17 Air Force officers stripped of authority to launch nuclear missiles

reply to post by HawkeyeNation

Don't they just have part of the code to launch while others like the President have another part? So essentially they wouldn't be able to launch a full on nuclear attach if they wanted to.

Yes. They need two officers, two individual combinations to the code safe, verify signals code, a verification from a code entered into a computer, two simultaneous key turns and on top of it all... High Moral Fiber. Which is insane because how does one equate morality with a turn of that key?

reply to post by jrkelly77

17 Air Force officers stripped of authority to launch nuclear missiles

It all comes back top that issue of... who do you trust?

Were these missile launch officers holding their jobs exactly as they were trained, thus making them insusceptible to illegal orders? Or were they... just as advertised here, worthy of being dismissed?

I recall a B-52 bomber that was just about to take off with a load of fully armed nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. I don't remember the exact details but what I do says that it was USAF officers that reported this illegal flight and stopped it from leaving the ground.

Originally posted by intrptr
Yes. They need two officers, two individual combinations to the code safe, verify signals code, a verification from a code entered into a computer, two simultaneous key turns and on top of it all... High Moral Fiber. Which is insane because how does one equate morality with a turn of that key?

And on top of everything, you need agreement between everyone. One person can kill the entire launch sequence network wide. That's even better than a democracy.

Anyway, people don't realize how many safeguards are built into the system. The system can't even be "hacked" by computers because at this point it is so old and still running on machine code that it's in its own protective loop.

Originally posted by intrptr
These aren't submarine or aircraft carrier commanders, but kids guarding ICBMs in the middle of nowhere.
Borrring...
No wonder they watch TV. So some commander got a hard on about etiquette and a few "officers" on missile guard duty.

Well, one nice thing about it is that if you stay in long enough you're almost sure to end up with an MBA from the University of Phoenix (or probably other places these days). You got a lot of time to study down in that hole. Waiting for the end of the world.

Sounds like a good Pre- story to a possible event. Just blame it on stupid crew-men.

As a former launch control officer (or Missile Combat Crew Commander to be precise) at FE Warren AFB for their Minuteman III ICBMs, I have seen this kind of behavior before. This Lt Col comes from outside the missile force and was a actually the spokesman for the US Air Force. I pulled over 350 alerts and I’ll bet this guy never pulled one alert. Now I don't know the specifics, but it appears he over reacted.
Code compromises, for example, can take a variety of forms. Many pieces of equipment have internal codes that are required to launch ICBs and thus require two man control. If the two members become separated (meaning that you lose sight of each other) at anytime, there is a possible code compromise. Further recall the article said there was a "possible" code compromise but investigation revealed in fact that there was no compromise. So this issue should never have been brought up publically. It is like being accused of a crime and the accusation proves untrue. Are going to ruin a person because they were accused? That is what happened here because this DCO (Deputy Commander for Operations) is a hot head.
Hot heads with power destroy careers. A smart leader handles issues such as this internally through his squadron commanders. He would get these mistakes corrected without the wholesale destruction of 17+ careers. Those 17 decertified officers are finished as Air Force officers.

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


It is confusing I know. To claify, only the president has the launch codes. There are many codes required to launch a missile. But without the launch code, you can't launch. When an ICBM crew recieves a war order that proves to be valid (not a test), he/she procedds to uncover other codes that allow him/her to insert the correct war order for execution. Then it requires two key turns at approximately the same time to insert a launch vote. Takes two votes to launch an ICBM.

reply to post by Blue Shift

I actually used to work as a missile launch officer at the 91st in Minot during the early 1980's. It's a tough gig.

Hard core. I had a friend who did. He wasn't cut out for it. So they relieved him. The stuff he used to tell me made my spine tingle.

MAD is insane.

reply to post by Blue Shift

Well, one nice thing about it is that if you stay in long enough you're almost sure to end up with an MBA from the University of Phoenix (or probably other places these days). You got a lot of time to study down in that hole. Waiting for the end of the world.

