by Claudette Roulo, DoD News, Defense Media Activity
2/17/2015 - MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Deputy
Defense Secretary Bob Work said morale is strong at Minot Air Force
Base after he visited facilities and spoke with Airmen Feb. 11, at the
only base to host two legs of the nuclear triad.
Work spent the day visiting the base, home to the 91st Missile Wing,
responsible for the operation and maintenance of Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the 5th Bomb Wing, which flies
the B-52H Stratofortress bomber.
The visit provided the deputy secretary with an opportunity to speak
with service members and get a first-hand look at the issues he has been
discussing in Washington as chairman of the Nuclear Deterrent
Enterprise Review Group.
"Nothing's better than being able to look the troops in the eye and ...
hear what they're saying," he said. "I now know what a 'rising B-plug'
is and what it looks like, and I understand all of the different
challenges they're facing. It's really good to put eyes on target."
Renewed Effort to Improve Quality of Life
Following a string of incidents dating back to March 2013, when
missile-launch crews failed an inspection, the Defense Department has
focused renewed effort on improving the quality of life for service
members and families at the base.
Some of the facilities the deputy secretary saw during his tour dated
back to the 1950s, and are under scrutiny as part of the initiative to
reinvigorate the nuclear force.
"These systems are so old that right now what happens is (Airmen) will
order a part and the part has to be fabricated -- there are not a lot of
parts on the shelves -- so it takes longer for them to get parts than
they would like," Work said.
Outdated facilities and equipment haven't stopped the Airmen at Minot
from performing their mission, Work said. The sign over the base's gate
reads "Only the Best Come North," and outside-the-box thinking by
operators and maintainers is keeping the mission on track, he said.
"Some of the stuff they're doing is just amazing," the deputy secretary
said. "The stuff they're doing in there is just unbelievable. ... It's
because the troops are so damn good, so, the mission-capable rate of the
missiles is really quite high. But man, they're so old."
Airmen Outline Concerns
Work held a private lunch with 12 Air Force maintainers who outlined
some of their concerns for the deputy secretary. The Airmen agreed that
the attention focused on the aging missile and bomber fleets is
beginning to bear fruit, he said.
"They've seen the improvements in manning already occurring, they were
very happy about that," the deputy secretary said. "The one area that
they're worried about is the overall experience level of the force."
As manning levels are brought back up, mid-level NCOs are leading an
increasing number of new, inexperienced Airmen. At the same time, those
NCOs aren't as experienced as the service would like, Work said.
"That's going to be something that, as the force grows, we'll grow out of it," the deputy secretary said.
Will the Focus Continue?
The Airmen he spoke with all are encouraged by the changes, he said, but
they wondered if the attention would continue under the next defense
secretary.
"I told them, 'Look, Ash Carter is literally a nuclear physicist. This
is one of the areas that he really is both strong on and thinks very
much about.' I told them that I thought it would continue, and certainly
as long as I was the deputy secretary, it will continue," Work said.
He added that morale is high.
"The troops were dedicated to the mission," Work said. "Overall, I was pretty pleased."
Friday, February 20, 2015
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