WASHINGTON – Thirty-four intercontinental ballistic missile launch officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., have been implicated in cheating on the ICBM launch officer proficiency test, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said today, as reported by the American Forces Press Service.
The revelations emerged during an investigation into alleged illegal drug possession, James said. The officers range in rank from second lieutenants to captains, and the alleged cheating occurred in the August and September timeframe.
James and Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Air Force chief of staff, clearly were disturbed by the allegation as they briefed Pentagon reporters on the matter, but said they are confident the nuclear mission itself was not compromised by the incident.
“This was a failure of some of our airmen. It was not a failure of the nuclear mission,” James said.
The United States Department of Defense confirmed Wednesday that Secretary James briefed Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on allegations that several dozen intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) officers cheated on their proficiency tests.
According to a press release, Secretary Hagel was deeply troubled to learn of these allegations, and he strongly supports the aggressive steps the Air Force is taking in response to them. He asked Secretary James to update him regularly on these investigations, and to make the health of the ICBM force a top priority.
