Air Force Denies That US Nuclear Bombers Are Being Put Back On 24-Hour Alert

There were many unanswered questions following last night"s story from Defense One, according to which the US Air Force would put nuclear bombers on high, 24-hour alert for the first time since the end of the cold war in 1991. There may be even more questions on Monday, when the Air Force denied the report and said it was not preparing to put its B-52 nuclear bombers on 24-hour alert, adding that a "misunderstanding" might have led to a report claiming those preparations are underway.

According to Ann Stefanek, the chief of Air Force media operations at the Pentagon, updates to facilities, exercises, and training related to the B-52 Stratofortress aircraft at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana are done routinely to ensure the service is prepared.

"We are not planning or preparing to put B-52s back on alert," Stefanek said quoted by the Washington Examiner.

Sunday"s report in Defense One said the Air Force was preparing to put the long-range strategic bombers at Barksdale on around-the-clock alert for the first time since 1991. The report also pointed out that the alert order had not been given, and that officials were preparing for such an order if it comes.

Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force chief of staff, was quoted as saying the service was taking "one more step" to ensure it is prepared.

"I look at it more as not planning for any specific event, but more for the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in and how we ensure we"re prepared going forward," Goldfein told Defense One.

It remains unclear just where the alleged "misunderstanding" took place in the breakdown of communication between Goldfein, Defense One, and today"s damage control by the USAF.

US Prepares For War: Steps Taken To Put Nuclear Bombers on 24-Hour Alert Status

The United States Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers back on 24-hour ready alert, a status not seen since the Cold War ended back in 1991. The Air Force is said to face this decision due to a changing geopolitical environment.

It isn’t just North Korea’s rapidly advancing nuclear arsenal that has the Air Force planning to “fire up” the long-dormant concrete pads at the ends of this base’s 11,000-foot runway.  Those pads are dubbed the “Christmas tree” for their angular markings and will probably soon once again find several B-52s parked on them, laden with nuclear weapons and ready to take off at a moment’s notice partly because of the heightened rhetoric between Washington and Pyongyang. But the military is also concerned about Russia’s increasingly potent and active armed forces, according to Defense One.

The long-range bomber can also unleash both nuclear and precision-guided conventional ordnance, but the military insists this is for preparations only. “This is yet one more step in ensuring that we’re prepared,” said General David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff,  in an interview during his six-day tour of Barksdale and other U.S. Air Force bases that support the nuclear mission. “I look at it more as not planning for any specific event, but more for the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in and how we ensure we’re prepared going forward.”  Goldfein and other senior defense officials wanted it stressed to the public that the alert order had not been given just yet, but the preparations were already underway in anticipation that it will come.

Goldfein also noted that in a world where “we’ve got folks that are talking openly about [the] use of nuclear weapons,” it’s important to remain alert and think of new ways to be prepared.

That decision will eventually likely be made soon by General John Hyten, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command (or  STRATCOM, is in charge of the military’s nuclear forces or General Lori Robinson, the head of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM, which is in charge of defending North America.)  Meanwhile, Goldfein, who is the Air Force’s top officer and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is asking his force to think about new and inventive ways that nuclear weapons could be used for deterrence, or even in combat.

“It’s no longer a bipolar world where it’s just us and the Soviet Union. We’ve got other players out there who have nuclear capability. It’s never been more important to make sure that we get this mission right,” Goldfein said.