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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2016)
Page 8A NATION/WORLD East Oregonian Saturday, January 23, 2016 Air Force: Human error damaged nuclear-armed missile WASHINGTON (AP) — Errors by three airmen trouble- shooting a nuclear missile in its launch silo in 2014 triggered D ³PLVKDS´ WKDW GDPDJHG WKH missile, prompting the Air Force to strip the airmen of their QXFOHDUFHUWL¿FDWLRQDQGTXLHWO\ launch an accident investiga- WLRQRI¿FLDOVVDLG)ULGD\ In a statement released to The Associated Press, the Air )RUFH GHFOLQHG WR SURYLGH NH\ additional details or a copy of the report produced last November by the Accident Investigation Board, saying the LQIRUPDWLRQ ZDV FODVVL¿HG DQG WRRVHQVLWLYHWREHPDGHSXEOLF Under the Air Force’s own regulations, Accident Investiga- tion Board reports are supposed WREHPDGHSXEOLF7KH$LU)RUFH did release a brief summary to the AP after it repeatedly sought answers for more than a \HDU7KHVXPPDU\VDLGWKHIXOO UHSRUWZDVFODVVL¿HGRQ1RY E\*HQ5RELQ5DQGZKR WRRNRYHUDVFRPPDQGHURI$LU )RUFH *OREDO 6WULNH &RPPDQG LQ-XO\ The Air Force said the accident caused no injuries and SRVHG QR ULVN WR SXEOLF VDIHW\ ,W VDLG WRS 3HQWDJRQ RI¿FLDOV were briefed on the results of the investigation in December, DVZHUHPHPEHUVRI&RQJUHVV The damaged missile was removed from its underground silo, which is designated Juliet-07 and situated among ZKHDW ¿HOGV DQG ZLQG WXUELQHV about nine miles west of Peetz, &RORUDGR7KHVLORRQHRILQ DFOXVWHURUÀLJKWWKDWVWUDGGOHV WKH &RORUDGR1HEUDVND ERUGHU LVFRQWUROOHGE\ODXQFKRI¿FHUV of the 320th Missile Squadron DQG DGPLQLVWHUHG E\ WKH WK 0LVVLOH:LQJDW)(:DUUHQ$LU )RUFH%DVHLQ:\RPLQJ The accident follows a period of turmoil inside the nuclear missile corps that the AP revealed in a series of articles and amid an emerging national debate about the FRVWV DQG EHQH¿WV RI LQYHVWLQJ hundreds of billions of dollars to modernize the entire strategic nuclear force at a time when ZDUFUDIWLVFKDQJLQJ The Minuteman 3 is the only land-based intercontinental ballistic missile in the nuclear IRUFH)LUVWGHSOR\HGLQLW East Coast storm will be deadly WASHINGTON (AP) — A storm that arrived postcard-pretty in the nation’s capital Friday was morphing into a painful, even paralyzing blizzard with gale-force winds pushing heavy snow and FRDVWDOÀRRGLQJ2QHLQ seven Americans could get at least half a foot of snow by Sunday, and Washington could see snowdrifts more WKDQIHHWKLJK 7KH¿UVWÀDNHVZHUH lovely, but forecasters warned that much, much PRUHZDVRQLWVZD\ Not that anyone will see the worst of it: Much heavier snow and wind gusting to 50 mph should create blinding whiteout conditions once the storm joins up with a low pressure system off the coast, said Bruce Sullivan, a forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College 3DUN0DU\ODQG Two feet or more of snowfall is forecast for Washington and Baltimore, and nearly as much for 3KLODGHOSKLD1HZ<RUN City’s expected total was upped Friday to a foot or PRUH%XW6XOOLYDQVDLG³WKH winds are going to be the real problem; that’s when we’ll see possible power RXWDJHV´ The result could create snowdrifts 4 to 5 feet high, so even measuring it for UHFRUGVFRXOGEHGLI¿FXOWKH VDLG By evening, wet, heavy snow was falling in the FDSLWDOPDNLQJGRZQHG SRZHUOLQHVPRUHOLNHO\DQG yet many people remained on the roads, Washington 0D\RU0XULHO%RZVHUVDLG ³)LQGDVDIHSODFHDQGVWD\ WKHUH´VKHEHVHHFKHG Anyone trying to travel in WKLVPHVVULVNVJHWWLQJVWXFN for hours, marooned in odd SODFHVRUNLOOHGDXWKRULWLHV ZDUQHG$WOHDVWVHYHQ people died in storm-related