8 Generals Disciplined For Nuke Mistake

6 Air Force, 2 Army Generals Punished For Shipment Of Nuclear Fuses To Taiwan

(AP)  Eight generals, ranging in rank from one to three stars, have been disciplined as a result of the mistaken shipment of fuses for nuclear warheads to Taiwan, The Associated Press has learned.

Defense officials said Wednesday that the six Air Force and two Army generals were given disciplinary letters that vary in seriousness but often can end careers or hopes of promotion.

The officers are mainly in logistical jobs and were involved to some degree in the mistaken shipment to Taiwan of four electrical fuses for ballistic missile nuclear warheads in 2006. The error did not become known until this past March.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the actions are not being announced until Thursday.

According to officials, at least one Air Force general received a letter of reprimand, which is a more serious rebuke, while others got less severe letters of admonishment or counseling. The two Army brigadier generals, who worked at the Defense Logistics Agency in Virginia, received what are called "memorandums of concern," also a lower level of punishment.

Nine other lower-ranking Air Force officers also were disciplined, but no details were available.

In early June, Defense Secretary Robert Gates sacked Gen. Michael Moseley, then Air Force chief of staff, and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, blaming them for failing to deal adequately with several nuclear-related missteps, including the mistaken shipment.

Gates acted swiftly after a sharply critical internal report on the shipping incident found "a decline in the Air Force's nuclear mission focus and performance" and a failure by Air Force leaders to respond effectively.

A second, broader study released this month blistered the Air Force for a dramatic deterioration in managing the nation's nuclear arsenal and recommended that it consolidate nuclear responsibilities under one command.

Pentagon reviews of the shipping incident revealed that the fuses were sent to Taiwan rather than the helicopter batteries that had been ordered.

The fuses were in four shipping containers sent in March 2005 from an Air Force base in the Western state of Wyoming to a Defense Logistics Agency warehouse at an Air Force base in Utah, just southwest of Wyoming. The shipment was then in the logistics agency's control and was delivered to Taiwan "on or around" August 2006, according to a Gates memo ordering the internal investigation.

The disciplinary letters are considered administrative punishments and in some cases stay on a service member's record only for a year or two. They are considered a damaging career blow, however, and can lead to pay cuts or prevent officers from gaining another star or higher command.

While no nuclear materials were in the shipment, the error was particularly sensitive because China vehemently opposes U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. When the shipment was made public, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman said that China had sent a protest to Washington expressing "strong displeasure."

U.S. officials were quick to say that the incident did not suggest any change in policies toward Taiwan arms sales.

The shipping error followed another nuclear-related incident involving the Air Force. In August 2007, an Air Force B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown from an Air Force base near the Canadian border across several states to Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico. The pilot and crew were unaware they had armed nuclear weapons aboard.

In the aftermath of the problems, Gates brought in new leadership for the Air Force, who vowed to restore confidence in the beleaguered service.

So far they have made a number of adjustments, including an increase in high-level staff, a reorganization of its missile units, revised maintenance procedures and a continuing review of the inspection process. The Air Force also is budgeting about $1.5 billion to deal with some of the issues.

[egresor]

conversation within the secret george bush presidency:

"ok, general we need you do do us a big favor at personal risk to your career if found out, but don''t worry about that part....we''ll take care of you.

we want you to help taiwan have a deterrent against mainline china. fix it so some a-bomb fuses get mis-shipped there. can ya do that for us. for america general?"

"yes Sir!"

oops somebodies made a boo-boo? yeah sure they did!
(:
the most protected paperworked devices we have in this country accidentally being shipped somewhere they shouldn''t have? and a very controversal place at that? if the american people buy that....tsk tsk!

[birdlikebld]

'' .. paid most little kids nothing: they bloomed eternitys of bouquets silly, paid a few little farmet kids next to nothing: they grew enough to feed worlds, gave all to little soldiet kids: they forced retailets & wholesalets to recycle half of food for no one has money; and, baked more trillions dollars war babys than all combined .. said ''we didn''t do it, but we got most that did'' .. ''

'' .. don''t dance get well feed world get sick tax world hike naked dance dressed hike dressed dance naked porn songs partyd rallyd round sick beds what swim drift spore bloom weed dragon trail fickl firs aid lunch farm cottage studio trail crossing yseedsberry trail group subsistence farms .. ''

[bellcord]

ALMOST ALL EXPERTS AGREED, TERRORIST''S COULD NEVER BUILD A PLUTONIUM BOMB BECAUSE THE TRIGGERING IS JUST TO COMPLEX....UNLESS WE BOX UP A FEW NUCLEAR TRIGGERS AND FEDEX IT TO''EM OF COURSE.....

[bellcord]

I WISH I HAD A NICKLE FOR EVERYTIME THAT''S HAPPENED TO ME...GO OUT FOR BATTERIES..COME HOME WITH A NUCLEAR TRIGGER....AH,GOSH...

[stn_sage]

This is SO ill-advised it''s not even funny!

This is SO after-the-fact, that doing this now, CAN''T but have the effect of demoralizing the officer corps of those units, bases, and area!

If they wanted to hold responsible certain officers connected to this event, they should have done it in a timely manner within thirty days after it happened!

Doing this so late, makes it smack of ''sour grapes''! Scape-goating! It will have the exact opposite effect that it should be designed to achieve! SO, BUSH!

[tryhonesty]

More Pentagon BS. PLEASE....Take away their retirement! That will get these morons attention!

[tootall10142]

I have a uncle and a cousin that are retired major generals .Thier monthly retirement is one is 8,960 and one is 7,975.oo a month.but 29 and 30 years respsctively is along time to play army.

[toby2957]

Disciplined? Uh-huh.

Unless they''re in the stockade for life, someone REALLY screwed up.

[airboatboy1]

If they accidentally set off a nuke they get a disciplinary Hallmark card instead of a letter.

[longtree-2009]

Disciplinary letters, the poor dears. They should all have been reduced in rank and downsized, forced to retire/resign, out of the service with pensions at the lower rank. Perhaps, we are all witnessing the rise and fall of the USA. The CIC, Bush, is the supreme commander and should toss these generals out immediately. But that won''t happen as Bush has no spine himself and is clearly not accountable for his actions either. No one is accountable anymore on Wall Street, Banks, Lenders, Congress, Clergy, Teachers, and et al in the USA.

[carlylaine]

NEOMONKEYS--- you

[mydiatribe]

How long are we going to be able to play this pea & shell game with Nuclear Technology?

WHEN not if a terrorist suicide bomber detonates a nuclear device within a US city, investigators will uncover that at least a portion of that device was from US origins.

It''s AMAZING we have been as successful as we have for as long as we have. Our enemies are out here working daily very hard to defeat us.

[newsjunky5]

One of two things occurred. Either sold this technology to Taiwan and is a spy/traitor, or the transfer was sanctioned by our government as a covert action. If the first is true, I would expect the punishments to be much harsher.
I don''t believe an accidental shipment of these is at all probable.

Sometimes the Executive Orders of Bush are difficult to read...among his stick figure doodlings and tic-tac-toe scribblings....those fuses (round thingys: O-
and WMDs: [like a jesus fish symbol] were supposed to have been sent to Iraq before we attacked... so we could find them easily......not hidden away in warehouses in Taiwan...the baseball bat drawings: o===== (for batteries) those were to be sent to Taiwan

[zwaggsy]

The scary thing is that the current Taiwanese government has been improving relations with China. Deliberate or an honest mistake the consequences coul have been a hell off a lot worse!

[hack52008]

If this happen how many other WMD are out there unacounted for????????