Air Force nuclear transport work falls short at JBLM

Hot off the presses - The Olympian reported yesterday that the active-duty Air Force wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord that transports nuclear weapons - and just happens to be the only one that does - received an "unsatisfactory" rating following a week long inspection that concluded on Monday.

The article said that the rating resulted from an "isolated incident involving an individual assigned to the mission." Of course, with nuclear weapons there really is NO margin for error, so even an "isolated incident" is significant. No second chances with nukes!!!

62nd Airlift Wing Airmen secure a nuclear cargo training aid inside a C-17 aircraft during a  nuclear airlift mission training exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Casey Collier)

Even with the unsatisfactory rating, you can be sure that the Lewis-McChord nuke movers will continue their mission. After all, they've got a monopoly on the business!  On a positive note, the Prime Nuclear Airlift Force (PNAF) has won safety awards 12 times in 13 years according to its own reporting.  But Then again, when you move "32,000 pounds of nuclear or nuclear-related cargo worldwide" in a single year, nothing short of perfection is acceptable.

Read the article at The Oregonian: Air Force nuclear transport work falls short JBLM: Team tasked with highly sensitive missions gets ‘unsatisfactory’ grade.