crashes before the worst of the storm, including Stacy Sherrill, whose car plummeted off an icy road Key ¿ndings in Associated Press missile corps probe Mozer O. Da Cunha/U.S. Air Force via AP In this July 28 image provided by the U.S. Air Force, Gen. Robin Rand speaks after taking command of Air Force Global Strike Command during a ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. long ago exceeded its planned service life, and the Air Force is developing plans for a replace- PHQW The Air Force’s brief summary of the Juliet-07 mishap said the Minuteman PLVVLOH ³EHFDPH QRQRSHU- DWLRQDO´ GXULQJ D GLDJQRVWLF test on the evening of May 7KH QH[W PRUQLQJ D ³PLVKDS FUHZ´ FKLHI ZKR ZDV QRWLGHQWL¿HG³GLGQRWFRUUHFWO\ DGKHUH WR WHFKQLFDO JXLGDQFH´ during troubleshooting efforts, ³VXEVHTXHQWO\ GDPDJLQJ WKH PLVVLOH´ 1R IXUWKHU GHWDLOV about the damage or errors were UHYHDOHG The investigation report summary said the actual cause of the accident, established E\ ³FOHDU DQG FRQYLQFLQJ HYLGHQFH´ LV FODVVL¿HG ,W VDLG there were four contributing factors to the accident, of ZKLFK LW LGHQWL¿HG WZR 2QH was the mishap chief’s failure WR IROORZ WHFKQLFDO JXLGDQFH The other was that the mishap FKLHI ³ODFNHG WKH QHFHVVDU\ SUR¿FLHQF\ OHYHO´ WR DQWLFLSDWH the consequences of his actions GXULQJWKHWURXEOHVKRRWLQJ In seeming contradiction of that second point, the Air Force said in its separate statement to the AP that the mishap team chief was properly trained for WKH WDVN KH ZDV SHUIRUPLQJ ,W said he and two other airmen on his team were immediately VWULSSHG RI WKHLU FHUWL¿FDWLRQ WRZRUNZLWKQXFOHDUZHDSRQV 7KH\ UHPDLQHG GHFHUWL¿HG IRU ³RYHU D \HDU´ XQWLO WKH\ were retrained and returned to QXFOHDUGXW\ /W &RO -RKQ 6KHHWV VSRNHVPDQ IRU $LU )RUFH *OREDO 6WULNH &RPPDQG VDLG it is possible that some or all of the three could still face disci- SOLQDU\DFWLRQ To prevent a recurrence of WKHLU PLVWDNH DQG WKH DFFLGHQW it caused, the Air Force said it KDV ³VWUHQJWKHQHG´ WHFKQLFDO JXLGDQFH PRGL¿HG WUDLQLQJ curriculum and shared informa- tion about the conditions that led to the mishap with other units that operate Minuteman 3 PLVVLOHV /W*HQ-DFN:HLQVWHLQZDV commander of the ICBM force DWWKHWLPHRIWKHLQFLGHQW7KH AP requested an interview with him but the Air Force declined WR PDNH KLP DYDLODEOH :HLQ- VWHLQLVQRZWKHWRSVWDIIRI¿FHU on nuclear matters at Air Force KHDGTXDUWHUVLQWKH3HQWDJRQ When the AP inquired about BRIEFLY LQ7HQQHVVHH+HUKXVEDQG survived after climbing for hours up a 300-foot HPEDQNPHQW ³7KH\¶UHVOLSSLQJDQG VOLGLQJDOORYHUWKHSODFH´ VDLG.HQWXFN\6WDWH3ROLFH Trooper Lloyd Cochran — DVVRRQDVRQHZUHFNZDV cleared, other cars slammed into each other, causing JULGORFNIRUKRXUVRQ LQWHUVWDWHKLJKZD\V &RQGLWLRQVTXLFNO\ became treacherous all DORQJWKHSDWKRIWKHVWRUP $UNDQVDVDQG7HQQHVVHHJRW LQFKHV.HQWXFN\JRWPRUH than a foot, and states across the Deep South grappled with icy, snow-covered URDGVDQGSRZHURXWDJHV Two tornadoes arrived along ZLWKWKHVQRZLQ0LVVLVVLSSL The storm could easily cause more than $1 billion in damage, weather service GLUHFWRU/RXLV8FFHOOLQLVDLG U.S. student held in North Korea, little information released CINCINNATI (AP) — 2I¿FLDOVLQ1RUWK.RUHD DQGWKH86UHOHDVHGOLWWOH information Friday about a university student from Ohio who was detained for what the authoritarian nation FDOOHGD³KRVWLOHDFW´ Otto Warmbier is the second person from southwest Ohio to be detained in North Korea LQOHVVWKDQWZR\HDUV$ Dayton-area man, Jeffrey Fowle, was held for nearly VL[PRQWKVLQ North Korea’s state media said the University of Virginia student entered the country under the