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This incident will reveal just which elected representatives are actually looking out for our security. The lost Nuclear weapons over the United States of America there were many violations of the Department of Defense (DoD) written regulations concerning transporting nuclear weapons. If the elected representatives do not get to the bottom of this incident and remove all the people in the chain of command that are listed below that were involved or not involved concerning this matter. Then we will all know just who's side they are on. Department of Defense DIRECTIVE NUMBER 4540.5 February 4, 1998 Certified Current as of December 8, 2003 ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ATSD(NCB) SUBJECT: Logistic Transportation of Nuclear Weapons References: (a) DoD Directive 4540.5, "Movement of Nuclear Weapons by Noncombat Delivery Vehicles," June 14, 1978 (hereby canceled) (b) Title 10, United States Code (c) DoD 5025.1-M, "DoD Directives System Procedures," August 1994 (d) DoD Directive 3150.2, "DoD Nuclear Weapon System Safety Program," December 23, 1996 (e) through (h), see enclosure 1
1. REISSUANCE AND PURPOSE This Directive: 1.1. Reissues reference (a) to update policy and responsibilities for the logistic transport of nuclear weapons under reference (b). 1.2. Authorizes the publication of the "DoD Nuclear Weapon Transportation Manual," consistent with reference (c), to provide guidance for the logistic transport of nuclear weapons. 1.3. Integrates DoD policy and responsibilities for the logistic transport of nuclear weapons with the safety requirements in reference (d), the security requirements in references (e) through (g), and the use control requirements in reference (h).
2. APPLICABILITY AND SCOPE This Directive: 2.1. Applies to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the Military Departments, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Combatant Commands, and the Defense Agencies (hereafter referred to collectively as "the DoD Components"). 2.2. Does not apply to the transport of nuclear weapon limited-life components.
3. DEFINITIONS Terms used in this Directive are defined in enclosure 2.
4. POLICY It is DoD policy that: 4.1. Nuclear weapons require special consideration because of their political and military importance and the potential consequences of an accident, incident, or unauthorized act. 4.2. The DoD Components shall take precautions to ensure that a nuclear weapon movement has minimal impact on public health, safety, and the environment. 4.3. DoD nuclear weapon system safety policy, DoD nuclear weapon system safety standards, and DoD nuclear weapon security policy and criteria shall apply to nuclear weapon transport operations. 4.4. Nuclear weapon movements shall be kept to the minimum consistent with military requirements. 4.5. Nuclear weapon transportation operations shall be conducted through the transportation modes and movement routes that balance safety, security, and military requirements. 4.6. The movement by air of nuclear weapons that contain high explosives other than insensitive high explosives (IHE) should be approved by the Secretary of the Military Department or a Commander of a Combatant Command, or their delegated commanders. 4.7. Procedures, equipment, and facilities involved in the transport of nuclear weapons shall be certified for such transport. 4.8. Personnel and organizations involved in the transport of nuclear weapons shall be trained and certified for the activities they perform. 4.9. U.S. custody of nuclear weapons shall be maintained at all times during logistic movements. That requirement shall not be waived. 4.10. A commander may deviate from logistic transport policy when the loss of a weapon's custody is imminent or when the weapon may be exposed to an abnormal environment. 4.11. In areas outside the continental United States, command-disable procedures shall be used if loss of the weapon is imminent.
5. RESPONSIBILITIES 5.1. The Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, under the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, shall: 5.1.1. Be responsible for policy and technical matters associated with the transportation of nuclear weapons. 5.1.2. Serve as the DoD principal point of contact for nuclear weapon transportation matters with the DoD Components, the Department of Energy (DoE), the Department of State, the Joint Nuclear Weapons Council, and other Government Agencies. 5.1.3. Ensure that the Director, Defense Special Weapons Agency, shall: 5.1.3.1. Provide technical support, advice, and assistance to the DoD Components on the transport of nuclear weapons, when requested. 5.1.3.2. Serve as the logistic transport coordinator between the DoD Components for inter-command movements and between the Department of Defense and the DoE. 5.1.3.3. Conduct safety and security assessments on nuclear weapon transportation, when requested. 5.2. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall: 5.2.1. Coordinate directly with the DoD Components on nuclear weapon transportation matters. 5.2.2. Ensure that nuclear weapons technical inspections examine nuclear weapon transport operations. 5.2.3. Establish procedures for the maintenance of accountability during nuclear weapon transport operations. 5.2.4. Prescribe the reporting procedures to be used when nuclear weapons are transported. 5.3. The Secretaries of the Military Departments shall: 5.3.1. Implement DoD nuclear weapon transportation policies. 5.3.2. Develop procedures for the transport of nuclear weapons. 5.3.3. Evaluate, authorize, and approve the transport modes and movement routes that balance safety, security, and military requirements for nuclear weapons in their custody. 5.3.4. Conduct assessments of nuclear weapon transport operations, as necessary. 5.3.5. Approve all movements conducted by air of nuclear weapons in their custody that contain high explosives other than IHE. Approval authority may be delegated to commanders of major Service commands. 5.3.6. Ensure that procedures, equipment, facilities, and organizations involved in the transport of nuclear weapons are certified for that purpose. 5.3.7. Ensure that personnel involved in the transport of nuclear weapons are applicably trained. 5.4. The Secretary of the Air Force shall maintain a Prime Nuclear Airlift Force capability to conduct the logistic transport of nuclear weapons. 5.5. The Commanders of the Combatant Commands shall: 5.5.1. Implement DoD nuclear weapon transportation policies. 5.5.2. Develop procedures, as required for their area of operations, for the transport of nuclear weapons. 5.5.3. Evaluate, authorize, and approve the transport modes and movement routes that balance safety, security, and military requirements for nuclear weapons in their custody. 5.5.4. Conduct assessments of nuclear weapon transport operations, as necessary. 5.5.5. Approve all movements conducted by air of nuclear weapons in their custody that contain high explosives other than IHE. Approval authority may be delegated to Service component commanders. 5.5.6. Ensure that procedures, equipment, facilities, and organizations involved in the transport of nuclear weapons are certified for such transport. 5.5.7. Ensure that personnel involved in the transport of nuclear weapons are applicably trained.
6. EFFECTIVE DATE This Directive is effective immediately.
Enclosures - 2 E1. References, continued E2. Definitions
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