MOSCOW, November 14 (Sputnik) – US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected to announce his decisions at a morning news conference on Friday, according to AP reports.
Hagel has recently ordered two reviews of the nuclear force after a series of reports by AP on numerous problems involving the management, morale, security and safety of the strategic forces.
AP documented numerous missteps over the past two years, including misbehavior by ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missiles) force leaders, lapses in training, violations of security rules and cheating on exams.
The reports have already led to several firings, demotions and other disciplinary actions against a range of Air Force personnel ranging from generals to airmen.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has already concluded that the problems that affect the nation's nuclear forces are rooted in a lack of investment, inattention by high-level leaders and sagging morale, and is vowing to invest billions of dollars to fix the management of the world's most deadly weapons, the news agency quotes two senior defense officials as saying, not disclosing their names.
Having announced his plan, Hagel is due to travel to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, where officers oversee intercontinental nuclear missiles and bombers.
According to the New York Times, the United States has started a program to modernize and revitalize its nuclear program, which includes the recent opening of a $700 million nuclear weaponry construction facility in Missouri which is bigger than the Pentagon. Despite having campaigned for “a nuclear-free world” and making disarmament a main goal of American defense policy,
President Obama hopes to revitalize America’s nuclear capabilities. Citing “Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine” as “a fundamental game changer”, President Obama’s former top nuclear adviser Gary Samore claims that any attempt to reduce America’s stockpile is “unilaterally politically impossible.”
