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General Turgidson!

“When you instituted the human reliability tests, you *assured* me there was *no* possibility of such a thing *ever* occurring!”

stnglove.jpg

“Well, I, uh, don’t think it’s quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir”

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20 comments to General Turgidson!

  • P-3W

    Yeah, well. There went at least one Air Force career.

    Oops.

    (ed. link all fixed)

  • Best. Movie. Ever. (That scratching sound you here is Curtis Lemay clawing his way out of his grave to have a little chat with all concerned…)

  • ’twas wondering how long before this hit the streets — fellow worker with me is a former Buff B/N who’d spent a healthy bit of time @ Barksdale. When we read the first reports, well, we thought the Wing Cdr would be toast, right off the bat…but just the munitions squadron cdr?
    -SJS

  • Tom G.

    Hehe…thanks for the chuckle – this must be part of the psyops run-up to conflict that dkos sailor alluded to…

  • “Shoot, a fella’ could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.”

  • Nice preflight by the crew…

    I’d like to think if I had a nuke on board, I’d catch it on the walk around.

    As my Drill Instructor, GYSGT Jones, USMC used to say, “Attention to detail girls, it may save your life someday. Then again, maybe it won’t.”

    Nose

  • DoesNotMatter

    @Nose
    The article makes it sound, to me, that they knew had cruise missiles on the wing and further that these missiles were supposed to have had their payload removed.

    Sure that this was recent ? Sounds awfully similar in concept to how the nuke in Clancy’s “Sum of All Fears” was lost.

  • Ray

    When that damage report comes in, a lot more people will get assigned to scenic air force weather observation posts in Alaska, I’ll bet.

  • rpl

    My all time favorite movie. I’d quote lines, but we’d still be here next week.

  • I have no shame, I’ll be feeding you, and that machine gun in yer golf bag. And preserving your essence, too.

    Oh, and please don’t hurt me, but fluoride in the water doesn’t do a damned bit of good for grownups, whose teeth have already formed.

    Some think it might combine with aluminum salts to hasten the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease in those who are already susceptible.

    Fluoride in the water is good for kids whose teeth are still growing.

    For grownups, not so much. We do better with fluoride rinses for our teeth, which we are cautioned to spit out, and not swallow

  • Brian

    I agree with Nose – you’d think that a cruise missile with a nuke would look a little bit different than one without. And what about all them armed guards who are supposed to provide security for the nukes? Last time I was around the flight deck when there may or may not have been something of that genre being attended to there were Marines everywhere to keep us respectful. Did the AF guards just take the day off, or something?

  • Well, think about it — the warhead is inside the missile, and once the thing is assembled a pilot or ordinance tech isn’t going to unscrew the thing, check the color of the weight in front, then screw it back together again. For all intents, to the flight crew a dummy and a real weapon are all the same — training has to be realistic after all.

    The foul-up here was clearly with the crew doing the ordinance handling prior to it being placed aboard the aircraft.

    – Max

  • Mike Kozlowski

    MaxDamage -

    Actually, the ordnance guys – USAF Ammo – are blameless. They were told to grab a trailer with six dummy missiles on a pylon and haul it to the flightline. They never looked to see if they were live because the trailer number was shown in Ammo Control as carrying dummy weapons. Yes, the trainers are indistinguishable from the real thing (until you get about 6 inches away), and the transport crews had no reason to look.

    Mike Kozlowski

  • Just as the captain of the ship is responsible for everything that goes on on the ship, the Aircraft Commander (or whatever the USAF term is) is responsible for what is in/on his jet.

    I’m thinking if I’m doing a walk-around and I see what MIGHT be an ALCM hangin on my wing or in my bomb bay, I’m gonna get within Mike K’s 6 inches and make damn sure I got what I think I got.

    Mike Kozlowski: you said {Yes, the trainers are indistinguishable from the real thing (until you get about 6 inches away), and the transport crews had no reason to look.}

    I’m gonna think that they DID have a reason to look. It was proved on this flight. Nobody is blameless, every single person that had anything to do with weapons on this aircraft, from the lowest airman to the knucklehead that flew it is responsible.

    Nose

    PS Mike, love the name. Good luck with the girl with the eyeballs in her hair…

  • Therapist1

    Great post, I love that movie!!

  • NSC

    That’s one wing commander who will never make General. If he keeps his job at all.

  • Albany Rifles

    “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room. ”

    &

    “Mr. President, I’m not saying we wouldn’t get our hair mussed, but I do say no more then ten to twenty million killed, tops. Depending on the breaks.”

    &

    “Mr. President, we must not allow a mineshaft gap! ”

    Okay, that’ s enough.

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