Guzman MHALSB-06 12 April 2011 AF Nuclear Enterprise Assignment 1.

Explain important aspects of the AF Nuclear Enterprise The AF nuclear enterprise consists of people, organization, processes, procedures and systems that are used to conduct, execute and support nuclear operations and forces. It includes the infrastructure and life cycle activities for nuclear weapons, delivery platforms and supporting systems; intellectuals and technical competencies and a cultural mindset that ensures sustainable, responsive, safe, reliable and secure AF nuclear deterrence capabilities. The AFNE includes AF organizations responsible for nuclear policy and guidance, and AF relationship with other entities who contribute to our nations nuclear deterrence mission. 2. Provide examples of the important aspects of the AF Nuclear Enterprise October 28, 2008 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated Our nuclear arsenal is vital for the following reason: we cannot predict the future. Who can tell what the world will look like in 10-12 years. If a nuclear mission came to your base, it could involve lodging, medical, and dining facility support for the aircrew members; maintenance for the aircraft; or security forces and augmentees, for increased base security measures. Regardless of your career field, readiness and training are paramount to maintaining the nations capability. Washington Institute on Near East Policy states: The Cold War experience suggests that deployments of weapons and troop are often necessary to make pledges credible. Recent events over the last 20 years have displayed US will by extending security commitments to regional allies and stationing US military forces overseas early in many of the crises. However, the US must continually emphasize its military capabilities to impress upon nuclear-armed adversaries that the US can do what she says she will do. Given the consistent public and political uncertainties about US will, military capabilities are likely to be more important dimension of US regional nuclear deterrence strategy, in order to fulfill both our allies and our adversaries perceptions of our posture and commitment. 3. Identify key events in the history of nuclear weapons A- Pre-Cold War: i. 1939- Scientist who fled their countries enlisted Franklin D Einsteins assistance in bringing attention to Germanys work with atomic energy. ii. 1942- US suffered series of military defeats in the Pacific, top officials decided to proceed with the construction of an atomic bomb.

iii. 1945- Scientist of the Manhattan Project detonated the first nuclear explosive device. 1- Japan: iv. 6 Aug 1945- The Army Corps dropped the first nuclear bomb at Hiroshima, Japan. v. 9 Aug 1945- Drop of second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. B- Cold War 1. Germany: i. Had been divided into 4 sections ii. Controlled by the US, Soviet Union, Great Britain and France 2. Berlin Airlift: i. Soviets were acting aggressive toward the capitalist western nations 1. 1948- Joseph Stalin ordered his ground troops and air force to harass the supply traffic to Berlin. 2. 1948- June 22, 7th anniversary of Nazi invasion of Russia halted 13, 500 tons of daily supplies to Berlin. Air corridors protected by treaty remained open providing the gateway for the Berlin Airlift. 3. Success of the Airlift was testament to the value of the fairly new USAF. 3. Russia i. 1949- Russia conducted its first nuclear test, thereby ending the US nuclear monopoly and escalating the stakes of the Cold War considerably. 4. Cuba i. 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, was a 13 day strategic chess mathc between the US and Soviet Union. Soviet Union installed medium range nuclear missiles in Cuba, US imposed a naval blockade to force their removal. ii. Soviet Union backed down, US promised not to invade Cuba in the future. 5. Berlin Wall i. 1987 President Reagan made a speech requesting the Berlin Wall be torn down. ii. 1991 was the end of the Cold War C- Post-Cold War 1. Resources dedicated to nuclear deterrence mission have been reduced sharply in the defense budget. 2. 1992- Air Combat Command was responsible for diversified array of operations, of which the nuclear mission was just another entity. 4. Define nuclear deterrence Nuclear Deterrence is the act or process of discouraging actions or preventing occurrences by instilling fear or doubt or anxiety.

The military doctrine that an enemy will be deterred from using nuclear weapons as long as he can be destroyed as a consequence; "when two nations both resort to nuclear deterrence the consequence could be mutual destruction"

5. Identify the role of nuclear weapons in deterrence Nuclear weapons are part of our Nations national power and are used to respond to any action taken against our allies or us. We must maintain nuclear weapons in our inventory to increase perception of our posture and willingness to commit if provoked. It provides security and confidence to our people and our allies. We posture to convince the enemy that they are unlikely to achieve political or military objectives by attacking the US or allies. By providing others protection we aid non-proliferation objectives. We convince other countries not to build their own nuclear weapons program.

