Air Force blows it again. Nuclear fuses make their way to Taiwan.
AP reports:
" The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the United States mistakenly shipped to Taiwan four electrical fuses designed for use on intercontinental ballistic missiles, but has since recovered them . . . At a news conference, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the mis-shipped items were four electrical fuses for nose cone assemblies for ICBMs. He also said they were delivered to Taiwan in 2006 and had been sent instead of helicopter batteries that had been ordered by Taiwan."
Oopse! Batteries; nuclear fuses; it's easy to see how that mistake could be made.
Maybe, if the Air Force brass wasn't so concerned about their eternal souls they might be paying more attention to small details like this.
B-net reported in 2005:
"Acknowledging that a religious bias favoring evangelical Christianity has been pervasive at the U.S. Air Force Academy, the school's superintendent told a Jewish audience this month that 'it's going to take a while to fix,' perhaps a half-dozen years, despite an official investigation of mounting complaints. 'I will tell you as a commander, I have problems in the cadet wing,' said superintendent Lieutenant General John Rosa Jr. in remarks June 3 at an Anti-Defamation League national meeting in Broomfield, Colorado. ''I have issues in my staff, and I have issues in my faculty.'"
Two years later, David Antoon writes about going to his son's orientation at the Air Force Academy:
"My son’s orientation became an opportunity for the academy to aggressively proselytize this next crop of cadets. Maj. Warren Watties led a group of 10 young, exclusively evangelical chaplains who stood shoulder to shoulder. He proudly stated that half of the cadets attended Bible studies on Monday nights in the dormitories and he hoped to increase this number from those in his audience who were about to join their ranks. This 'invitation' was followed with hallelujahs and amens by the evangelical clergy. I later learned from Air Force Academy chaplain MeLinda Morton, a Lutheran who was forced to observe from the choir loft, that no priest, rabbi or mainline Protestant had been permitted to participate." [Truthdig]
Meanwhile,
"Before airmen at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., lost track of six nuclear warheads in late August, nuclear security there had eroded to such a level that instead of using orange cones and multiple official placards to distinguish racks of non-nuclear missiles from nuclear-tipped ones, the 5th Bomb Wing was using 8-by-10-inch sheets of paper placed on the pylons. That all changed Aug. 30, when Air Force officials discovered a B-52 Stratofortress bomber had mistakenly flown the six warheads from Minot to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and the glare of the national spotlight returned to America’s nuclear stockpile for the first time since the end of the Cold War. . . However, internal Air Force reports and safety records dating to 1992 show service officials received regular and consistent warnings about the erosion of nuclear safety standards. But there was no thorough examination of vulnerabilities until after the incident at Minot." [Airforce Times]
You can see how far they've come, praise Jesus!
No need to worry, though, AP reports this Taiwan business is all well in hand:
"President Bush was briefed about the mistaken shipment and is glad that the parts have been recovered, said White House press secretary Dana Perino. 'He appreciates that they are taking action, and that there is a full investigation under way,' Perino said. Asked if Bush still has confidence in Air Force leadership, Perino said: 'Yes, yes he does.'"
Great. How about another round of medals?
" The Pentagon announced Tuesday that the United States mistakenly shipped to Taiwan four electrical fuses designed for use on intercontinental ballistic missiles, but has since recovered them . . . At a news conference, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the mis-shipped items were four electrical fuses for nose cone assemblies for ICBMs. He also said they were delivered to Taiwan in 2006 and had been sent instead of helicopter batteries that had been ordered by Taiwan."
Oopse! Batteries; nuclear fuses; it's easy to see how that mistake could be made.
Maybe, if the Air Force brass wasn't so concerned about their eternal souls they might be paying more attention to small details like this.
B-net reported in 2005:
"Acknowledging that a religious bias favoring evangelical Christianity has been pervasive at the U.S. Air Force Academy, the school's superintendent told a Jewish audience this month that 'it's going to take a while to fix,' perhaps a half-dozen years, despite an official investigation of mounting complaints. 'I will tell you as a commander, I have problems in the cadet wing,' said superintendent Lieutenant General John Rosa Jr. in remarks June 3 at an Anti-Defamation League national meeting in Broomfield, Colorado. ''I have issues in my staff, and I have issues in my faculty.'"
Two years later, David Antoon writes about going to his son's orientation at the Air Force Academy:
"My son’s orientation became an opportunity for the academy to aggressively proselytize this next crop of cadets. Maj. Warren Watties led a group of 10 young, exclusively evangelical chaplains who stood shoulder to shoulder. He proudly stated that half of the cadets attended Bible studies on Monday nights in the dormitories and he hoped to increase this number from those in his audience who were about to join their ranks. This 'invitation' was followed with hallelujahs and amens by the evangelical clergy. I later learned from Air Force Academy chaplain MeLinda Morton, a Lutheran who was forced to observe from the choir loft, that no priest, rabbi or mainline Protestant had been permitted to participate." [Truthdig]
Meanwhile,
"Before airmen at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., lost track of six nuclear warheads in late August, nuclear security there had eroded to such a level that instead of using orange cones and multiple official placards to distinguish racks of non-nuclear missiles from nuclear-tipped ones, the 5th Bomb Wing was using 8-by-10-inch sheets of paper placed on the pylons. That all changed Aug. 30, when Air Force officials discovered a B-52 Stratofortress bomber had mistakenly flown the six warheads from Minot to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and the glare of the national spotlight returned to America’s nuclear stockpile for the first time since the end of the Cold War. . . However, internal Air Force reports and safety records dating to 1992 show service officials received regular and consistent warnings about the erosion of nuclear safety standards. But there was no thorough examination of vulnerabilities until after the incident at Minot." [Airforce Times]
You can see how far they've come, praise Jesus!
No need to worry, though, AP reports this Taiwan business is all well in hand:
"President Bush was briefed about the mistaken shipment and is glad that the parts have been recovered, said White House press secretary Dana Perino. 'He appreciates that they are taking action, and that there is a full investigation under way,' Perino said. Asked if Bush still has confidence in Air Force leadership, Perino said: 'Yes, yes he does.'"
Great. How about another round of medals?
posted by William Duane at 2:39 PM
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