I'm sorry, did you say plan for the future? I couldn't concentrate.
You do realize that every weapon system that has ever been invented has been used at some point? That is the intent on the part of the designers. The most amazing bit of denial about that is that at the same time we say, aww, that'll never happen.

All that cost and effort to insure they work flawlessly compared to that little bit of denial.

reply to post by survivor3306


The obozo regime has been replacing, firing, retiring many officers in the military laftely - especially after the Benghazi incident in the middle east.

I'm aftraid they are just replacing these people with people who will willingly go along with any stupid, america destroying idea that this administration has.

Including nuking america itself.

reply to post by Happy1

I'm aftraid they are just replacing these people with people who will willingly go along with any stupid, america destroying idea that this administration has.

Including nuking america itself.

Naw, they'll use plagues. That way they can get all the stuff in everyones garage.

Originally posted by intrptr
You do realize that every weapon system that has ever been invented has been used at some point?

Has the Minuteman system been used? I haven't heard that news. I'm sure I would have noticed raining death everywhere. Anyway, what you're saying is inaccurate. There are lots of weapons systems developed, but only the useful ones are ever used. There are plenty of airplanes and boats and other missile systems that simply get old or obsolete or lose their reason to be, and they're abandoned and dismantled. For instance:



I was always of the opinion that the Minuteman system wouldn't really get used, because there was no money in it. Nobody would really benefit if the Earth was reduced to a radioactive wasteland. Because there were all kinds of easy ways to escalate a nuclear war, but very few to back off from one.

Military Intelligence-

oxymoron like Jumbo Shrimp.


Amazing humans have made it this far which makes me think there might be some divine intervention taking place.

instead of a refresher the 17 should be dishonorably charged

instead of a refresher the 17 should be dishonorably charged

Originally posted by bekod
reply to post by thisguyrighthere

 

IBM is jumping for joy for they know it is time, for Sky net will be come fact. Man will be the fault code to be scanned and then filtered out of the matrix, waiting to be deleted.when Sky Net realizes man kind is the virus.

there is no sky net yet when we have quantum computers yes maybe

reply to post by MystikMushroom


yeah but they got the best food and the better looking women

this plan was put into place to lure enemies, and consolidate power. think about it, the military could have kept all this info classified and we would have never know. but instead this info was released for a very specific reason.

This Lt Col Folds really burns me up. He strikes me as a careerist who is willing to hurt others and the mission if doing so will help him get a promotion. To those who have never served in the Officer Corp, understand that to get promoted to General, it is important to have “operational” experience. Only two places to get it in the Air Force – Flying or Missile Operations. This guy came from Public Affairs as spokesman for the USAF. It is likely some General managed to get him this job as Deputy Commander for Operations (DCO) in a missile wing. Good job that often leads to being a Wing Commander and later maybe a General rank.
But I think this guy wanted to make a splash, to be noticed. I am sure he wants all to think of him as a hard charging perfectionist. Problem is this path is usually destructive. In this case, he hurt both people and the mission at Minot.
For those who don’t know, being pulled off line to be retrained is a death sentence, career-wise. You can’t recover from that that. So these 17 officers are destroyed both career-wise and morale-wise. Are some dogs? Maybe. Are all 17 dogs? Highly unlikely.
As things stand now, these officers’ only hope is to complete their four years without making a mistake that will get them dishonorably discharged. So they will come back on line after retraining as shells of their former selves. So he destroyed them.
But how about the other officers on crew? This DCO appears unstable. He publically denounced them as ‘rot’ and is eager to ‘crush’ those people who make mistakes. I have experienced similar leadership in the missile field and I can tell you it leads to low morale. It also leads to cover-ups when mistakes are made because only perfection is tolerated. Further this guy has put all the senior officers in a bad light because outsiders now wonder if they are incompetent. How could senior leadership let such rot grow unchecked that eventually led to a lower than desired performance in a wing evaluation? Thank goodness they had a hard charger like Lt Col Folds in place to make to necessary corrections! I imagine his boss, the wing commander, is not happy.
Lt Col Folds should be finished for his extreme unprofessionalism. This is exactly the type of leader you don’t want.