All is not smooth in the rocket kingdom.
Drug addicts at the RED BUTTON AND DIFFERENT GENERAL
As stated by the official representative of the Ministry of the Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel Brett Ashworth, currently the General Inspectorate of the Air Force is conducting an investigation into the drug case. Two officers, launch operators for the Minuteman III ICBM, were deprived of their authority and suspended from access to secret documents.
The units of the ICBM, the number of which has almost halved since the end of the Cold War, still remain in a state of full combat readiness. Each launcher is monitored round the clock by alternating groups of two operational officers. One of the Defense Ministry representatives, on condition of anonymity, told American journalists that until the end of the case, suspected officers who serve in the 341 missile wing are barred from occupying similar positions in other Air Force units. According to the Ministry of Defense, in addition to two operators, eight more officers of the US Air Force are suspected of illegal drug possession. In general, the defendants in the ongoing investigation are 10 officers, nine of whom have the rank of lieutenant, and one is wearing captain shoulder straps. All suspects are serving at six different air bases in the US and the UK.
And shortly before that, in the rocket forces of strategic purpose, in October last year, the Air Force Inspector General published a report with the results of an investigation into the visit to Russia of General Michael Carey. On the 44-pages of this report are painted all the works of Major General during his stay on Russian soil.
The general was sent to Russia as the head of the delegation to participate in joint nuclear security exercises, organized by the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center. The exercises were held at the Radon Research and Production Association in Sergiev Posad (Moscow Region). The 12 General Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which controls the entire nuclear arsenal of the Russian Armed Forces, was responsible for conducting the exercises.
Michael Carey is a high ranking official. His arrival in Russia was prepared for a long time and all the activities of staying at the exercise by a representative of the US military, as is customary in the case of organizing visits of state delegations to another country, were strictly defined by the agreed protocol.
The investigation into the conduct of the general began a few days after the delegation returned to America. One of its members filed a complaint with the Air Force General Inspector, in which he pointed out the misbehavior of General Carey during the visit. As stated in the preface to the report, the head of the General Inspectorate of the Air Force decided to conduct an appropriate investigation to establish the extent to which General Carey violated the 133 regulations of the Unified Military Laws article.
The inspectorate investigators interviewed all members of the delegation, including Carey, about the visit to Russia. As a result of the survey, they concluded that the general behaved unworthily as an officer and a gentleman. Already on the way to Moscow, when he stopped at the Zurich airport, the general began to attach to the glass. He received the next portion of the assertive immediately after the arrival of the delegation in Moscow in the lobby bar of the Marriott Hotel. At the same time, according to interviewed members of the delegation, Carey spread about the importance of his post and that his subordinates have the lowest moral attitudes compared to the rest of the Air Force, and the leadership of the strategic rocket forces does not support his desire to solve this problem.
The general continued to use the anxious during the entire visit. He was constantly late for protocol and cultural events. Once he got so drunk that he couldn’t stand up from the chair on his own. During the visit, the general rather rudely treated members of his delegation and representatives of the host country. He did not shy away from non-standard expressions. In drunken revelations, he called Russians "Russian bastards." And at one of the banquets, Keri expressed his opinion about Russia's attitude to Edward Snowden and about the support provided by the Kremlin to the legitimate government of Syria. These statements by the general were very negatively perceived by representatives of the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation. True, during the investigation, Kerry said that he did not remember his statements about the indifferent attitude of the Air Force Command to his proposals on the issue of improving the moral character of the military personnel of the 20 Air Force. The general also told investigators that he had recently informed the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Mark Welsh, of the extremely low level of morale of his subordinates.
As noted in the report of the inspector general, while staying at the Moscow hotel The Ritz-Carlton, the general often visited a local restaurant. There, together with one of his subordinates, he met two ladies, one of whom drove to his room. During the investigation, Keri confessed to investigators in his love affairs. He also stated that he suspected his Russian passion in relations with the Russian special services.
After the investigation, Carey, who had served in the 35 military for years and had a good track record, was not fired from the Pentagon. He was appointed to the position of special assistant to the chief of the Air Force Space Command and now has nothing to do with ICBMs.
The scandal with Carey was by no means the only episode in a series of violations of moral and professional duty by members of the nuclear forces during the past year. According to the Associated Press news agency, over the past year, 17 officers were fired or severely punished from the rocket forces, some of them in high rank.
Recently, the deputy head of the Strategic Command, Vice Admiral Tim Giardin, was fired for gambling and for cheating while playing poker at a casino from the ranks of the Armed Forces. For violation of discipline, several senior officers from the units within the structure of this command were also severely punished. According to the results of the verification of the combat readiness of several nuclear missile bases, during which the deplorable state of affairs was ensured with the launch of ICBMs, the chiefs of these bases were suspended from their duties.
