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Nuclear inspection for Minot begins Friday

Hundreds of inspectors will descend on Minot Air Force Base, N.D., on Friday for the 5th Bomb Wing’s nuclear surety inspection, which its commander predicted will be “the most scrutinized inspection in the history of time.”

“We are going to have inspectors inspecting inspectors,” said Maj. Elizabeth Ortiz, a Minot spokeswoman.

It’s the 5th Bomb Wing’s first NSI since airmen mistakenly loaded six nuclear warheads onto a B-52 Stratofortress and flew them to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., last August.

The inspection is scheduled to last two weeks. Air Combat Command inspectors recertified the 5th Bomb Wing to handle nuclear munitions in March after the wing passed its initial nuclear surety inspection.

After a six-week investigation into the incident, Maj. Gen. Richard Newton, deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements, said an “erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards” led to five major procedural errors at Minot. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne called it an “unacceptable mistake.”

The “Bent Spear” incident resulted in the firing of Col. Bruce Emig, the 5th Bomb Wing commander at the time. Two group commanders and a squadron commander also got sacked, and 65 airmen were decertified from working with nuclear weapons, basically unable to do their jobs until they were recertified.

Since then, airmen not directly connected to the mistaken nuke load have earned their certification back.

The 5th Bomb Wing’s was first scheduled to hold its NSI on Jan. 23, but ACC inspectors told the 5th Bomb Wing’s new commander Col. Joel Westa to delay it.

Westa said in January his wing needed more time to train with the appropriate senior noncommissioned officers in place to be ready to pass the NSI.

“It's not one of those things where you can just scrape through an NSI,” he said.