Air Force removes nine nuclear launch officers after cheating scandal

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/27/air-force-removes-nine-nuclear-launch-officers-after-cheating-scandal/



Air Force removes nine nuclear launch officers after cheating scandal
By Reuters
Thursday, March 27, 2014 18:13 EDT
By David Alexander and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of the nuclear missile wing at a base in Montana resigned on Thursday and nine officers were removed from their jobs over a test-cheating scandal that involved 91 missile launch officers, the Air Force said.

Lieutenant General Stephen Wilson, head of the Air Force’s Global Strike Command, said Colonel Robert Stanley, commander of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, had resigned on Thursday and would retire from the service.

The nine other officers, mainly colonels and lieutenant colonels, were removed from their positions of command at the Montana base that is home to a third of the nation’s nearly 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles. They will be reassigned to staff jobs and face discipline ranging from reprimands to courts martial for failures of leadership.

Wilson said the root of the problem was the emphasis on perfection in the nuclear mission at the Montana base and throughout the missile force, which led to cheating on exams in an effort to achieve the sort of perfect scores perceived to required for advancement and promotion.

[yeoman6987]

1. Lieutenant General Stephen Wilson, head of the Air Force’s Global Strike Command,

Perhaps he should retire too since he is in charge of the entire thing and region. Glad to see they are taking some responsibility for the scandal by getting rid of the CO of the command where the exams took place, plus some lower level officers, but I think the Lieutenant General needs to go too as he is overall responsible for the area.