Air Force Nuclear Drug Use, Nuke Base Drug Probe

© Michael Sohn/AP

Air Force probing drug use at nuclear base - The Air Force is investigating 14 airmen at a sensitive nuclear base in Wyoming for illegal drug use, the Air Force confirmed Friday.

The servicemen are junior enlisted troops who are part of a security force at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, a nuclear missile base near Cheyenne, Wyoming, according to the Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the nuclear missile force.

The force provides security for the Minutemen III missiles, which are based there. Those servicemen who are under investigation have been suspended from their duties, the Air Force said.. The Air Force said the matter was still under investigation and they could not provide more details.

The security force is trained and equipped to respond quickly to threats to the nuclear force.

The investigation was first reported by The Associated Press.

The allegations are the latest blow to the Air Force’s nuclear missile force.  Missile officers at a nuclear base in Montana were implicated in a cheating scandal two years ago. Some officers were found to have shared answers on a proficiency test. Others knew about it, but did not report it. The investigation led to broader concerns that the nuclear force had grown demoralized as the Cold War ended and the U.S. military shifted its focus to the Middle East.

During a recent visit to the F.E. Warren base, Robert Work, the deputy secretary of defense, said the Air Force had addressed many of the morale problems that the nuclear force faced.