Nuke base team failed security test

Security personnel at a U.S. nuclear missile base failed a 2013 drill simulating the hostile takeover of a missile silo, the Associated Press reported.

The Air Force labeled the security teams’ failure to regain control of the capture nuclear warhead a “critical deficiency” and was the main factor the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana did not pass its overall safety inspection, according to an internal service review obtained by the news outlet.

{mosads}The self-examination found an “inability to effectively respond to a recapture scenario” and charged the armed personnel with not taking “all lawful actions necessary to immediately regain control of nuclear weapons.”

The service declined to provide specifics about the August 2013 exercise, but the review indicates that a security team was instructed to recapture a Minuteman 3 missile launch silo within a specified timeframe.

A spokesman for Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the country’s nuclear missiles and aircraft, declined to comment on the details of the review.

“We cannot divulge additional details of the scenario or the response tactics due to it being sensitive information that could compromise security,” Lt. Col. John Sheets said, adding that every corrective action suggested in the review have since been implemented. 

The August 2013 inspection was repeated two months later and found no security lapses, the AP reported.

The previously unreported revelation is the latest in a series of embarrassments for the Air Force, including one in March where a number of missile officers at Malmstrom were caught cheating on proficiency exams.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a pair of reviews, still ongoing, of the country’s nuclear forces to address public concerns about the security of the U.S. atomic arsenal.