage (a third?) of all of the US Air Force's nuclear armed B-52's were always in the air to provide faster response to potential nuclear attacks from the former Soviet Union.

To the best of my knowledge, there has never been an accidental US nuclear explosion due to an aircraft crash (or any other reason) anywhere in the world.

We're pretty careful with the things. And we're also careful with the B-52 fleet despite my making fun of them above. They've been constantly updated and carefully maintained.

[shinerbock]

NO BLOOD FOR OIL.

[AlphaSigOU]

It is officially the policy of the U.S. military to never to confirm or deny the possession of nuclear weapons.

Arming a nuke is much more involved than pressing the mythical red button in the Oval Office. Anywhere there's anything involving nuclear command and control requires a minimum two-person concept to authenticate, arm and deploy nukes. It's virtually impossible for one person to arm or launch a nuke. (And that's ALL I'm gonna say about it within the confines of operational security.)

However, there's probably gonna be several people up the chain of command that are gonna get the sun-dried corncob up the ass sideways, and it's probably already happened.

[AlphaSigOU]

...during the Cold War a percentage (a third?) of all of the US Air Force's nuclear armed B-52's were always in the air to provide faster response to potential nuclear attacks from the former Soviet Union.

To the best of my knowledge, there has never been an accidental US nuclear explosion due to an aircraft crash (or any other reason) anywhere in the world.

We're pretty careful with the things. And we're also careful with the B-52 fleet despite my making fun of them above. They've been constantly updated and carefully maintained.

B-52: Someone over 50 you can trust! :D

Airborne alert was common in the 1960s but was discontinued after the Palomares (Spain) incident in 1965. There were other reasons as well. From 1965 until the alert force stood down in 1991, the bombers were kept 'cocked and locked' at the alert facility.

[Kevin]

NO BLOOD FOR OIL.

This is all Israel's fault.

Free Palestine.

[OneTimeSBX]

Gee,

Consider me amazed!

I would have guessed that nuclear armed aircraft overflew the US pretty much all the time.

Unless they're intentionally armed, nukes are pretty safe -- even if the vehicle carrying them crashes.

I don't consider this a problem.

Does that make me a hawk?i know they have to get where they are getting somehow...but i still think in todays society (post-9/11, the war in Iraq) a closer eye should be kept on things, you know? kind of like when that disease got lost a while back, was it ebola? i dont remember, but with things that serious, mistakes/misplacings cant be done like that!

[DeltAlum]

i know they have to get where they are getting somehow...but i still think in todays society (post-9/11, the war in Iraq) a closer eye should be kept on things, you know? kind of like when that disease got lost a while back, was it ebola? i dont remember, but with things that serious, mistakes/misplacings cant be done like that!
Sounds like a Tom Clancey book.

It's tough to misplace a nuclear bomb.

Not impossible, I suppose.

Anyway, I'd rather have them on a plane than a train passing through town -- even though they are nearly impossible to detonate accidentally.

[KSig RC]

i know they have to get where they are getting somehow...but i still think in todays society (post-9/11, the war in Iraq) a closer eye should be kept on things, you know? kind of like when that disease got lost a while back, was it ebola? i dont remember, but with things that serious, mistakes/misplacings cant be done like that!

Why should things be looked at closer "in today's society"? What does this have to do with 9/11 or the war in Iraq? Don't you always speak out against Iraq, and aren't you trying to have/eat here?

Also aren't you referring to the movie Outbreak?

-RC
--I'm kidding, you're thinking of the CDC though, and there was no danger, so chilllllllllllllllll

[OneTimeSBX]

Why should things be looked at closer "in today's society"? What does this have to do with 9/11 or the war in Iraq? Don't you always speak out against Iraq, and aren't you trying to have/eat here?

Also aren't you referring to the movie Outbreak?

-RC
--I'm kidding, you're thinking of the CDC though, and there was no danger, so chilllllllllllllllll
i remember that movie. there were what, 16 people left on earth at the end lol!

chalk it up to paranoia. you are right, that type of mistake is just as bad twenty years ago as it was last week. maybe its the constant report of terrorist cells here, there, everywhere! someone, somewhere, is always plotting to blow up/destroy/crash something. now theyve publicized a big US "oops!" and that just makes me a bit weary about any group who is looking for that next best way to teach us a lesson!

ps geez, i didnt know anyone paid attention to my Iraqi rants! :D

[DeltAlum]

...maybe its the constant report of terrorist cells here, there, everywhere! someone, somewhere, is always plotting to blow up/destroy/crash something.
There's a terrorist behind every Bush.

Wait, that should be bush with a small "b" I think.

Just a little joke.

[jon1856]

By Joby Warrick and Walter Pincus
http://msnbcmedia1.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Art/SITEWIDE/PartnerColorBoxLogos/WaPost_333_GCH.gif (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/front.htm) Updated: 11:11 p.m. ET Sept 22, 2007


Just after 9 a.m. on Aug. 29, a group of U.S. airmen entered a sod-covered bunker on North Dakota (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/North+Dakota?tid=informline)'s Minot Air Force Base (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20926465/#) with orders to collect a set of unarmed cruise missiles bound for a weapons graveyard. They quickly pulled out a dozen cylinders, all of which appeared identical from a cursory glance, and hauled them along Bomber Boulevard to a waiting B-52 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Boeing+B-52+Stratofortress?tid=informline) bomber.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20926465/

[jon1856]

U.S. ties missile mix-up to reduced nuclear focus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Air Force mistakenly flew nuclear weapons across the United States last year as a result of eroding discipline spawned by a diminished strategic focus on nuclear weapons, officials said on Tuesday.
A panel of Air Force and independent investigators told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the increased importance of conventional combat missions since the 1991 Gulf War has undermined nuclear-related training and experience.......
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN1255936420080212?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

[skylark]

"eroding discipline" + "diminished strategic focus" = we really effed up

[PhiGam]

NO BLOOD FOR OIL.
Are you serious? First you blame Bush for a military screw up that he had nothing to do with and now you waste our time with this stupid statement? I am anti war and I dislike Bush but this war is about much more than oil, read a book.

[nittanyalum]

Are you serious? First you blame Bush for a military screw up that he had nothing to do with and now you waste our time with this stupid statement? I am anti war and I dislike Bush but this war is about much more than oil, read a book.
Down, boy. I'm not thoroughly familiar with shinerbock, but from what I have read from him, my guess is that the post of his you quoted was dripping with extreme sarcasm...

[PhiGam]

Down, boy. I'm not thoroughly familiar with shinerbock, but from what I have read from him, my guess is that the post of his you quoted was dripping with extreme sarcasm...
I hope so... but I have heard much crazier stuff from liberals.

[nittanyalum]

I hope so... but I have heard much crazier stuff from liberals.
Well no worries then 'cuz shiner's no liberal: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showpost.php?p=1597603&postcount=25

[AKA_Monet]

Wow... Are you all saying the US military ACTUALLY FOUND weapons of mass destruction? :eek:

[PhiGam]

Well no worries then 'cuz shiner's no liberal: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showpost.php?p=1597603&postcount=25
Ah, my apologies Shinerbock... I thought you were a hippie who just happened to have a cool screen name.

[PiKA2001]

WOW

The two top AF officials were fired last week, mostly stemming from this incident.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1812228,00.html