Feith Based Initiative At The Pentgon

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Grover Norquist can pretty much pull the drain plug now; the job of eviscerating the United States Government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub" is about complete. The latest breaking news out of the Pentagon is that the US mistakenly shipped ICBM warhead nuclear triggering mechanisms to Taiwan.

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that it mistakenly shipped non-nuclear components for an intercontinental ballistic missile to Taiwan from a U.S. Air Force base in Wyoming.
…
At a Pentagon news conference, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the misshipped items were four nose cone assemblies for ICBMs. He also said they were delivered to Taiwan in March 2005 and had been sent instead of helicopter batteries that had been ordered by Taiwan.
…
”It is a component for the fuse in the nosecone for a nuclear system,” Wynne said. ”We are very concerned about it.”

Well, that’s understandable. Because thermonuclear warhead triggers probably look just like helicopter batteries, right? Oy and ugh.

Apparently, the Cheney/Bush Administration planting of "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the planet" at the Pentagon is paying dividends even after Doug Feith is long gone, because there seems to be some real competence issues over there, and, critically, with regard to our military’s handling of it’s nuclear weapons. As you might recall, it was not long ago that there were some empty quivers and bent spears out of another upper mid-west Air Force Base. In late August, 2007, six live nuclear cruise missiles went missing.

The nuclear weapons were “lost” for 36 hours after taking off on August 29 on a cross-country journey from the remote Minot air force base in North Dakota to Barksdale in Louisiana. Major-General Richard Newton, air force deputy chief of staff, said there was an “unprecedented” series of procedural errors, which revealed “an erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards”.

There is bound to be a lot of speculation and discussion on the latest incident that is just now being revealed in spite of the fact that it occurred all the way back in 2005. Hopefully, it will also renew the discussion of the Minot/Barksdale incident, which kind of faded from the national conscience (if you want a decent rundown on some of the various theories and weird facts on the Minot/Barksdale event, see here). So how will the Six Sigma management geniuses of the Bush Administration respond to these disturbing examples of incompetence with weapons of mass destruction? My bet is there is a big promotion and endowment with lifetime wingnut welfare in order for their top political lackeys in charge of Pentagon oversight.

UPDATE: Per William Ockham’s comment, the NYT story has indeed been updated substantially and the pentagon is now referring to the lost items as "fuses" for the warhead triggering mechanism, apparently in an attempt to distinguish what was mis-shipped from the entire trigger mechanism. I am somewhat suspicious of that, but it is the latest incarnation of the government’s story.

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65 replies
  1. Minnesotachuck says:

    Well, at least they weren’t cruise missiles with armed nuclear warheads like those sent from Minot AFB in North Dakota to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.

  2. JimWhite says:

    I know what we should do! We should have the Inspector General look into this right away!

    If Pentagon materials management was this messed up in 2005, just how bad is it now? I suppose the only silver lining is that the ICC may not punish us for dropping helicopter batteries on Iran.

    • kspena says:

      What a lovely image; that’s the way this administration will go out. I can hardly wait to see the MOVIE…..last scene….close-up of bush and cheney faces in pilot gear, expressions of intense evil desire as they carry out their last mission… pull away shot—helicopter batteries falling on an empty cave…in the desert…sun setting behind an imposing mountain landscape…fading shot…symphonic music rises…THE END

  3. WilliamOckham says:

    bmaz,

    I think that article has changed since you posted this. It now says this:

    At a news conference, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the misshipped items were four electrical fuses for nose cone assemblies for ICBMs. He also said they were delivered to Taiwan in 2006 and had been sent instead of helicopter batteries that had been ordered by Taiwan.

    and

    He said the fuses had been in four shipping containers sent in March 2005 from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., to a Defense Logisitics Agency warehouse at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It was then in the logistics agency’s control and was shipped to Taiwan ”on or around” August 2006, according to a Gates memo ordering Donald to investigate.

