First H-Series BUFF gets retired

After more than 45 years of service, the US Air Force has retired its first B-52H on July 24 seen here departing for Tinker AFB on its final flight. Built in 1961, this BUFF, tail number LA1023, served with the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB but was temporarily residing at Minot AFB due to parking limitations at Barksdale. This is the first of 18 retirements set to take place every two weeks and alternating between wings at Barksdale and Minot, the only remaining B-52 bases. The move will reduce the Air Force's fleet of Stratofortesses from 94 to 76 in an attempt to shave off maintenance and operational expenses. "It is easier and cheaper to modify and maintain 76 planes, than to keep all 94 up and running," said Master Sgt. Curtis Jensen, 5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron production superintendent. The 18 chosen to head for the retirement home are considered the "least airworthy" of the fleet. Instead of heading for the boneyard at AMARC, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona, the retired B-52s will be preserved in an airworthy status within an empty hangar at Tinker. I sure hope they have a hangar big enough for 18 B-52s. The H-series were the last B-52s to roll off the production line and the only series remaining in service today. NGB, anyone?

(U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Cassandra Jones)
(Air Force Link)

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Air Force Officers Fall Asleep With Nuke Codes

Fortunately, Wynne and Moseley can't be blamed for this one; but their replacements and many others connected to another Air Force nuclear faux pas have some serious explaining to do. CNN is reporting that US Air Force officers responsible for a component that contained deactivated launch codes for ICBMs fell asleep on the job in clear violation of protocol. Col. Dewey Ford, a spokesman for the Air Force Space Command in Colorado, told CNN that the incident took place on July 12 during a component swap that's used to "facilitate secure communications between an underground missile-control facility and missile silos near Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota." The electronic nuclear code component is considered classified by the Air Force unless you can slip past the sleeping guards. The four officers involved, who were responsible for keeping the component secure until it is returned to the base, placed it in a lockbox for temporary storage. Then Mr. Sandman paid them a visit and three of the four officers fell asleep for two to three hours according to Ford. Protocol requires at least 2 officers to be awake while they have the component in their custody. The electronic code component was later returned to Minot where an investigation was started by Missile Command, Space Command, the 20th Air Force and the National Security Agency. The Air Force claims neither the codes nor national security were compromised as the codes and the component remained in a secured facility; but that won't help these four guys or Air Force leadership as they get grilled for another embarrassing boo-boo. This follows a B-52 last year from Minot (of all places) that took a nice little cross-country flight with the crew unaware that six nuclear warheads were on board and the accidental shipping of ICBM parts to Taiwan in March. Many analysts contribute those incidents to the sacking of the former Secretary of the Air Force and Air Force Chief of Staff, so this blunder can't look good either.

(CNN)

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