“We’re getting better all the time”

Four years ago, six nuclear armed cruise missiles were “accidentally” loaded onto a B-52 bomber and flown from North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana.

The flight crew had no idea they were onboard and after the plane arrived, the weapons sat on the runway for hours, presumably unidentified.

How this unthinkable logistical screw up took place has never been explained.

Also unexplained in the statistically abberant number of base members associated with the nuclear stockpile at Minot who died soon before or soon after the “mistake.”

They included:

Airman 1st Class Todd Blue – Sent on leave days after the mistake. Died under poorly described circumstances at home in Virginia.

U.S. Air Force Captain John Frueh – Went on a long hike from which he didn’t return alive

First-Lieutenant Weston Kissel, B-52 bomber pilot – Died in a motorcycle accident while on leave just two months after the mishap.

Senior Airman Clint Huff and his wife Linda Huff – Killed in a motorcycle accident

Senior Airman Barrs and Airman 1st Class – Killed together in a single-car accident

Related brass that died within a few months:

U.S. Air Force official, Charles D. Riechers – suicide

General Russell Elliot Dougherty (ret) – once was one of the most senior individuals responsible for the nuclear arsenal of the U.S. military and also the former commander of Strategic Air Command (SAC) and director of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff, which identified nuclear targets worldwide amongst its responsibilities.