6. Recognize a nuclear deterrence formula Deterrence= Capability x Will x Perception 7. Identify the organizational structure of the nuclear enterprise

AF Global Strike Command (Barksdale AFB, Louisiana)

20th AF Warren AFB

8th AF Barksdale AFB

ICBMs

Strategic Bombers

8. Identify types of nuclear missions

Weapons Storage Area
Secured areas inside perimeter of a base Place to maintain and store nuclear weapons Transportation requires use of convoys & SF personnnel

Prime Nuclear Airlift Force

Airlift mission; moves nuclear weapons from one location to another

Weapons Storage & Security System

Electronic monitoring and controls & weapons storage vaults

Launch Control Center

Silo

Force consists of specially trained C-130 & C-17 aircrew; support personnel

Located in US and Nato military airfields

Deep underground reinforced , blast & pressure protected hardened capsule

Undergreound vertical cylindrical container protected by a blast door

Holds 4 nuclear weapons in lowered position

contains equip and personnel capable of controlling, monitoring & launching 50 missiles

Used for storage and launching of ICBMs

AF has 6 above ground; 1 underground

Ballistic protection through hardened lid & reinforced walls

Location protects them agains air blast effect.

Allows storage directly underneath the aircraft intended to carry the bombs

Houses security team, 2 man launch team, support groups

Reduces need for convoys; eliminates exposure

9. Identify the components of the nuclear triad ICBMs Bombers SLBMs (sub-marine ballistic missiles)

10. Identify the components of the New Triad ICBMs, Bombers SLBMs Nuclear & Non-nuclear Strike Option o Non-nuclear (long-range precision-guided conventional weapons & delivery means. Ex: Cruise missiles launched from submarine) o Nuclear (Electronic Attacks, Computer Network Attack)

Active & Passive Defenses o Active Defense (Intercept of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles & strike A/C o Passive Defense (Concealment, hardening, redundancy, warning, dispersal, mobility) Offensive Forces Robust Research, Development & Industrial Infrastructure o Labs, plants, and workforce that develop, build, maintain and modernize elements of the New Triad. o Nuclear Weapons Complex & Defense-Industrial Base that produces delivery platforms, weapons, sensors, communication systems, data processors and other items needed for offensive strikes and defensive protection. Command and Control (communication links among decision-makers, command centers & operational forces; enables authorized combined and effective use of offenses and defenses) Intel (Essential for characterizing threats, devising deterrent strategies, discover enemy vulnerabilities, targeting strike capabilities, provide warning to increase readiness of offenses, defenses, & infrastructure Peacetime Planning (integrated and balanced development of different capabilities of the New Triad; defensive systems to respond to the unanticipated demands of actual crises and conflicts).

11. Identify nuclear employment authority At any level requires explicit orders from the President of the United States. AFDD 2-12 explains that the President works with the Secretary of Defense to determine the nuclear weapons required in resolving a situation. 12. Define nuclear surety Ensure all associated material, personnel, and procedures related to nuclear weapons are safe, secure and under positive control. 13. Identify the 5 key components of nuclear surety a. Safety- ensures personnel design and operate nuclear weapons & nuclear weapons systems with positive measures. The positive measures are designed to prevent deliberate or inadvertent pre-arming, arming, launching, or releasing of nuclear weapons. b. Security- deny unauthorized access to nuclear weapons; prevent damage or sabotage to nuclear weapons; prevent loss of custody; and prevent radiological contamination caused by unauthorized acts.

c. Reliabilityi. Weapons System Reliability- operational dependability of nuclear weapons and weapons systems under normal and abnormal environmental conditions. It is maintained through exhaustive testing, inspection, and maintenance program. ii. Individual ReliabilityA) Personal Reliability Program ensures the highest possible standards of individual reliability in performing duties associated with nuclear weapons and critical components. B) Two-Person Concept requires 2 authorized personnel, each PRP certified, within the nuclear mission areas at all times. d. Control of use includes positive measures that allow authorized use and prevent or delay unauthorized use, of nuclear weapons. Command and Control exercises authority and direction by the President, through established command lines, over military nuclear weapons operations. e. Survivability refers to the capability of nuclear forces, their nuclear control and support systems, and facilities to avoid, repel, or withstand attack. i. Avoidance measures are incorporated to eliminate detection and attack ii. Defense Active is related to radar jamming and missile defense systems iii. Deception used to mislead the enemy as to actual weapons location iv. Hardening includes shielding/robust structural design for protecting nuclear assets v. Threat Effect Tolerance ability for nuclear assets components to tolerate exposure from the environment and from attacks 14. Define accountability Is to know where all US nuclear weapons are located at all times, the status of those weapons, and their configuration. Knowing how many different types there are, how many of each type are in the inventory, how many are in storage, how many are on alert status and where each and every weapon and component is physically located. 15. Identify recent nuclear incidents and understand the AF lessons learned from those incidents A- Taiwan Incident: MK12 forward section from the AF inventory found its way to Taiwan in 2006 and wasnt discovered until 2008. Lesson learned: violation of process discipline, which requires following stand operating procedures to accomplish routine missions. Day to day operations, you as supervisor and the airmen you supervise are responsible for process discipline.

