Tango01  | 23 Oct 2017 10:28 p.m. PST |
"The U.S. Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers back on 24-hour ready alert, a status not seen since the Cold War ended in 1991. That means the long-dormant concrete pads at the ends of this base's 11,000-foot runway — dubbed the "Christmas tree" for their angular markings — could once again find several B-52s parked on them, laden with nuclear weapons and set to take off at a moment's notice. "This is yet one more step in ensuring that we're prepared," Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, said in an interview during his six-day tour of Barksdale and other U.S. Air Force bases that support the nuclear mission. "I look at it more as not planning for any specific event, but more for the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in and how we ensure we're prepared going forward."…"
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| skippy0001 | 24 Oct 2017 5:53 a.m. PST |
Nope-denied by the Air Force-they don't have the pilots, the planes or the money to do this. |
| Tango01 | 24 Oct 2017 11:03 a.m. PST |
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| Begemot | 24 Oct 2017 3:05 p.m. PST |
Can we expect to see Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, retiring soon? |
| Lion in the Stars | 24 Oct 2017 4:14 p.m. PST |
I'd like to see the USAF go a year without a nuclear weapons incident before we add them back to the alert mix. |
| Charlie 12 | 24 Oct 2017 7:14 p.m. PST |
I believe we may have a opening soon for USAF Chief of Staff…. |
| daler240D | 25 Oct 2017 7:31 a.m. PST |
it was stated that it is being explored. of course they always have to have plans for any contingency. Seems like a staggeringly inefficient way to deliver weaponry in today's world though not to mention the risk to pilots. |
| USAFpilot | 25 Oct 2017 8:13 a.m. PST |
Whether on alert or not on alert; the USAF has always been part of the "strategic triad" of nuclear deterrence. If I remember correctly, it was President Bush back in 1989 who took our bombers off alert with the thawing of relations with the Russians. |
| Col Durnford | 25 Oct 2017 8:13 a.m. PST |
Recallable without exercising the self destruct option. |
| Garand | 25 Oct 2017 9:29 a.m. PST |
Exactly. Keeping bombers on alert, and especially making that knowledge public, tells certain rogue nations that they have been "warned" but also giving a window for detente to have a last gasp… Damon. |
| doug redshirt | 25 Oct 2017 11:06 a.m. PST |
Uh. Keeping a nuclear armed bomber out at the end of the runway doesn't send any message other the fact we like to make life rough on our airmen. You want to scare another nation, you let them know that a submarine with cruise missiles is sitting off the coast. |
| Lion in the Stars | 25 Oct 2017 4:41 p.m. PST |
@Doug: No, you want to scare another nation, you mention that the US has 14 Trident missile subs in service, and 3/4ths of them are at sea at any given moment, out where no-one can find them. Until they get the message to utterly end whichever [expletives deleted] idiot thought it would be a good idea to pick a fight with the US. |
adds APCs to his Israeli forces.
