(Video)The Empire is in disarray: Hagel warns of ‘troubling lapses’ in US nuclear forces

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  Hagel warns of ‘troubling lapses’ in US nuclear forces

The scrutiny of Strategic Command and “the most rigorous evaluations that we have within the Department of Defense have recently exposed some troubling lapses in maintaining this professionalism,” he said Friday at the headquarters of the military’s nuclear war-fighting command in Omaha, Neb.

Hagel referred to a series of missteps revealed by The Associated Press, including lapses among those who operate and support the Air Force’s nuclear missile force.

The recent setbacks include the removal of two senior nuclear commanders last month amid investigations of misconduct and a failed safety and security inspection at a nuclear-missile base in Montana in August.

The Pentagon chief said there is “no room for error” in the nuclear forces.

“You have chosen a profession where there is no room for error,” Hagel said. “That’s what the American people expect from you, from all of us. And you must deliver.”

Last month, Maj. Gen. Michael Carey was removed from command of the 20th Air Force, which is responsible for maintaining all 450 of the Air Force’s Minuteman 3 nuclear missiles.

The exact reason for the removal of Maj. Gen. Carey was not immediately clear, but officials have said it was linked to alcohol abuse and “a loss of trust and confidence.”

Vice Admiral Tim Giardina, deputy commander at US Strategic Command, which oversees all nuclear war-fighting forces, was also fired for illegal gambling activities.

In May, 17 missile launch control officers at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., were taken off duty over what one officer called “rot” inside his nuclear missile unit.

The US nuclear forces have been rocked by recent disclosures of serious security and leadership lapses, morale problems as well as training flaws.

Air Force and Pentagon officials insist that despite these problems, the US nuclear arsenal is being operated and maintained safely.

Washington is thought to have as many as 2,650 non-deployed warheads, plus about 3,000 waiting to be dismantled, according to The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.