  4. behindthefall says:

    Over at FDL I was just muttering about one facet of the Minot incident which has always struck me as even stranger than other aspects of that nightmare. Somewhere, in the articles about the events up at Minot, it was mentioned that the ground crews had to work for hours on the B-52 that flew in to pick up the missles, because the aircraft’s attachment points were not set up to accept the pylon on which the cruise missles were mounted. Now, it seems to me that any aircraft which is intended to be armed quickly would have had underwing points in the expected configuration. So, just what was this B-52? Where had it been living? What was its tail number, and where was it supposedly based? Do we know where every surviving B-52 is? Are they all in USAF hands?

    • Praedor says:

      Don’t get too bent on that issue of pylons.

      I used to flightcrew the B-52s at Barksdale up to the point of the end of the Cold War. I sat nuk-u-lar altert for years and know all about the issues surrounding working with and around nukes.

      Not all pylons are equal. They are different based upon their function. Most US bombers are now configured for conventional operations, not nuclear ops. It could quite simply be that the B-52 in question was setup to accept a pylon for gravity bombs (as would be used in Afghanistan) rather than setup to lug cruise missiles (whether conventional or nuke).

      The issue to focus on is not the pylon glitch. The issue(s) are ALL the many many failures that would have to happen to get a live nuke out of storage, mounted on the pylon, and past the preflight inspection by the nav/radar nav on the plane.

      • behindthefall says:

        (Had to do some other work for a few hours.) Thanks for your comment. According to your experience, then, the B-52 would have been sent to pick up some criuse missiles but would not have been prepped for the job beforehand. My question is, why hadn’t it been prepped? If there are some planes that do the ferrying job routinely, then one of those would have had the proper fittings in place: apparently this wasn’t one of those. If it was not a plane that had carried cruise missiles, then why was it chosen to do the job? Not that you suggested this, but it would be consistent with what you wrote that the plane had wandered back into U.S. airspace from the Afghani theater — wouldn’t that be rather odd?

  5. rxbusa says:

    That article on the Minot/Barksdale missiles was interesting. First thing that occurred to me was that they were trying to “disappear” them…maybe to use as planted evidence???

    • bmaz says:

      I am certainly not sure that I would take everything in the Global Research article as gospel, but it seemed like a decent collection of the basic facts and a lot of the speculation and stories surrounding the incident, so i linked it as kind of a recollection refresher.

      • Praedor says:

        I take the list of “mysterious deaths” with a grain of salt (if that).

        The details of all the things that have to go wrong, all the protections in place, that is where the gem is in the article. The closing stuff on deaths is a sad (and harmful) addition that is way too far down in 9/11 conspiracy territory.

        There MAY have been a conspiracy of some kind, or it may have been mind-boggling stupidity and incompetence on a cosmic scale that will hold the prize for same for a geologic age, but the mysterious death bit is just too much.

        • bmaz says:

          Yeah, that is about right I think. I hesitated for a second to link it for that reason, but it was the best overview I could readily find at the time.

            • bobschacht says:

              “Wiki also has a fairly extensive compilation of info and sources on the Lost Nuclear Cruise Missiles.”

              Also, don’t forget the analysis of FDL commentor Alfred Kelgarries last September at http://ratiocinatonsofasavageheart.blogspot.com/, with dozens of links to sources. This is actually a series of lengthy articles (see the left side-bar for other articles in the series, scroll down). He links the events to the bombing of the site in Syria that has never been fully explained, and suggests a failed attempt in collaboration with Israel to launch a nuclear attack on Iran, IIRC.

              Bob in HI

    • merkwurdiglieber says:

      Maybe that the missles were to meet with the fuses on Taiwan for lod
      times sake, you know, a nostalgia thing… ” We’ll meet again… some
      sunny day”.

  6. maryo2 says:

    What is a “Defense Logisitics Agency warehouse?” Is it run by *contractors* to the US military or by the military?

      • klynn says:

        And maryo2

        This is the real story. Hope it is “found out” soon.

