By Marina Malenic
Nuclear oversight has eroded at all levels of the Defense Department, but the Navy mission has not suffered from the same difficulties found in the Air Force, according to a commission examining U.S. nuclear weapons oversight.
The Task Force on DoD Nuclear Weapons Management has recommended that an assistant secretary position responsible for coordinating the nuclear management be established in the Pentagon. The Pentagon should also give the Joint Chiefs of Staff a greater authority in nuclear oversight, the new report states.
James Schlesinger, chairman of the commission, said yesterday that he senses a “willingness” in the Pentagon leadership to do so.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ office released a statement saying that “no one should doubt our capabilities or our resolve to defend U.S. and allies’ interests by deterring aggression.” Later in the day, department spokesman Geoff Morrell said Gates plans to discuss the recommendations with incoming Pentagon officials yet to be named by President- elect Barack Obama before making any commitment to implement the panel’s recommendations.
The report is the second of two critiques on DoD nuclear oversight. In September, the commission released its highly critical assessment of the Air Force’s nuclear mission. The first report called on the Air Force to reconsolidate responsibilities for nuclear weapons management under a single command and to re-energize interest in its nuclear career fields (Defense Daily, Sept. 15).
Failings in Defense Department nuclear oversight are similar to those in the Air Force, Schlesinger said. He cited dispersed personnel, lack of training in deterrence doctrine and a lack of knowledge about “the unique role nuclear weapons must play.”
The one exception noted by the panel was the Navy’s nuclear weapons. Schlesinger said there was no evidence of degradation in that mission. He commended the Navy for its performance and said the Air Force has been “immensely responsive” to the commission’s first report.
The report includes 82 recommendations for more resources, personnel and training for nuclear activities. The earlier report contained 180 recommendations for corrective action. Defense officials said that first round of changes alone are likely to cost up to $1.5 billion to implement. They had no estimate yet on the second group of recommendations.
Meanwhile, the Defense Science Board has also issued a report critical of Air Force nuclear inspections. That panel, which is organized under the Office of the Secretary of Defense, criticized the service’s nuclear inspection officials for failing to inform leaders of the erosion of their system. It also recommended the Defense Threat Reduction Agency be given temporary authority over the inspection process.