guise of a tourist and plotted against North Korean unity with ³WKHWDFLWFRQQLYDQFHRIWKH 86JRYHUQPHQWDQGXQGHU LWVPDQLSXODWLRQ´7KHGDWH of his arrest was unclear, as were any details of what he GLG 2KLR*RY-RKQ.DVLFK campaigning in New Hampshire as a Republican presidential candidate, called WKHDUUHVW³LQH[FXVDEOH´+LV &ROXPEXVRI¿FHUHOHDVHG a letter he sent to President %DUDFN2EDPDXUJLQJKLV Democratic administration WR³PDNHHYHU\HIIRUWWR VHFXUH0U:DUPELHU¶V LPPHGLDWHUHOHDVHDQGNHHS (his) family constantly DSSULVHG´.DVLFKVDLG1RUWK Korea should either provide evidence of the alleged anti-state activities or release :DUPELHU A China-based tour company specializing in WUDYHOWR1RUWK.RUHD<RXQJ 3LRQHHU7RXUVFRQ¿UPHG that one of its customers, LGHQWL¿HGRQO\DV2WWRKDG been detained in Pyongyang, the North’s capital, but SURYLGHGQRRWKHUGHWDLOV Film academy president: ‘We need to step up’ Film academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs says that despite the organization’s internal efforts toward inclusion, a second year of all-white acting Oscar nominees made KHUWKLQN³:HQHHGWRVWHS WKLVXS´ Boone Isaacs announced Friday that the academy will double the number of female and minority members by the accident in December 2014, Sheets said no details could be released until after the accident investigation board KDG FRPSOHWHG LWV ZRUN DQG SUHVHQWHG LWV ¿QGLQJV WR WKH FRPPDQGHU RI *OREDO 6WULNH &RPPDQG +H DVVXUHG WKH $3 that the investigation report would be made public, although ZKHQ WKH $3 ¿OHG D UHTXHVW for it in March 2015 under the Freedom of Information Act, the Air Force denied the request, saying the information ZDV ³H[HPSW IURP PDQGDWRU\ GLVFORVXUH´DQGZRXOGEHZLWK- held from release because it FRQVLVWHG RI ³DGYLFH RSLQLRQV evaluations or recommenda- WLRQV´ Sheets later said the report was not yet complete but would be made public as required XQGHU $LU )RUFH UHJXODWLRQV He subsequently amended WKDWVD\LQJVHQLRURI¿FLDOVKDG decided the information was too VHQVLWLYHWRUHOHDVH The Air Force’s own legal RI¿FHVD\VWKHSXUSRVHRIDQDFFL- dent investigation is to provide a publicly releasable report of the facts and the circumstances of WKHDFFLGHQW$Q$LU)RUFHRUGHU dated April 14, 2015, is explicit DERXWWKLV (AP) — Over the past two and a half years, The Associated Press has documented evidence of security problems, low morale and other troubles in the nation’s nuclear PLVVLOHFRUSV ,Q$SULOODXQFKRI¿FHUVLQ WKHVW0LVVLOH:LQJDW0LQRW$LU)RUFH %DVH1RUWK'DNRWDZHUHWDNHQRIIGXW\DQG JLYHQZHHNVRIUHPHGLDOWUDLQLQJDIWHUEHLQJ IRXQGXQ¿WWRSHUIRUP7KHZLQJ¶VGHSXW\ commander of operations complained of ³URW´LQWKHIRUFH7KHRI¿FHULQFKDUJHRI FUHZWUDLQLQJDQGSUR¿FLHQF\ZDV¿UHG The 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, failed a safety- DQGVHFXULW\LQVSHFWLRQ1LQHGD\VODWHU WKHRI¿FHULQFKDUJHRIVHFXULW\IRUFHVZDV UHOLHYHGRIGXW\7KHXQLWSDVVHGDGRRYHULQ 2FWREHU An internal Air Force review of the Malmstrom inspection, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that the inspection failed because security forces did not respond adequately to a VLPXODWHGKRVWLOHWDNHRYHURIDVLORKRXVLQJD QXFOHDUPLVVLOH7KH$LU)RUFHLPSOHPHQWHG numerous corrective measures, mainly designed to increase and improve security IRUFHVWUDLQLQJ In October 2013 the Air Force removed 0DM*HQ0LFKDHO&DUH\IURPFRPPDQG of the 20th Air Force, which is responsible for the entire Minuteman 3 missile force, for HPEDUUDVVLQJGUXQNHQEHKDYLRULQ5XVVLD In January 2014 dozens of missile ODXQFKRI¿FHUVZHUHLPSOLFDWHGLQDFKHDWLQJ scandal at Malmstrom and were stripped RIWKHLUFHUWL¿FDWLRQLQZKDWWKH$LU)RUFH called the