        This is the best I can find prior to 2001:

        Fort Belvoir, Va. — The Defense Logistics Agency announced today that operations of its Defense Distribution Depot Cherry Point, N.C. (DDCN) would be contracted out to Labat-Anderson, Inc., headquartered in McLean, Va. The tentative decision was made after a detailed study indicated it was more cost effective to convert the operations there to the
        private sector.
        This announcement culminates more than 25 months of public-private competition using the guidelines of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, “Performance of Commercial Activities.” DDCN was announced for A-76 study on March 31, 1999. The competition
        process establishes federal policy for deciding whether to retain recurring, commercial-like activities within the government, or contract them out to a private sector source. The guidance tells how to compare performance and cost related information to arrive at the best
        overall value for the taxpayer.”This is a very thorough and competitive process which will ensure continued high quality support. The process also provides important cost savings to our customers, the warfighters,
        in the years to come,” said Rear Adm. Daniel H. Stone, Director of DLA’s Logistics Operations.

        And then this from 2005:

        http://findarticles.com/p/arti….._n13652742

        And this from January 2005:

        2.2.1 The incumbent service providers that will be impacted by this standard competition are approximately 115 full-time permanent, full-time temporary and permanent part-time positions. In addition, there are six service contracts, multiple transportation service contracts and ISSAs that support the performance of functions in scope of the competition. A list of the service contracts can be found at paragraph 2.2.1.2.

        My bold

        Anyway, the whole privatization of the DLA since the 1990’s and even more so since Iraq has put $$$ in lots of pockets with a number of fraud issues and who knows what else…

        Was this not the time when OMB was doing audits on contracts and shipments?

        I think this news coming out now is no mistake…Perhaps A Jack A piece of evidence?

        • klynn says:

          ..there are six service contracts, multiple transportation service contracts and ISSAs that support the performance of functions in scope of the competition. A list of the service contracts can be found at paragraph 2.2.1.2.

          My bold

          Sorry I missed that in #29!

    • MadDog says:

      What is a “Defense Logisitics Agency warehouse?” Is it run by *contractors* to the US military or by the military?

      While the DLA is headed by a Lieutenant General, the employees within DLA are primarily civilian government employees.

      As to contractors, there are certainly some, but I believe the vast majority of the 22,000+ employees are civilian government employees.

      As to “contracting” itself, the DLA oversees (or not as reality tells us *g*) almost all DOD contracts.

  7. Loo Hoo. says:

    How many nuclear parts have mistakenly been sent overseas that we don’t know about? And, if it’s just one part here, another part over there, it looks pretty much like incompetence…

  9. Hugh says:

    I am a little confused as to what precisely constitutes a fuse on a nuclear weapon. Are we talking about the electronics that would send the signals to begin the process of detonation?

    • Praedor says:

      Pretty much. A fuse is the initial igniter of the explosives that then compress the core. Plastique explosive requires a fuse, dynamite requires a fuse (electronic or old-fashioned firecracker style). The fuses must be mated with triggers and explosives in the correct configuration, to make the initiating part of a nuke.

  10. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Did Mr. Cheney de-classify news of this latest toothpick in the Dragon’s eye? Or did someone get FedEx’s shipping records and discover an “Oops”?

    If the Pentagon shipped even the fuses, why would they not keep it secret? The shipment either represents an explosive policy Congress and public opinion would vehemently question, or it illustrates a deep incompetence in handling the most sensitive technology we have. I don’t believe our military is remotely that incompetent, which means the action reflects policy.

    Mr. Cheney is fond of his surrogates: Bush, for example, or hard-right Israelis. Taiwan he probably sees in the same light vis a vis our chief creditor, foreign market and supplier of goods and services. So what’s the policy? Why hide it? Why indirectly reveal it now? Is Mr. Cheney running out of bad news in the Middle East and needs to drum up some from the inscrutable orient?

    • Rayne says:

      What scares the f*ck out of me about this situation is that not only have we compromised every relationship in the middle east — scaring the snot out of folks with that Minot incident — but that we’re likely tweaking hard the nose of the biggest sleeping giant with this shipment to Taiwan.

      Jeebus…China may think for the long haul and be slow to move, but they’re not going to take this kind of crap lightly, given their intense possessiveness of Taiwan.

