WASHINGTON — The Air Force has decided it must “add more vigor” to its screening of candidates for senior nuclear command, adding closer looks at health records and Internet searches for potentially damaging personal information about candidates who also have long military careers, the Air Force’s top general said Wednesday.
Gen. Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff, told reporters that the change was initiated as the Air Force searched for a successor to Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, who was fired in October as commander of 20th Air Force, which is responsible for all 450 of the Air Force’s Minuteman 3 nuclear missiles. Carey was fired for behavior that officials have said is linked to alcohol abuse.
Until now the selection process had focused on a candidate’s professional background. Using that approach “someone would quickly (emerge as) the obvious choice,” Welsh said.
“Just assuming an obvious choice in this business is probably dangerous,” he said. “So let’s take a little bit deeper look.”
Welsh said the hiring process for Air Force nuclear commanders will now include a more intensive checking of candidates, including a review of potential personal health issues, both physical and mental.
The review will include a Google search, a simple task that hadn’t been done before.
“What pops up when you type somebody’s name into Google?” Welsh said. “It might be worth knowing that before you nominate somebody for a key job. Some of this is common sense.”
