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Washington (CNN) -- Nine Air Force commanders lost their jobs in the wake of a cheating scandal involving systemic cheating on tests by officers in the U.S. nuclear missile program, officials from that military branch said Thursday.
Washington (CNN) -- Nine Air Force commanders lost their jobs in the wake of a cheating scandal involving systemic cheating on tests by officers in the U.S. nuclear missile program, officials from that military branch said Thursday.
The fired officers
were in "leadership positions" at Malmstrom Air Force Base in
Montana, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said. Though not directly
involved in cheating, "they failed to provide adequate oversight of their
crew force," according to James.
In addition, Col.
Robert Stanley -- head of the 341st Missile Wing and a 25-year veteran --
"relinquished command" and submitted his resignation Thursday
morning, said Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, the commander of the Air Force's Global
Strike Command.
"Leadership's
focus on perfection led commanders to micromanage their people," said
Wilson, pointing to pressure to get 100% scores on monthly proficiency exams
when only 90% was necessary to pass. "... Leaders lost sight of the fact
that execution in the field is more important than what happens in the
classroom."
James said
Thursday that 100 lower-level officers were at one point implicated in the
ordeal -- having either been accused directly of cheating or having looked the
other way. Nine of those have been cleared and will be allowed to return to
duty, while others could face punishments ranging from letters of counseling to
courts-martial on various charges.
These disciplinary
measures are only part of the response, however. James and Wilson both referred
to a number of changes to address this incident as well as far-reaching issues
with morale, micromanagement and more among those in the Air Force's
intercontinental ballistic missile program.
"The issues
that we have before us today are tough, and they didn't come overnight,"
said James. "... While we have progress in certain areas in recent years,
there is more work to be done."
Military
investigators stumbled into the cheating scandal while looking into alleged
drug activity involving airmen. Three of their targets in the drug probe
happened to work as missile crew members at Malmstrom, which is how
investigators got access to their cell phones -- and "found test material
on them," according to Wilson.
Authorities previously
said the cheating took place last August and September at the Montana base,
with officers using texts and pictures to cheat on their proficiency exams.
But Wilson said
Thursday that such behavior actually went well beyond that, having occurred as
far back as November 2011 and as recently as November 2013.
The whole
Malmstrom scheme centered on four individuals, three of whom were being
investigated in the drug probe, according to Wilson.
"If we would
have removed those, then this incident probably would never have
happened," he added.
About 190 officers
oversee the readiness of nuclear weapons systems at the Montana base, meaning
the episode tainted a large percentage of that force in some way. James said
she found worrisome not just that airmen cheated directly, but that no one --
whether or not they were directly involved -- spoke up.
The Air Force
officials said investigators didn't find any indication of similar cheating on
other bases tied to the missile program, though they pointed to common issues
elsewhere when it comes to the program's management.
To that end,
Wilson said he has a list of "400 action items" to possible address
those issues. Some are simple, like grading the monthly proficiency on a simple
pass/fail metric. Others are more complicated, though all have a common aim of
ensuring the nuclear weapons program is run smartly and effectively by
satisfied, capable military personnel with high integrity.
"Our nation
demands and deserves the higher standards of accountability from the force
entrusted with the most powerful weapon on the planet," Wilson said.
"We are committed to living up to those standards."
CNN's Shirley Henry
and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/us/air-force-cheating-investigation/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
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