Of the airmen involved in the cheating investigation at Malsmtrom Air Force Base, most of them are now back on the job.

In May, the Tribune reported that two-thirds of the airmen were pulling alert shifts or in the training pipeline to be recertified for alert duty.

This week, Air Force officials told the Tribune that all of those airmen have since been recertified and retrained and are back on alert.

The remainder of the airmen who were under investigation are undergoing a security clearance review by Department of Defense authorities. Their security clearances were pulled during the investigation.

The Air Force has initiated involuntary discharge procedures against 15 officers, one of whom already has been discharged from the Air Force.

The discharge procedures vary depending on time spent as a commissioned officer. The process for officers is lengthy since the cases are carefully reviewed at each level in the chain of command, culminating with a review and decision by the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force.

Both the test compromise and drug use investigations are over, but the command is reviewing the evidence and deciding on the appropriate course of action for four officers.

One officer has been charged for drug use and obstruction of justice.

An Article 32 investigative hearing, similar to a grand jury, was held and the case is still being reviewed to determine if trial by court-martial is warranted.

In response to the investigation, the Air Force announced earlier this year that additional personnel would be sent to all of the intercontinental ballistic missile bases.

In July, the Tribune reported that 216 new personnel would be coming to Malmstrom.

On Thursday, the Tribune learned that the number had increased to 236 and most of those airmen had already arrived at Malmstrom. All 236 will arrive by November, according to Air Force Global Strike Command.

The majority of those positions will be security forces airmen.

One hundred officers at Malmstrom were involved in the investigation. Nine were cleared when the findings were announced in March. Some cases were retained by the Office of Special Investigation since they involved the mishandling of classified material or were part of the initial drug investigation that uncovered the cheating.

The investigation report that was released in late March included 98 officers, two were added later, and 79 in that report were subject to disciplinary action through Air Force Global Strike Command. Of those 79, evidence supports that 15 of the officers sent, received and solicited testing material; 13 sent and received the material; four only sent material; nine solicited and received testing material; 30 only received material; three solicited but did not receive material and five had direct knowledge of cheating and failed to report it, according to the investigation report.

The investigation revealed low morale and other issues throughout the nuclear force that prompted the Air Force to establish the Force Improvement Program, asking airmen to make suggestions for improvements.

One of those improvements is being implemented now.

Air Force officials have already issued a contract at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming to deep clean launch control centers and underground launch control equipment centers.

Malmstrom and Minot contracting officers will use that contract as a template to award local contracts for their facilities.

In total, 45 launch control centers along with 30 underground launch control equipment buildings at Malmstrom, F.E. Warren and Minot will be deep cleaned.

The launch control centers have been in continuous use for 50 years and though crews do routine cleaning daily, they don't have time away from alert duties or equipment to completely sanitize the LCC, according to the Air Force.

This deep clean will continue on a contract.

Approximately $348,000 will be divided between the three missile wings under 20th Air Force to pay for the one year initial contract. AFGSC plans to write a new contract, spanning 5-10 years, for the missile wings.

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