WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has concluded that problems in the nuclear forces are rooted in a lack of investment, inattention by high-level leaders and sagging morale, and is ordering top-to-bottom changes, two senior defense officials said Thursday.
Hagel ordered two lengthy reviews of the nuclear force after a series of stories by the AP revealed numerous problems in management, morale, security and safety, leading to several firings, demotions and other disciplinary actions against a range of Air Force personnel from generals to airmen.
The senior defense officials discussed the reviews and Hagel’s response to them on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be cited by name.
Hagel was expected to announce his decisions at a news conference Friday and then fly to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, home of a Minuteman 3 missile unit whose setbacks are emblematic of the trouble dogging the broader force.
The Air Force has been hit hardest by the problems, particularly its Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile force based in North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. The AP documented numerous missteps over the past two years, including misbehavior by ICBM force leaders, lapses in training, violations of security rules and exam cheating.
Hagel’s reviews concluded that the structure of U.S. nuclear forces is so incoherent that it can’t be properly managed.
Among his more significant moves, Hagel authorized the Air Force to put a four-star general in charge of its nuclear forces, the two senior defense officials said.
The top Air Force nuclear commander currently is a three-star. Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson is responsible not only for the 450 Minuteman ICBMs but also the nuclear bomber force. Hagel has concluded that a four-star would be able to exert more influence within the Air Force, the defense officials said.
Hagel also concluded that despite tight Pentagon budgets, billions of dollars more will be needed over the next five years to upgrade equipment. The defense officials said Hagel would propose an amount between $1 billion and $10 billion in additional investment.
