US air force fires two more nuclear commanders amid leadership crisis

Obama Never Sleeps

From The Guardian:

The US air force has fired two more nuclear commanders and disciplined a third, fresh evidence of leadership lapses in a nuclear missile corps that has suffered several recent setbacks including the removal of its top commander. 

The most senior officer to be relieved of command was Colonel Carl Jones, second in command of the 90th Missile Wing at FE Warren air force base, Wyoming, in charge of 150 of the air force’s 450 Minuteman 3 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. 

He was dismissed on Monday “for a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership abilities” and reassigned as a special assistant to the wing commander. 

At the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, which also is responsible for 150 Minuteman 3 missiles, Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy “Keith” Brown was relieved of command “because of a loss of confidence in Brown’s ability to lead his squadron”, the air force said. 

Lieutenant Colonel John Sheets – a spokesman for Global Strike Command, which is in charge of the Air Force Minuteman 3 force as well as its nuclear bomber fleet – said an investigation “substantiated that Brown engaged in unlawful discrimination or harassment”. 

He added that the probe found that Brown “made statements to subordinates that created a perception within his squadron that pregnancy would negatively affect a woman’s career”.  

Sheets said Jones’s immediate superior, Colonel Tracey Hayes, removed Jones following an internal investigation that substantiated allegations of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and cruelty and maltreatment of a subordinate.