Word: airs
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...according to an internal U.S. Air Force report, the sites are falling short of Department of Defense requirements, with fencing and security systems in need of repair, thin rotations that often lead to staffing shortages, and responsibilities falling to inadequately trained foreign security personnel...
...stir in February after a summary of its findings identified an overall slip in nuclear weapons safety that allowed a B-52 bomber to carry six live nuclear warheads across the U.S. last year. The report led U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to force the resignations of the Air Force's top civilian and military leaders earlier this month...
...full text of the document, obtained by Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and posted on his blog, shows the extent to which U.S. Air Force inspectors worry about the safety of weapons in Europe...
...Belgian Defense Ministry spokesman, Commander Olivier Séverin, denied that security was lax at the Kleine Brogel Air Base in northeastern Belgium, where the FAS estimates the U.S. keeps 20 bombs. "We have professionalized the guards in all our installations," he said. "These are not conscripts but professional soldiers. Not only that, but everyone is trained specifically for security at air bases. The proof is that there have been no major incidents at our installations...
...arrangement can be politically uncomfortable: when Belgian Defense Minister Pieter De Crem admitted for the first time in January that the country even housed U.S. weapons, the revelation caused a national controversy, with opposition MPs demanding - in vain - for them to be removed immediately. In 2001, when the Greek air force ordered a new fighter jet, it chose a model that could not carry the B-61, forcing the U.S. to withdraw its weapons...