Drug, sex scandal shakes nuclear sub

The British sailors who spend their lives in submarines safeguarding the nation’s nuclear missiles are, without hyperbole, contenders for the most important job in the world.

The gravity of their mission is even evident in the names the British Royal Navy gave to the nuclear missile-equipped submarines that glide beneath the globe’s oceans: the Vanguard, the Victorious, the Vengeance, the Vigilant.

But several sailors on the HMS Vigilant have recently been dismissed after their mission devolved into more of a drug-fueled booze cruise — transgressions that happened last month as the sub was docked in the United States to pick up nuclear weapons.

According to the Associated Press, at least nine sailors tested positive for cocaine following “drug-fueled parties.” The Telegraph reported that one man had sex with a prostitute in a swimming pool.

“We do not tolerate drugs misuse by service personnel. Those found to have fallen short of our high standards face being discharged from service,” a Royal Navy spokesman said, according to Reuters.

But, as British media pointed out, the problems aboard the Vigilant run deeper.

Aboard every Vanguard-class sub is a safe that only the commander and the executive officer can access. Inside is a “letter of last resort” — instructions from the prime minister that detail what the crew should do if the United Kingdom is attacked with nuclear weapons.

Both command officers of the Vigilant have been embroiled in controversy because of sexual affairs with subordinates. The Navy has a strict “no touching” rule, according to the Evening Standard. According to the Sun, Cmdr. Stuart Armstrong, the sub’s captain, has been relieved of duty amid the investigation, which includes a photo that surfaced of the woman he was allegedly intimate with wearing the captain’s uniform. The No. 2, Lt. Cmdr. Michael Seal, also faces disciplinary action.

The Daily Mail did some math on what the recent developments mean for one of the free world’s strongest deterrents to nuclear war: “Around 10 percent of HMS Vigilant’s 168-strong crew have either been kicked out, quit, are under investigation or have been removed in what is believed to be one of the biggest sex and drugs scandals to hit the Navy.”