      Praedor: you allude to a long list of steps it would take to ship a live nuke; doesn’t it at all bother you that during this long list of steps, not a single person in the chain of possession STOPPED the process?? It seems to me that the failing is even larger for this lack of empowerment to question OR the absolute complicity within the entire organization, OR both.

  11. Hugh says:

    There was an investigation into the B-52 incident and one of its findings was that with the end of the Cold War there was a major dropoff in security in how nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons materials were treated. Basically, the whole area was seen as a career deadend and responsibility devolved down the chain of command as well from flag officers (generals, admirals) to midlevel types. So in some ways, it is surprising that there have not been more incidents.

  12. Mr.Cbl says:

    bmaz,
    the six sigma reference may have been lost on a lot of folks but it made me laugh hysterically. Thank you.

  13. chetnolian says:

    All fun but probably over the top. We are from the sound of it talking about a bunch of electronic components, not anything truly nuclear.

    Secondly, I bet you are looking at a mistake in reading the part code,I’d guess by maybe one digit somewhere in the middle. Incompetent certainly, but hardly earth shattering.

    • bmaz says:

      I could easily be wrong, but from what I recall from the basic discussion in one of the university physics classes I took long ago, the “triggering device” really is extremely critical to causing the explosion and maximizing the yield and that, arguably, it just as critical as the nuclear material. Perhaps Praedor or Professor Foland, if he is around, can refine and correct that thought for me.

      • KenMuldrew says:

        You’re probably thinking of the initiator; the neutron source to get the chain reaction going. Although the timing is critical for igniting the HE, it’s a much easier problem nowadays with modern electronics than it was in the 40s. Getting neutrons at just the right time is still tricky (and I think the initiators used in the Trinity and Nagasaki bombs remain classified).

        • PetePierce says:

          Two of my favorite books are the Richard Rhodes books on the making of the atom and helium bombs.

          The first Atomic Bomb tested at Los Alamos on 7/16/45 @ 6AM. I know someone who was at Edwards AFB then and they knew something wuz up.

          The fat man device was dropped on Nagasaki.

          From the first atomic bomb diagram

          Censored early drawing of an atomic weapon based on the famous U.S Los Alamos “Fat Man” device which was dropped on Nagasaki and detonated in the Trinity test. The diagram is from a report completed by William G. Penney on 1 July 1947

          Neutron initiator?

          • PetePierce says:

            Whoops not helium, but a little different part of the Atomic Table–hydrogen was the subject of the 2nd Rhodes book.

          • KenMuldrew says:

            “Neutron initiator?”

            It’s that little acorn-like thing that sits in the center of the plutonium sphere. You need neutrons at just the right time in order to get the plutonium atoms to start splitting (in turn, they release neutrons with each fission, thereby multiplying the effect). Since you’re using implosion to create a critical mass, you might as well use implosion to time your neutron release as well, so the initiator is designed to generate neutrons when it gets crushed. The design and the materials used are classified, even from the earliest bombs, but probably well known by people with an interest in nuclear physics. The size of the plutonium sphere used in fat man is also classified, but the doorstop photo in Rhodes gives it away.

            • PetePierce says:

              I asked “neutron initiator?” because some people have theorized it wasn’t, but I believe it was. I noticed the British reclassified some of their material in that link to be unclassified 2014, although I’m not sure why they reclassified.

      • JohnJ says:

        I should say first I give credit to JimWhite@2 for the best laugh I’ve had all day.

        the “triggering device” really is extremely critical to causing the explosion and maximizing the yield and that, arguably, it just as critical as the nuclear material.

        That was basically what I was told by a few of the Engineers that designed those things. The plant where they originally made is a few miles from here and I have visited it many times through the years. It is now closed but the huge vibration and impact test machines are available for rent along with some of the original engineers. (Engineers love to talk trade and that kind of information is not specifically classified).

    • behindthefall says:

      That could be fun: a new parlor game of figuring out the most improbable objects that are ‘one digit apart’ in the military’s parts lists.

