Air Force Takes Corrective Measures
This action is the result of a series of reports investigates charges of frequent mishandling of nuclear weapons at Whiteman Air Force Base. It is based on interviews conducted by The Daily Star-Journal during the past three months in collaboration with WDAF-TV, Channel 4, in Kansas City.
By Kenneth Amos
Star-Journal News Editor
The office of Congressman Richard C. White, D-Texas, today told The Daily Star-Journal it has received a personal response from officials of the United States Air Force in regard to three corrective measures that have been instituted at Whiteman Air Force Base and which will be taken at other bases housing nuclear-tipped Minuteman missiles. However, the captain who reported the problems is not completely happy with the Air Force's response.
Capt. Eugene R. Essex made complains of nuclear safety violations. The corrective measures are a result of an investigation launched earlier this year by Missouri Fourth District Congressman Ike Skelton.
White, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services' Investigation Subcommittee, sent a letter dated May 19 to Maj. Gen. Guy L. Hecker, Jr., U.S. Air Force legislative liaison, indicating problems that appeared to be serious had been outlined during a meeting with Skelton. He asked for a report on the matters. That report was due today.
Capt. Essex mailed a correspondence dated March 23, 1981, along with "a dozen representative samples of nuclear safety violations at WAFB," to President Ronald Reagan and six members of Congress, including Rep. Skelton, who had first heard Essex's charges during a community forum in Warrensburg in February.
Skelton reported May 20 that at least three allegations made by Essex had been substantiated.
Those three claims were:
With regard to the site-entry codes, the Air Force will continue to issue code pages, however, it has decided that he pages must be turned back in to the individuals who issued them after each official usage. Prior to this, responsibility for tearing up the code pages was placed upon personnel using them. Whiteman issues from 350,000 to 450,000 code pages each month.
John Lally, counsel for the House committee, told The Daily Star-Journal this afternoon that this is "something they are working out," and is not an operating procedure in effect today.
Capt. Essex had contended the Minuteman Entry Control System code pages are frequently mishandled. Lost or illegally retained code pages compromise silo-entry combinations.
The captain noted during a series of articles prepared by The Daily Star-Journal last month on potential nuclear violations at WAFB, that the frequency of lost code pages might best be gauged by disciplinary actions taken when code pages are found and reported. Most lost or illegally retained code pages are not reported, according to Capt. Essex.
The claim of cheating on tests has been met with action by the Air Force that will assign a proctor to monitor each test. The proctor will not be allowed to leave the room during testing. Also, the Air Force plans to give two different tests to each group being tested to further curtail the possibility of cheating.
Capt. Essex charged that cheating on Standboard evaluations occurs regularly. Standboard evaluations measure system knowledge and abilities to perform hands-on technical operations with nuclear weapons and their support and control equipment.
The captain maintains cheating occurs most often between officers and enlisted personnel who evaluate their fellow evaluators.
Regarding the problem of personnel disconnecting alarms, the Air Force has opted to seal the power panel to all alarms to eliminate the possibility of turning them off. Lally said if someone has to break a seal to turn off an alarm, "he had better have a good explanation.
Lally further termed the corrective approaches to all three problems as being "pretty positive."
Capt. Essex said such violations of technical orders when operating, controlling or maintaining nuclear weapons and associated equipment occur regularly. This allows one member of a two-man crew to sleep. He said that many times the alarms are thought to have been triggered only by animals, birds or the wind, and their actual source is not properly checked.
Rep. Skelton told The Daily Star-Journal this afternoon he received a report on the matter from U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr. It details the requested corrective actions. The report concludes that none of the problems had adversely affected national security of the ability of the 351st Strategic Missile Wing at WAFB to perform its wartime mission.
Secretary Orr's letter stated that the detailed investigation contained sworn testimony from 28 witnesses, including Capt. Essex.
The congressman said two areas were of special concern to him — "national security and local safety."
Skelton said he was satisfied with the report, assuming the National Security Agency accepts the code corrections.
He noted that each of Capt. Essex's assertions had been investigated and those three were singled out for the corrective actions as requested by the subcommittee.
When informed of the report, Capt. Essex admitted that some of the measures "will help," but he remains frustrated that nothing is being done about his other complaints. He contends the Air Force told the congressman the complaints had been investigated internally (at WAFB) and were not valid. The captain maintains they all are true and should be investigative thoroughly.
Capt. Essex claims that since reporting alleged nuclear weapons violations, he has been subjected to confinement in a mental institution and continually harassed by high-ranking officers.
Last week, The Daily Star-Journal reported that Capt. Essex had received notice of his transfer from WAFB to Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana. He said the transfer was ordered because of a life-threatening situation that existed at the local base.
Members of the subcommittee, which will receive the Air Force's response, include Democrats Robert H. Mollohan, W.Va; Les Aspin, Wisc. Abraham Kazen, Texas, Nicholas Mavroules, Mass; Samuel S. Stratton, N.Y.; Jack Brinkley, Ga.;Dan Daniel, Va.; and Republicans Robin Beard, Tenn.; Robert W. Daniel, Jr., Va.;Donald J. Mitchell, N.Y.' Larry J. Hopkins, Ky.; Robert W. Davis, Mich.; and James L. Nelligan, Pa.
