Gates says nuclear forces have fixed slips

[January 29, 2011]  OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday credited the departing chief of the nation's nuclear forces with restoring that highly sensitive mission to its "proper place of honor" following a series of embarrassing episodes involving mishandling the weapons meant to deter nuclear attack on the U.S.

Gates presided over a change-of-command ceremony in which Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler was formally installed as chief of U.S. Strategic Command, succeeding Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, who is retiring after 35 years of service. Chilton is a former fighter pilot and NASA astronaut.

Strategic Command, with headquarters on this air base near Omaha, has responsibility for the nation's nuclear forces, including long-range missiles carried aboard submarines and bombers as well as land-based missiles capable of striking around the globe. The command also has the main responsibility in the military for defending U.S. interests in space and cyberspace, and it is in charge of coordinating U.S. global missile defense operations.

In his congratulatory remarks, Gates noted the solemn responsibility that comes with ensuring the integrity and security of the nation's nuclear force.

"General Chilton took over (Strategic Command) at a time when, as you all know, we were facing some real challenges in control and accountability for America's strategic nuclear mission," the Pentagon chief said. He credited Chilton with reforming the command's management, providing additional training for the troops who operate and support the nuclear force -- "and restoring the nuclear mission to its proper place of honor."

In August 2007, six nuclear-armed cruise missiles at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., were mistakenly loaded onto a B-52 bomber and flown to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., without the bomber crew knowing they were aboard. The stunning foul-up cost a colonel his command and was cited by Gates as contributing to his decision to fire Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne.

Chilton took over as commander of Strategic Command in October 2007.

In March 2008, the embarrassment grew after the United States mistakenly shipped to Taiwan four electrical fuses designed for use on nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. The items, which were returned to the U.S., were not nuclear materials. Six Air Force generals, nine Air Force colonels and two Army generals were disciplined as a result.

In introductory comments at Friday's ceremony, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, alluded obliquely to that troubled period, saying Chilton "went on to make positive, lasting changes at a time when the nation really needed them."

In his remarks, Gates noted that one of Strategic Command's missions is to operate a small fleet of aircraft known as the National Airborne Operations Center -- essentially a flying fortress from which a U.S. president could control strategic nuclear weapons during a nuclear war. Gates, like his predecessors, regularly uses the planes for routine overseas travel, in part because they can be refueled in the air, saving flying time.

Those flights provide training hours for the pilots and crews, and also cater to Gates's appetite for greasy foods while traveling. "They have had the unenviable task of flying 600,000 miles with me to over 100 countries over the past four years -- that's a lot of bacon cheeseburgers," he said.

[Associated Press; By ROBERT BURNS]

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