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Gates Right Not To Tolerate Wayward Nukes And Mistakes

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2008

He didn't shoot from the hip, but when Defense Secretary Robert Gates finally felt sure he knew what was going wrong in the Air Force, he took steady aim at the top and fired both barrels.

By forcing out the Air Force's civilian secretary and the general who is chief of staff, Gates reinforces his message that commanders are responsible for what goes on in the ranks below.

Two shocking incidents sparked a thorough review. In one, a B-52 bomber flew from North Dakota to Louisiana carrying armed nuclear missiles, and the crew didn't know it.

For a while, no one else seemed to know either. The base didn't immediately realize nuclear weapons were missing.

The Air Force's attitude about it was too lackadaisical to suit Gates, who is worried about "a decline in the Air Force's nuclear mission focus and performance."

In another snafu, the Air Force mistakenly sent a shipment of fuses for nuclear missile warheads to Taiwan.

Gates, after studying an investigation of the incidents, saw "a pattern of poor performance."

His solution was to get the Air Force new leadership.

Gates did the same thing when poor patient conditions were reported at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He held medical officers accountable, but he also looked beyond the hospital and held the Army itself responsible, and found someone else to lead it.
Patient conditions improved remarkably.

Such strong action by Gates is a clear reminder to the military that it is ultimately controlled by elected leaders who answer to voters. In Gates' military, you're never in too high a spot to avoid the line of fire.

All human activities involve errors and oversights, but when treating wounded troops and hauling nuclear warheads, the margins for error must be kept slim.

The word is filtering from the top down through the ranks that passing the buck won't work with the current secretary of defense.

The nation can sleep easier knowing Gates is awake and taking names.

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