  14. maryo2 says:

    From the article –
    Wynne said that Taiwanese authorities notified U.S. officials of the mistake, but it was not clear when the notification was made. He said the fuses had been in four shipping containers sent in March 2005 from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., to a Defense Logisitics Agency warehouse at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. It was then in the logistics agency’s control and was shipped to Taiwan ”on or around” August 2006, according to a Gates memo ordering Donald to investigate.

    Thus we need to know who got the contract for the warehouse at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. And we need to know if the contract was no-bid, or if the contractor was added to an approved vendors list at a late date (after doing work for the Vice President, like MZM).

  15. klynn says:

    From modest beginnings, Hill AFB now ranks as Utah’s largest employer. The $500 million payroll and presence of the installation injects tremendous growth into the Utah economy. The current value of the base acreage, buildings, equipment, and inventories exceeds $4.5 billion.

    http://www.globalsecurity.org/…..y/hill.htm

  17. klynn says:

    MaryO2

    I’m reading a report right now that has info on MZM @ Hill. I have to run out for a few but will post findings and quotes when I return.

  18. maryo2 says:

    From klynn @ 36’s link. This is not talking about nuclear detonators or missile parts, but is more generally a proposed plan for Hill Air Force Base (an Air Force Materiel Command base).

    “In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended to …
    This fourth recommendation would achieve economies and efficiencies that would enhance the effectiveness of logistics support to forces as they transition to more joint and expeditionary operations. This recommendation would disestablish the wholesale supply, storage, and distribution functions for all tires; packaged petroleum, oils and lubricants; and compressed gases used by the Department of Defense, retaining only the supply contracting function for each commodity. The Department would privatize these functions and would rely on private industry for the performance of supply, storage, and distribution of these commodities. By doing so, the Department could divest itself of inventories and eliminate infrastructure and personnel associated with these functions. This recommendation would result in more responsive supply support to user organizations and would thus add to capabilities of the future force. The recommendation would provide improved support during mobilization and deployment, and the sustainment of forces when deployed worldwide. Privatization would enable the Department to take advantage of the latest technologies, expertise, and business practices, which translates to improved support to customers at less cost. It centralizes management of tires; packaged petroleum, oils, and lubricants; and compressed gases and eliminates unnecessary duplication of functions within the Department. “

  19. maryo2 says:

    klynn, Thanks for the information. I also must run for now. I will check back later this afternoon.

    • phred says:

      Thanks for the link. I hadn’t seen the diary, but Fusion Centers were a topic of considerable discussion at a recent membership meeting of the ACLU that I attended. When they started setting these things up, state and local authorities thought they would be a two way street with the Feds. It hasn’t turned out that way, so state and local police and not too happy. Further, as bmaz would certainly expect, the scope of information (and parties who access it) has broadly expanded from the original intent. Here’s a link to the ACLU report that came out last December.

  22. rkilowatt says:

    An initiator is a small “pit” whose absence serves to failsafe a nuke weapon from critical masss explosion. As such, it is withheld from the weapon until the weapon is ready to be armed, at which time it is physically inserted into the core of the weapon and the weapon is now fully armed. Insertion is done either by a human or, in the case of a missile,robotically upon remote command.

    Detonation is accomplished by sub-micro-second control of electronic impulses, using thyristors or such, to accomplish perfect timing of blasts to maximize the crushing density at the core center. This prolongs as much as possible the containment of the nuke explosion caused by the now-critical mass [the crushed density of what was, say, a plutonium shell] being set-off by the initiator’s neutron flux. The “pit” is designed for far-insufficient flux to activate the Plut shell until such shell is crushed to critical density.
    The thyristors of that quality are controlled materials. Use of lesser quality,[of pulse timing] would result in poor explosive yields.

    Confusion is the deliberate result of using words like “fuze”, which mean something that tells you nothing.

  23. rkilowatt says:

    For a link…google “Krytron” or “Pulse Based Switching Devices, an Overview” by Pasley.

