By Geoff Fein
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead has signed out a memo establishing a new Navy Nuclear Weapon Senior Leaders Council to strengthen the ties among the major nuclear weapons functions in the Navy.
The Director, Navy Staff (DNS) has been designated as the primary flag officer responsible for coordinating all Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) staff responsibilities for nuclear weapons under an OPNAV Nuclear Weapons Council, Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman, told Defense Daily yesterday.
The DNS has also been directed to establish with the Director, Strategic Systems Programs (DIRSSP) and Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, a new Navy Nuclear Weapon Senior Leaders Council to strengthen the ties among the three major nuclear weapons functions in the Navy: Operations, Material Support, and Oversight, Davis added.
Roughead signed the memo Sept. 19.
The Navy Nuclear Weapon Senior Leaders Council comes on the heels of the February 2008 Defense Science Board (DSB) report on the Unauthorized Movement of Nuclear Weapons.
Following publication of the DSB report, the Navy established a Navy Nuclear Weapons Enterprise Review Group to evaluate all 123 DSB recommendations along with the findings and recommendations of Adm. Kirkland Donald’s investigative report. Donald is the director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion.
The DSB recommended that “The CNO should establish an office within N3/N5 headed by a flag officer whose daily business is the nuclear enterprise.”
In June, the Pentagon received a report from Donald critical of the Air Force’s handling of nuclear weapon mishaps and its nuclear culture (Defense Daily, June 6).
The report was a critical factor in the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley.
Donald investigated the accidental shipment to Taiwan of four MK-12 forward-section reentry vehicle assemblies, devices that arm and fuse nuclear warheads. During the probe “a decline in the Air Force’s nuclear mission focus and performance became apparent,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at a June press briefing (Defense Daily, June 6).
Donald’s investigation also identified commonalities between the Air Force’s unauthorized transfer in August 2007 of nuclear weapons aboard a B-52 flown from Minot AFB, N.D., to Barksdale AFB, La., and this [Taiwan] event, Gates said in June.
Donald’s report was classified.
Davis said one recommendation that came out of the DSB review was to reorganize the enterprise.
That effort will entail oversight of how the Navy manages its nuclear weapons program, he added.
“We are absolutely committed to the safe and secure operation of the nation’s nuclear arsenal. The cornerstone of our efforts is our commitment to rigorously self-assess, identify and implement organizational, procedural and policy improvements necessary to ensure that the highest levels of custody and accountability are maintained,” Davis said.
“While Navy’s nuclear weapons program is sound, we are taking action today to ensure a leadership oversight system is in place to monitor nuclear weapon activities and establish a culture of continuous assessment and improvement,” he added.