In a plane , silo, sub , etc? I wonder what kind of extra rules they have? Now or in the past.
Know a guy who was Air Force and he had to go into silos to check radios. They had a long list and it was common to skip some items on the list. Over 2 weeks all items were checked. One day a new officer pulled a gun on him for skipping items. the other officer was more senior and told him to put the gun away. The guy who pulled the gun was quickly transferred out.
I used to, and do now (although in a different capacity).
Your scenario is wildly implausible–weapons are not drawn for checklist violations. Levels of various response are made for unauthorized access though. The following statement depends on the Officer’s AFSC: If your “new officer” drew a weapon for a checklist violation though, then yes, he would be quickly removed from duty. Security Forces’ Airmen are armed. I do not recall Missileers being armed.
However, checklists are followed to the letter and any violations of “read, verify, perform, check” are taken very seriously, to include the de-certification of ‘working status’ which basically removes the person from certain activities until an investigation is complete (an unpaid suspension).
Tripler
I need a little more information on the story you’d heard.
This sentence made me burst out laughing, imagining some kind of strange nuclear ‘Dr. Seuss’ contraption.
The closest I came was with a claimed nuclear depth charge when I was in the Royal Navy.
It was on a trolley in the hanger magazine - I had to push it out of the way because it was making it difficult to get through the side hatch to the hanger where I needed to do some maintenance work on some headsets.
I believe it wasn’t real anyway - just an exercise tool to train staff in the correct protocols in handling such things - someone told me that it had a little chunk out of the yellow paintwork and it was actually a concrete lump.
story I posted above happened around 1980 was told to me around 1985. Things could be a lot different now. Maybe the officer brought in his own pistol? I would not think they had metal detectors at the door but maybe they did. I posted what he told me so he might have left out details.
I’m still smelling a “tall tale.” Missileers at the Missile Alert Facilities (MAFs) don’t need to bring their own sidearms–there’s an entire platoon of armed Security Forces Airmen up ‘topside’. Even if the Alert Crew closed the blast doors, having firearms in the capsule wouldn’t be a good idea, for two reasons:
A) It provides one Officer the means to coerce the other into a course of action;
B) “Ryan, be careful what you shoot at–most things in here don’t react well to bullets.”
I’m not suggesting your friend is pulling your leg, but I am leaning towards your friend’s leg having been pulled.
Tripler
First tour was Minot, ND–"'cause freezin’s the reason!".
Missed the edit window: I forgot the OP had indicated silos. Same thing applies; not sure why folks in the silo would need a sidearm, when there’s a couple of squads of armed Security Forces topside.
Tripler
. . . and we’re going to lean even more heavily on Reason “B” in a silo.
Yes, I was involved with nuclear weapons for several years in the Air Force.
There were certain rules. For example, one person was never alone with weapons.
Personnel were required to wear ID badges for our specific area; access was on a need only basis. No personnel wandered around the facility.
Maintenance was especially critical, and the closest image I can give to compare it to an surgical operating room with its procedures to avoid errors.
This was all 50 years ago.
it’s possible the AF guy embellished the story but I don’t think he made it up from nothing.
I know in 80s all AF officers were trained on using a pistol but that does not mean they carried one. A friend was at the AF OTS and he said it was funny the SPs would eat in the cafeteria with their M16s on the floor next to their table. And they went thought the line with their M16s which makes sense so nobody would steal them.
This is still the case, anywhere with nuclear weapons or Special Nuclear Material. The “two-person” concept still exists in production, logistical, and deployment areas.
This is true, and still is. I was an Air Force Officer, now retired (wow–five years this month) and also qualified on several rifles for my AFSC, and also qualified on the M60 and M249. I carried none of them routinely, but did carry an M9 and M4 while deployed. The “pull a weapon on a paperwork discrepancy” is not a policy, but there is a “grab him by the collar before he does something f*ckin’ stupid on the firing line” policy.
I was a ‘hands on’ Officer. As in, I did a lot of ‘hands on the floor’ (pushups) when I goofed up in my NCOs’ training pipeline.
Tripler
Yes, I asked my Sergeants to train me, and they did damn well.
In the book Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety by Eric Schlosser, there were references to the duty officers having a sidearm.
“The commander and the deputy commander at every Titan II site were issued .38 caliber revolvers, in case an intruder penetrated the underground complex or a crew member disobeyed orders. Transferring the weapons was part of the turnover checklist, when a new crew arrived for duty.” (p 28).
I assume that would have been in the 60s through the early 80s.
I’ve read that being part of the missile crew in North Dakota is considered one of the psychologically most dreary jobs in the entire USAF (maybe even entire US military,) is that so? Sitting there all day following checklists robotically while waiting for nothing to happen?
This completely unsourced anonymous blurb claims that, besides the constant checklists and drills, some missileers had time to pursue advanced degrees, as well as miniature golf, bingo, or whatever else they came up with.
Anyway, you can compare those long shifts with being a fireman, and similar duty,
Way back before the earth cooled we had a building at Nellis AFB that was for Nuclear stuff. It had a barb wire topped cyclone fence and a 24 hour armed guard that marched around the perimeter. Nobody was allowed inside except guys with special badges and visiting dignitaries and boy scout tours.
The facility that I served in had very serious access restrictions. Unless a person was assigned there, they had to get clearance for this specific area. I remember getting a call one day from our Security personnel at the gate. The base commander (who had access) was out of town, and his deputy decided to visit our area…he was not on the list of cleared individuals. The Security personnel said that he was insisting on entry. I told them to put him on the ground if he persisted. I then left my adjacent area and went to the gate with the problem. That deputy cussed me out worse than I thought possible, but left. The next day I got a phone call from the base commander thanking us for providing the correct procedures.
On a side note, my enlisted personnel were absolutely professional, regardless of specialty - nuclear, missile techs, other munitions maintenance/loading, EOD and so forth. Fortunately I listened and asked for their expertise. Often far more a partnership that a rigid chain of command, but still with me being ultimately responsible. Some of the most amazing people I’ve ever known. (I didn’t do pushups, but we did drink beer together.)
The Titan was in service from '63 to '87. I see your point (and had read the book) though. I’d never been to a Titan complex–they retired 12 years before I got in. I’m more familiar with the LGM-30 side of things.
I think Titan complexes were connected between Command centers and the silo itself. Minutemen complexes aren’t.
Tripler
Sidearms? I stand corrected.
My dad was briefly involved in the testing side of things back in the 50’s. He worked for the US Forest Service and assisted in setting up and instrumenting trees (145 Ponderosa Pines) that were specially transported to the test site.
This was part of Operation Upshot-Knothole (Encore & Grable).
I’ve got a Motorola Key Variable Loader, a keyfill device, that is ‘engraved’ (by hand) indicating that it was from Ellsworth AFB. I’ve often wondered if any really cool cold radio traffic was encrypted with it.
I have not seen them in a tunnel.
I have not seen them on a gunnel.
I have not seen them on a plane.
I have not seen them on a crane.
I have not used nucular bombs.
To do so just might give me qualms.
I do not like them, Slam-I-Psalms.
Also in the book mentioned above about command and control there was a large conventional explosion in a silo in Arkansas. Luckily the warhead did not go off. If it did go off Little Rock would have been wiped out.