  24. klynn says:

    OK. I’m still pouring through GAO reports, DOD reports and contracting reports but here is a nice bit from 1998 and I’m in the process of pulling up the contracts from 2005 for this:

    Aviation Supplies

    DLA’s schedule contained 1 prime vendor and 14 contracting initiatives for
    aviation supplies.
    DLA is designing the prime vendor program to provide
    consumable items to maintenance depots that repair engines and weapon
    systems.     The schedule identified six potential repair depots to use this
    program but did not provide any implementation dates. Also, the schedule
    did not include milestones for a concept test and evaluation phase,
    indicate the extent to which the prime vendor would actually be used,
    identify a planned activation date for applicable locations, or project a
    date when the prime vendor would be in all locations.
    The 14 contracting initiatives include a combination of corporate,
    long-term, and direct delivery contracts for a variety of aviation parts, such as fasteners, engine parts, and cleaning compounds. The schedule
    provided actual or planned contract award dates for most of the
    initiatives.
    GAO/NSIAD-98-218 Inventory Management

    Batteries

    The schedule contained three contracting initiatives for batteries. These
    programs include long-term and direct delivery contracts.     The schedule
    information for these initiatives consisted of the year that each contract
    was awarded and other contract information…

    (my bold)

    The point:

    As of 2001, DLA had contracted out as direct delivery their aviation battery inventory management. How on earth could fuses get shipped if batteries were ordered? A totally separate, direct delivery supplier was supplying batteries. Additionally, a separate prime vendor program supplier was contracted by 2001 for weapons systems. I do not think this was a matter of “close” inventory numbers.

  25. klynn says:

    As of 2003, DLA privatized inventory management was large and had gone through at least three GAO best Practices Audits performed by GAO by 2001.

    Here is a link to the training manual for DLA regarding inventory management system use and some quick information:

    Access to Information About Items
    With LINK, you can get catalog information about Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), General Service Administration (GSA) and Services managed material such as name, unit of issue, unit price, and description. LINK also gives you visibility of excess, wholesale, and retail assets. Items are identified by either a National Stock Number (NSN) or National Item Identification Number (NIIN). Inventory Control Points (ICPs) in the military services, DLA, GSA, and other Federal agencies catalog items.
    The ICPs send information about new items to the Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS) located in Battle Creek, MI. DLIS catalogues new material, then assigns an NSN to the new item. The NSN identifies
    the item through its life cycle. The NSN consists of two parts:
    •
    Federal Supply Classification – first four digits. Identifies the group and class to which the item

    Here is the document:

    http://www.dlis.dla.mil/PDFs/linkguide.PDF

    I did a “stint” with one of the largest logistics companies in the US a long time ago. So, my background is dated. Still, in looking at the “practices” it seems surprising that it was not “picked up” on, especially after the GAO “hounded” DLA on their “best practices” and noted in three reports (possibly more – I’m still researching) that the privatized weapons parts inventory management needed more security and was identified several times during the Clinton Administration as a potential security breech area (one of the top 25 security breech concerns).

  26. klynn says:

    So we know Warren AFB and Hill AFB inventory management by 2003 in many areas was privatized. We know DLA had privatized aviation battery inventory management and weapons parts management.

    I’m still trying to track down the contracts.

  27. klynn says:

    Here’s a great case study to read. It is a GAO case study presented on June 25, 2002 before the House Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans
    Affairs, and International Relations, Committee on Government Reform. There is too much to quote from it.

    http://www.globalsecurity.org/…..2873t.pdf.

    Just an interesting read for anyone who might be interested in our DLA inventory “best practices” concerns…

    • bmaz says:

      You ever get the feeling that “privatizing” things makes them ultimately more expensive, less efficient, less accountable and less secure? Very nice work Klynn.

  28. Leen says:

    Can anyone tell me why Doug Feith and the other radicals that created, cherry picked and disseminated false WMD intelligence are still walking the streets?

    Whatever happened to ACCOUNTABILITY? What ever happened to the completion of all of Phase II of the SSCI?

    What a country what a justice system what oversight? Clinton nailed for lying about a blowjob. The folks who are responsible for an INTELLIGENCE SNOWJOB are still running free. The results of that INTELLIGENCE SNOWJOB has been hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries and millions of Iraqi people displaced.