Ultimately leaders at all level are responsible. The lack of process discipline that caused the Tqiwan incident contributed to the removal of key AF leaders and nearly caused an international incident. B- Minot Incident: B-52 mistakenly flew 6 nuclear weapons from North Dakota to Louisiana. Lesson Learned: failure to follow procedures at the execution level led to an internationally publicized nuclear incident which contributed to the removal of key AF leaders. Both incidents highlight the importance of compliance and accountability at all levels of the AF, but most importantly at the tactical level. 16. Define nuclear proliferation and non-proliferation a. Nuclear Proliferation: describes the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons applicable nuclear material, technology and information to nations which arent recognized as Nuclear Weapons States by the Treaty. Activities include efforts by non-members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to secure, transport, and employ weapons of mass destruction. b. Nuclear Non-Proliferation: includes efforts by members of the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty to detect, secure and dispose of Weapons of Mass Destruction. 17. Identify the specifics of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Opened for signature 1 July 1968, defined a Nuclear Weapon State, provided security for Non-Nuclear Weapon States and provided incentives to sign. The purpose of the treaty is to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. It defines a Nuclear Weapon State as one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 Jan 1967. There are 5 nuclear weapon states: UK, France, Russia, US, China. These are also permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. 189 countries are part of the treaty. Four sovereign states that are not part of the treaty but are considered non-nuclear weapon states are: Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea. One of the challenges the Treaty faces is the use of nuclear energy for power. The concern of the development of nuclear power comes from two steps of the nuclear fuel cycle: 1) Front End: The first step produces both Highly Enriched Uranium that can be used for the development of bombs; and Low-Enriched Uranium sufficient to generate energy but not to develop nuclear weapons. 2) Back End: A small amount of the input fuel decays into plutonium as a natural product of the nuclear reaction. If the plutonium was skimmed off, it could be accumulated to build a plutonium or implosion bomb.

Mitigation: removing the uranium enrichment process from the fuel cycle by selling fabricated fuel assemblies called rods to Non-Nuclear Weapon States desiring nuclear power. Nuclear reactors have been developed that are proliferation safer, this means that in order to recover the plutonium at the end of the fuel cycle, the reactor must be shut down; this would be visible and allow Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Enforcement.

18. Describe the theory of modern deterrence The world is changing and while the definition and basic components remains the same, deterrence today has additional impacting factors that it had tin the past, and deterrence tomorrow will have different influences that will impact how its exercised. Todays international security environment is much more complex than during the Cold war era. In the cold war era we were locked in a conflict with the Soviet Union. We were focused on one enemy. Today, we live in a world where more countries possess nuclear weapons or rogue nations are pursing nuclear technology for the purpose of destruction. Tomorrows threat is the possibility of non-state actors, for instance terrorist, acquiring nuclear weapons, which there actively pursuing today. Additionally, we have significant regional instability in multiple combatant commanders areas of responsibility. Credible nuclear deterrence is critical not only to us as a nation but to the security of our allies and partners who depend upon our nuclear umbrella. Non-state actors present the biggest challenge for 21st century deterrence. The complex nature of these threats may lead them to be characterized as irrational actors with subsequent conclusion that these groups cannot be deterred. The leadership of these groups is quite rational but with value systems that are either unclear or difficult to hold at risk. Threaten with economic sanctions or life ending consequences because their value of money or life on earth is different from the value our culture places on them. A key to deterrence is finding pressure points that can be influenced and affect decision making. Despite new challenging threats, the logic is supporting it, is enduring today. In todays world, which can be characterized by proliferation, religiously motivated terrorism, and non-state actors, a new deterrence theory is both essential and difficult. 19. Describe potential influences on future deterrence Enemies without a return address. An enemy, whose reward is in the afterlife. These are the adversaries thatll require us to look at different ways and means to alter their calculations. If we cant change their behaviors through incentives or punishment, we may have to resort to denial of their mission completion using established operations that include interrupt, intercept, or physically intervene.