Three U.S. Air Force officers who dozed off last year while in the possession of ballistic missile launch codes have been discharged, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, July 25, 2008).
Though classified, the codes were not current at the time of the incident and were not viewed by any unauthorized eyes, said Air Force spokeswoman Laurie Arellano.
The incident occurred in July 2008 at a missile alert outpost associated with Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. The two first lieutenants and a captain from the 91st Missile Wing fell asleep in a secure rest area used by crew members following a shift . They had in their care sizable metal containers that hold the launch codes and other materials for communication with missiles. The boxes were locked with combinations known only to the officers, and were never opened while they slept.
One of the officers alerted higher-level Air Force personnel of the incident. A probe by the Air Force, U.S. Strategic Command and the National Security Agency "was immediately initiated and concluded there was no actual compromise of classified information," Arellano said.
The officers had been prohibited from handling classified materials or working with nuclear weapons for the last year. On Thursday, they received an Article 15 penalty for "dereliction of duty, unsatisfactory performance and misconduct," Arellano said.
"For an officer, an Article 15 is considered to be detrimental to their career standing," she said.
The incident was one of a number of mishaps involving Minot Air Force Base in recent years. In August 2007, personnel there accidentally placed six nuclear-armed cruise missiles onto a B-52 bomber headed to a base in Louisiana (see GSN, June 6, 2008). A Minuteman 3 rocket booster ended up in a ditch in northwestern North Dakota last July after its transport vehicle overturned, requiring a $5.6 million recovery effort (see GSN, Aug. 1, 2008).
Meanwhile, a officer is awaiting court-martial on allegations that he stole a missile launch control device for a souvenir (James MacPherson, Associated Press/Google News, July 14).