largest such breach of integrity LQWKHQXFOHDUIRUFH7KHFKHDWLQJLQYROYHG WKHPRQWKO\WHVWRQWKHLUNQRZOHGJHRIKRZ WRRSHUDWHWKHPLVVLOHV7KDWVFDQGDOZDV revealed as part of a drug-use investigation WKDWLQYROYHGWKUHH,&%0ODXQFKRI¿FHUV ,Q0DUFKWKH$LU)RUFH¿UHGQLQH midlevel nuclear commanders and supervisors, allowed a senior commander to resign and said it would discipline dozens RIMXQLRURI¿FHUVLQUHVSRQVHWRWKHH[DP FKHDWLQJVFDQGDODW0DOPVWURP 2Q1RYWKH$LU)RUFH¿UHGD missile squadron commander at Minot and UHDVVLJQHGWKHYLFHFRPPDQGHURIWKHWK 0LVVLOH:LQJDW)(:DUUHQ$LU)RUFH%DVH LQ:\RPLQJWRDQRQFRPPDQGVWDIIMRE Also, a colonel in charge of all three missile squadrons at Minot was given administrative SXQLVKPHQWEXWQRWUHPRYHGIURPFRPPDQG 2Q1RY'HIHQVH6HFUHWDU\+DJHO ordered top-to-bottom changes in how the 86QXFOHDUIRUFHLVRSHUDWHGDQGPDQDJHG The changes came after a series of stories from the AP that revealed problems in the SELF DEFENSE 2020, and will immediately diversify its leadership by adding three new seats to its board of governors, to be ¿OOHGLQWKHFRPLQJZHHNV The academy now aims for women to comprise 48 percent of its membership DQG³GLYHUVHJURXSV´DWOHDVW SHUFHQWDVDQLQLWLDOVWHS The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 51-member board of governors unanimously approved a series of reforms ODWH7KXUVGD\WR³EHJLQ WKHSURFHVVRIVLJQL¿FDQWO\ changing our membership FRPSRVLWLRQ´%RRQH,VDDFV VDLGIROORZLQJDZHHNORQJ storm of criticism and calls for an Oscar boycott because RIWKHODFNRIGLYHUVLW\ DPRQJQRPLQHHV Some of Hollywood’s most prominent African- Americans, including Will 6PLWKDQG6SLNH/HHKDYH said they won’t attend this year’s Oscar ceremony, which is to be hosted by &KULV5RFN Boone Isaacs DFNQRZOHGJHGWKDWWKH academy can only honor ¿OPVWKDWXOWLPDWHO\JHW PDGHEXWVKHWKLQNVWKH changes announced today ZLOO³PRYHWKHQHHGOH´LQDOO DVSHFWVRI¿OPPDNLQJ Learn a full range of self-defense techniques, including: Awareness, home security, verbal de-escalation, evading and escaping maneuvers. This is a contact class. Age 12 and up. Class size is limited to 20 students. Must pre-register. Call 541-667-3509. January 28 • 6:00 - 8:00pm GSMC Conference Center 2 HEALTHY FRIDAYS Free health screenings: Blood pressure checks, weigh-ins, body mass index, cholesterol and glucose. First Friday of each month 9:30 - 11:30am Third Friday of each month 2:00-4:00pm GSMC Conference Center 7 (by Education Dept) TAI CHI - MOVING FOR BETTER BALANCE FREE class to work on balance, strengthen muscles, improve posture and core strength and reduce stress. Great for all ages! Mondays • 10:30-11:15am GSMC Wellness Center (behind the hospital) THERA-BANDS BASIC MOVES Help tone and strengthen muscles, improve posture, and reduce stress. We use resistance bands for a flexibility workout that increases overall health. Class is free. Thera-bands are $5 each. Tuesdays & Thursdays • 9:00 - 9:30am GSMC Wellness Center (behind the hospital) BANDS AND BEYOND Learn strength training exercises and improve balance using free-weights, stability balls, Thera- bands and more. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes. Class is free. Thera-bands are $5 each. Tuesdays & Thursdays • 9:30 - 10:00am GSMC Wellness Center (behind the hospital) QUIT TOBACCO Have you tried to quit tobacco, but found you needed support? Contact our tobacco cessation specialist to schedule your free consultation. Group sessions can also be scheduled by employers. Call 541-667- 3509 for more info or to schedule an appointment. For information or to register for a class, call (541) 667-3509 or email healthinfo@gshealth.org
