Air Force investigating drug use at nuclear facility

WASHINGTON — The Air Force is investigating 14 members of a nuclear weapons security force for alleged illegal drug activity, in some cases including cocaine use, defense officials said Friday. The probe is a fresh blow to a nuclear missile corps that has been under intense scrutiny for a string of lapses in training and personal conduct over the past three years.

The investigation at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, home of the 90th Missile Wing, near Cheyenne, Wyo., was announced by Gen. Robin Rand, the four- star commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. The command is responsible for the fleet of Minuteman 3 land- based nuclear missiles; one- third of the Minuteman 3 force is operated by the 90th Missile Wing in missile fields in portions of Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.

Rand, speaking by telephone from his headquarters at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, said the 14 airmen range in rank from airman 1st class to senior airman and are members of the security group at F. E. Warren that is responsible for securing not only the base but also the missile fields and convoys that move nuclear weapons.

Rand said the 14 are accused of off- duty drug “activity,” which he refused to further define. He said the allegations were “credible.”

“This is very important to me that we get to the bottom of this,” Rand said, adding that he is confident that the majority of airmen in the nuclear missile corps comply with Air Force standards of personal conduct. “We have a special trust with our nation, with our public, with the mission that we do in Air Force Global Strike Command.”

The investigation was started after a member of the security forces alerted his superiors of his suspicion of drug activity by another airman. Rand said the commander of the 90th Missile Wing, Col. Stephen Kravitsky, informed him Tuesday that an investigation was under way.

Rand said the 14 have been removed from duty while the Air Force Office of Special Investigations looks into the case. He declined to provide further details, including what drugs are allegedly involved, citing an active investigation. Two other defense officials said the drugs included cocaine; the officials discussed details they were not authorized to release publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The allegations do not involve officers who control the Minuteman missiles, officials said.