    Call me a peasant call me ignorant I just do not get it when our congress considers holding a President accountable for lying about a bj and then congress does not hold those responsible for the Intelligence snowjob ACCOUNTABLE. It seems this would be the very least they could do for those who have needlessly lost family members in an unnecessary and immoral war. The very least!.

  29. klynn says:

    Thanks bmaz.

    And to answer your question…Yep!

    Here’s yet another link from 2005 on DLA privatization:

    A recent review of the top weapons system supply chain contractors with whom DLA has established strategic supplier alliances, compared to contractors from whom the military services buy DLRs, demonstrates the effectiveness of this decision. Over 61 percent of the dollars spent showed at least one overlapping military service; 50 percent showed at least two overlapping military services; 18 percent had at least three, and 4 percent overlapped all four services.

    Link here:

    http://www.military-logistics-…..DocID=2202

  30. klynn says:

    Here’s some more:

    DSCC serves more than 24,000 military and civilian customers and 10,000 contractors as one of the largest suppliers of weapon systems parts in the world. DSCC buys materiel, monitors inventory levels, maintains technical data, and assures quality conformance of spare parts, which vary from such common items as vehicle parts and accessories to complex mechanical and electronic repair parts for weapon systems.

    Link here:

    http://www.globalsecurity.org/…..afps03.htm

    ICBM Systems Program Office

    Contractor for SPO is TRW. More here:

    http://www.globalsecurity.org/…..bm-spo.htm

    Since the parts seem to originate at Warren AFB in Wyoming
    I would want to know if the fuses were new or from decommissioned missiles. I would think decommissioned parts would be harder to track.

    Only two years later, the new Minuteman replaced the Atlas, and on July 1, 1963, the 90th Strategic Missile Wing was activated. During the early 1970s, the SAC ICBM Force Modernization Program began replacing Minuteman I with Minuteman III missiles. In November 1973, the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron marked the transition by becoming the first all Minuteman III squadron at Warren. The 90th Strategic Missile Wing was selected to base the Peacekeeper missiles in 1975. Warren was home to the Peacekeeper missiles missile from 1986 to 2005, when deactivation was completed. When the LGM-118A Peacekeeper was in service they were stationed here. The last were withdrawn from service in September of 2005 when the 400th Missile Squadron deactivated. Warren missile fields currently maintain 150 Minuteman III missiles.

    During a period of Air Force reorganization in the early 1990s, Warren transitioned from the deactivating SAC to newly-established Air Combat Command, and finally, on July 1, 1993 to the Air Force Space Command. This realignment was designed to take advantage of the similarities between missile launch and space launch operations. The 90th Strategic Missile Wing was also renamed the 90th Missile Wing. The wing became the 90th Space Wing on October 1, 1997.

    The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure commission (BRAC) did not recommend making any significant change to the base’s current operations. [3]

    Just thinking out loud.

  31. klynn says:

    BTW:

    TRW was bought out by Northrup Grumman July 1, 2002. Feith was once counsel to them.

    Remember, TRW’s contract was a 1 year renewable for 14 years. (The winner of the Pakistan F-16 contract too).

    Hey bmaz, why the “nose cone parts assembly” demo during the presser yesterday?

    The more I read, the more questions I have…

    I mean here are my hmmms…

    Warren AFB – Wyoming- Cheney – Northrup Grumman – Feith – AIPAC – Bolton – Taiwan

    Bolton is also under suspicion for his ties to Taiwan. Before joining the Bush administration, Bolton was on the payroll of the government of Taiwan, advocating UN membership for the breakaway island nation. Like Bolton’s secret trips to Israel, Britain, and other nations, Donald Keyser, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and a colleague of Bolton, made secret trips to Taiwan. He was arrested by the FBI in September 2004 after he was witnessed passing classified documents to Taiwanese agents in Washington.

    I was surprising reminded that outside of AIPAC, Taiwan was one of our larger lobbiests in DC.

    Now I hope it was a transcribed number…

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