The US air force has fired two more nuclear commanders and disciplined a third, fresh evidence of leadership lapses in a nuclear missile corps that has suffered several recent setbacks including the removal of its top commander.
The most senior officer to be relieved of command was Colonel Carl Jones, second in command of the 90th Missile Wing at FE Warren air force base, Wyoming, in charge of 150 of the air force’s 450 Minuteman 3 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. He was dismissed on Monday “for a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership abilities” and reassigned as a special assistant to the wing commander.
At the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, which also is responsible for 150 Minuteman 3 missiles, Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy “Keith” Brown was relieved of command “because of a loss of confidence in Brown’s ability to lead his squadron”, the air force said.
Lieutenant Colonel John Sheets – a spokesman for Global Strike Command, which is in charge of the Air Force Minuteman 3 force as well as its nuclear bomber fleet – said an investigation “substantiated that Brown engaged in unlawful discrimination or harassment”. He added that the probe found that Brown “made statements to subordinates that created a perception within his squadron that pregnancy would negatively affect a woman’s career”.
Sheets said Jones’s immediate superior, Colonel Tracey Hayes, removed Jones following an internal investigation that substantiated allegations of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and cruelty and maltreatment of a subordinate.
“In four separate instances Jones acted in a manner that degraded his status as a senior officer and wing leader, including maltreating a subordinate,” Sheets said.
The most recent incident involving Jones was in September and occurred at a thrift store operated at FE Warren by volunteers, Sheets said. According to the investigation report as described by Sheets, Jones went to the shop, called Airman’s Attic, to discuss shopping hour policies.
“He hit the sign on the Airman’s Attic door and repeatedly hit the shop’s front counter while raising his voice, using profanity” and threatening to shut down the place, Sheets said.
It was this incident that prompted a complaint to the 90th Missile Wing’s inspector general, leading to the investigation and the decision by Hayes to remove Jones.
Three other incidents of allegedly inappropriate actions on base by Jones were substantiated in the investigation, including one in May in which his behaviour was described by one officer and a witness as shocking.
Sheets said the disciplinary actions at Minot and Warren reflected an effort to ensure that commanders did not behave in ways that detracted from their mission.
“Our people must treat each other with dignity and respect,” Sheets said. “That applies up and down the chain of command.”
Also at Minot, Colonel Richard Pagliuco, commander of the 91st Operations Group, which is in charge of three missile squadrons including Brown’s, received administrative punishment in the form of a letter on his file for “failing to promote and safeguard the morale, wellbeing and welfare of the airmen under his command”.
It is unusual for disciplinary action to be taken against commanders at two of the air force’s three nuclear missile bases on the same day. Officials said the timing was a coincidence. It extends a pattern of leadership failures in the ICBM force over the past year.
Last March nine officers were fired at Malmstrom air base, Montana, the third of the three nuclear missile bases, in response to an exam-cheating scandal. In 2013 Major General Michael Carey, commander of the entire ICBM force, was fired after an investigation into a drinking binge and other misconduct while he was in Russia as head of a visiting US government delegation.
The nuclear missile force has been beset with problems in discipline, training, leadership and morale. In February the defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, set up an independent review that is expected to announce its results in coming weeks.
There are three missile squadrons at each of the three nuclear missile wings. Each squadron is responsible for 50 missiles supervised by officers in five underground launch control centres.