Nuclear Missile duty burnout

   Firstly, I'm going to post a link here to the story so you can refresh your memory and/or collect a few facts of where I am going on this topic.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ap-exclusive-nuke-missile-troubles-run-deep-study-finds-job-burnout-among-launch-officers/2013/11/20/be60bf12-5246-11e3-9ee6-2580086d8254_story.html


   When I saw this article this morning, a bit of anxiety hit me.  Our Nation is in much dire straits then what is told or known by most of it's citizens, admitted to by it's Politician's, or truly attended to by it's 'civil servants'.  A private organization such as RAND should not have found such disarray within our final protective option.  It should have been identified by the Officers of all the Branches of Service involved, this is their failure of duty, past and present.
   To now begin to parse this article and it's meaning:  "The study, provided to the AP in draft form, also cites heightened levels of misconduct like spousal abuse and says court-martial rates in the nuclear missile force in 2011 and 2012 were more than twice as high as in the overall Air Force."
   Again, this is a failure of leadership, not only Air Force, but of the 'Commander-In-Chief" as well.  This is what happens to every Nation whose national leader is so disconnected from the very Nation he/she leads, that rot starts at the top and runs downhill, contrary to physical nature.  This is history proven.

     "Late last year the Air Force directed RAND, a federally funded research house, to conduct a three-month study of attitudes among the men and women inside the ICBM force. It found a toxic mix of frustration and aggravation, heightened by a sense of being unappreciated, overworked, micromanaged and at constant risk of failure." 

    Should I eat crow now after this paragraph...no.  Because still, it took an independent outside agency to find and identify the problems that exist within.  With all the history, knowledge, and resources at hand to the Air Force and DoD, this entire situation should have been handled within.  But this again, goes to the the very core problem that exist to the U.S. Armed Forces, the huge political hands and meddling by past and fore mostly, the current Presidential Administration.
    The barbarians outside the 'walls' of the USA, are growing stronger, more numerous while our Armed Services are growing weaker.  Again, this is history proven.
    I am going to take a sentence of the last paragraph and point out something you may or may not see:

 "It found a toxic mix of frustration and aggravation, heightened by a sense of being unappreciated, overworked, micromanaged and at constant risk of failure."  

   Where does the U.S. Military get it's personnel??  Yes, our populace, our civilian citizens.  What is reported and said about the military personnel can easily translate into any company, corporation, and/or college in the United States.  The current generations that are making up the majority of the Armed Forces now come from the influences and cultures they grew up in.  I believe any psychologist and historian can understand the direction and thought I am taking on this.
    In the civilian world, despite the USA at 13 - 17% unemployment (depending on which poll you believe), the common complaint employers say is: "I can't get anyone dependable to show up on time or at all."  This is most often aimed at younger generations.  So the problem is systemic to our younger generations due to the cultures of the United States.
 
 "...responses to confidential questionnaires — RAND found low job satisfaction and workers distressed by staff shortages, equipment flaws and what they felt were stifling management tactics."

    Problems that Staff Officers and Senior NCO's should have identified.  Problems that our Congress should have inquired about ensured were corrected.  Problems the President should have inquired about and as well, ensured they were corrected.  But instead, everyone is more concerned about their own fiefdoms, power, money, vacations, and not the Nation.  They can all point fingers at each other and be correct.


   "Andrew Neal, 28, who completed a four-year tour in September with F.E. Warren’s 90th Missile Wing in Wyoming, where he served as a Minuteman 3 launch officer, said he saw marked swings in morale.
“Morale was low at times — very low,” Neal said in an interview, though he added that his comrades worked hard.  Neal says his generation has a different view of nuclear weapons."

   Mr. Neal makes my point even more relevant discussing generational differences.  I'm quite sure the men and women at all of these sites do work hard and with diligence, but that cultural influence is what has crept into them and created the current problems.

    “We all acknowledge their importance, but at the same time we really don’t think the mission is that critical,” Neal said, adding that his peers see the threat of full-scale nuclear war as “simply nonexistent.” So “we practice for all-out nuclear war, but we know that isn’t going to happen.”

   The naivety of many generations and the populace of the United States which as well, is a history proven fact that has history proven disastrous results. 

   Recently two Flag Officers were removed for conduct reasons, so generation and cultural influences can not totally be blamed for what is the problem within the ranks.  But they are a major factor.  Problems 'at the top' are not exclusive to the Military, we see every day, CEO's, Congress members, Governors, Mayors, Police Chiefs, being dismissed or failing at their positions for various reason.  Often, it's cultural and societal influences that have made these people make the choices they did.  No one is holding a gun to their heads.

 I need to wind this up before you get too bored dear reader.

    "In a little-noticed report published in April, a Pentagon advisory group that has studied the nuclear mission said weaknesses in the way the Air Force manages its ICBM workforce have made it hard to maintain.
“This should be a cause for serious concern,” the Defense Science Board advisory group concluded.
It said the problem is especially acute in notoriously frigid Minot, where the Air Force has had trouble keeping people in its maintenance and security forces. Harsh climate is no excuse, it said.
“Minot weather has always been Minot weather. What has changed is the perception of negative career impacts, the slow response to concerns and the need for tangible evidence” that work conditions and equipment will improve, it said.
    Kehler, the retiring head of Strategic Command, acknowledges that with national security attention focused elsewhere, it’s easy to see why some nuclear warriors would be uneasy.
“What happens is, that translates into a very personal concern that’s out there in all parts of the nuclear force, and that is: What’s my future?”

    So in short, the problems are isolation, mechanical, managerial, and morale.  The United States needs it's Nuclear Forces for strategic political reasons and tactical response.  As I write this, Iran is negotiation hard to keep and expand it's nuclear power program and the World knows where the end game is at for that.
    Both Saudi Arabia and Turkey have approached nuclear Nations for the option of acquiring their own nuclear weapons.  The nuclear weapons are not going away any time soon.  So it is optimal that the United States rebuild and redouble it's own arsenals.
    The best option is in the following parts,  Firstly, keep and expand upon using the U.S. Navy submarine force.  Second, expand upon the stealth and drone bomber programs for delivery of smaller, more tactical nuclear weapons,  Thirdly, build mobile rocket forces just like the Russians have and do away with the in-ground missile silos. 
    The later is of an era long gone by and we need to leap into the future.  We're still using old hand key typewriters when today's users are using smart phones. That's the analogy of the in ground ICBM program.