OPTIMISM OF MILITARY MINISTER
The head of the Pentagon went on his trip after making a decision about the need to get a clear understanding of the tasks of the SNF in the course of direct communication with the rocket engineers. The main purpose of this visit, according to numerous military experts, was the intention of the head of the Pentagon to raise the morale of nuclear rocket engineers and convince them of the need to maintain the highest level of morality and ethics.
“One of the reasons I wanted to come here is the desire to see directly what you are doing,” said Hagel to his subordinates. He also stressed that he wanted to personally thank the missilemen for their service and conveyed their best wishes from US President Barack Obama, who also highly appreciates their work. The Minister of War pointed out the importance of the tasks assigned to them by the SNF servicemen and noted the great significance of their work. He stressed that America is highly dependent on the professional skills of such officers, and expressed satisfaction that they are doing their duty very well. "There is not a single more noble profession in the world than yours that ensures the maintenance of world peace," said Hagel. The Minister said that the rocket men, working under the slogan “Peace through Force”, put this motto into practice and do their job “well, very well”.
The head of the military department also raised the issue of the influence of military families on the fulfillment of their military duty. “I want to say thanks to your families too. The sacrifices your family makes to our country allow you to do what you do. Give thanks to your loved ones from the president, from me personally and from all of us. We recognize their sacrifice and appreciate it, ”said Hagel.
The minister also touched upon the issue of the professionalism of the rocket engineers, on the fulfillment of their obligations and on the attitude to the service. “You have chosen a profession in which there is no room for mistakes. What you do every day really leaves no room for mistakes. And you know that. The American people are expecting the same from you. We are all deeply convinced that the way we are going will allow us to continue our work, ”said the head of the Pentagon.
True, some other officials of the Ministry of Defense have repeatedly noted that the SNF specialists were extremely tired of serving in conditions when everyone seemed to have forgotten about them. They do not win any battles, do not receive additional payments for participation in hostilities, and very rarely receive any attention from the American public.
Referring to the existing problems of reducing the military budget, Hagel assured the rocket troops that the leadership of America and the MoD would do everything possible so that the financial resources needed by the 90 rocket wing and the entire 20 air army to perform their tasks and enough.
“Everything that you do, you do for the benefit of the world. You are doing your very important business for the benefit of your families, for our future, for our country and for our security. We may not have to fight every day. However, we must always remember that every day we help prevent a nuclear war. And we do it better than anyone else and we will continue to do it, ”said Hagel and added that it was the rocket men who played the primary role in ensuring America’s security. Hagel also stressed that it is imperative for the leadership of the Pentagon to personally and regularly visit military bases in order to receive first-hand information on the state of affairs in the military, and not to use for this purpose only the reports of the chiefs of these bases or the holding of relevant briefings.
However, in his speech to the missile men, the Minister did not say a word about the problems that strategic forces have been facing for quite some time, the fatal consequences of immoral behavior and professional mistakes of servicemen, as well as how his department intends to deal with the difficulties that have arisen.
About a month before his visit to AB, Warren Hagel spoke at the headquarters of the Strategic Command, located in the city of Omaha (Nebraska). The minister told staff officers in charge of the state and combat readiness of all nuclear weapons in America that scandals in the divisions of nuclear forces are unacceptable. "Perfection must be the standard in our nuclear forces," the head of the Pentagon emphasized.
Nuclear expert arms The Federation of American Scientists, Hans Christensen, in one of his speeches, said that the disorder in the units of the ICBM became a “hot potato” for the leadership of the Pentagon and forced him to “scratch the back of the head” on how to solve the problems that had arisen. And the chairman of the Committee on the Armed Forces of the House of Representatives of the American Congress, Howard McKeon, about the scandals in the nuclear forces, said he was very upset by all the violations that occurred there, which "tainted the names of many until now respected professionals." He noted that the ICBMs are the basis for ensuring US national security and expressed confidence that General Welsh will be able to cope with this situation.
On January 15, as reported by AP, a new scandal broke out at the Malmsstrom (Montana) airbase in the US Air Force 341 missile wing. The 34 officer responsible for launching an ICBM has been suspended from the service for cheating on qualifying exams. 16 of them wrote off the answers sent to their mobile phones, and the rest knew about this fact and did not report to the authorities. According to a spokesman for the Air Force Command, Deborah James, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force stated that what happened could be one of the biggest scandals in stories American missile forces.
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