By Kenneth Amos
Star-Journal News Editor
The office of Congressman Richard C. White, D-Texas, today told The Daily Star-Journal it has received a personal response from officials of the United States Air Force in regard to three corrective measures that have been instituted at Whiteman Air Force Base and which will be taken at other bases housing nuclear-tipped Minuteman missiles. However, the captain who reported the problems is not completely happy with the Air Force's response.
Capt. Eugene R. Essex made complains of nuclear safety violations. The corrective measures are a result of an investigation launched earlier this year by Missouri Fourth District Congressman Ike Skelton.
White, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services' Investigation Subcommittee, sent a letter dated May 19 to Maj. Gen. Guy L. Hecker, Jr., U.S. Air Force legislative liaison, indicating problems that appeared to be serious had been outlined during a meeting with Skelton. He asked for a report on the matters. That report was due today.
Capt. Essex mailed a correspondence dated March 23, 1981, along with "a dozen representative samples of nuclear safety violations at WAFB," to President Ronald Reagan and six members of Congress, including Rep. Skelton, who had first heard Essex's charges during a community forum in Warrensburg in February.
Skelton reported May 20 that at least three allegations made by Essex had been substantiated.
Those three claims were:
- Minuteman missile launch (site-entry) codes frequently are mishandled.
- Cheating occurs on simulator tests by personnel involved in launch control, and:
- Launch crew members manually open and disarm alarm circuit breakers.
With regard to the site-entry codes, the Air Force will continue to issue code pages, however, it has decided that he pages must be turned back in to the individuals who issued them after each official usage. Prior to this, responsibility for tearing up the code pages was placed upon personnel using them. Whiteman issues from 350,000 to 450,000 code pages each month.
John Lally, counsel for the House committee, told The Daily Star-Journal this afternoon that this is "something they are working out," and is not an operating procedure in effect today.
Capt. Essex had contended the Minuteman Entry Control System code pages are frequently mishandled. Lost or illegally retained code pages compromise silo-entry combinations.
The captain noted during a series of articles prepared by The Daily Star-Journal last month on potential nuclear violations at WAFB, that the frequency of lost code pages might best be gauged by disciplinary actions taken when code pages are found and reported. Most lost or illegally retained code pages are not reported, according to Capt. Essex.
The claim of cheating on tests has been met with action by the Air Force that will assign a proctor to monitor each test. The proctor will not be allowed to leave the room during testing. Also, the Air Force plans to give two different tests to each group being tested to further curtail the possibility of cheating.
Capt. Essex charged that cheating on Standboard evaluations occurs regularly. Standboard evaluations measure system knowledge and abilities to perform hands-on technical operations with nuclear weapons and their support and control equipment.
The captain maintains cheating occurs most often between officers and enlisted personnel who evaluate their fellow evaluators.
Regarding the problem of personnel disconnecting alarms, the Air Force has opted to seal the power panel to all alarms to eliminate the possibility of turning them off. Lally said if someone has to break a seal to turn off an alarm, "he had better have a good explanation.
Lally further termed the corrective approaches to all three problems as being "pretty positive."
Capt. Essex said such violations of technical orders when operating, controlling or maintaining nuclear weapons and associated equipment occur regularly. This allows one member of a two-man crew to sleep. He said that many times the alarms are thought to have been triggered only by animals, birds or the wind, and their actual source is not properly checked.
Rep. Skelton told The Daily Star-Journal this afternoon he received a report on the matter from U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr. It details the requested corrective actions. The report concludes that none of the problems had adversely affected national security of the ability of the 351st Strategic Missile Wing at WAFB to perform its wartime mission.
Secretary Orr's letter stated that the detailed investigation contained sworn testimony from 28 witnesses, including Capt. Essex.
The congressman said two areas were of special concern to him — "national security and local safety."
Skelton said he was satisfied with the report, assuming the National Security Agency accepts the code corrections.
He noted that each of Capt. Essex's assertions had been investigated and those three were singled out for the corrective actions as requested by the subcommittee.
When informed of the report, Capt. Essex admitted that some of the measures "will help," but he remains frustrated that nothing is being done about his other complaints. He contends the Air Force told the congressman the complaints had been investigated internally (at WAFB) and were not valid. The captain maintains they all are true and should be investigative thoroughly.
Capt. Essex claims that since reporting alleged nuclear weapons violations, he has been subjected to confinement in a mental institution and continually harassed by high-ranking officers.
Last week, The Daily Star-Journal reported that Capt. Essex had received notice of his transfer from WAFB to Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana. He said the transfer was ordered because of a life-threatening situation that existed at the local base.
Members of the subcommittee, which will receive the Air Force's response, include Democrats Robert H. Mollohan, W.Va; Les Aspin, Wisc. Abraham Kazen, Texas, Nicholas Mavroules, Mass; Samuel S. Stratton, N.Y.; Jack Brinkley, Ga.;Dan Daniel, Va.; and Republicans Robin Beard, Tenn.; Robert W. Daniel, Jr., Va.;Donald J. Mitchell, N.Y.' Larry J. Hopkins, Ky.; Robert W. Davis, Mich.; and James L. Nelligan, Pa.