Minot base crew commander found dead

[unhappycamper]

Minot base crew commander found dead
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Feb 2, 2009 7:02:28 EST

MINOT, N.D. — The body of a missile combat crew commander from the Minot Air Force Base was found by police, and the cause of his death is under investigation, the Air Force says.

A statement issued by the base Sunday said the body of Capt. Jonathan Bayless, 28, was found Friday night. Police did not give details but said it was in an area north of the city soccer complex, and they are awaiting autopsy results.

Col. Christopher Ayres, the base’s 91st Missile Wing commander, said Bayless was a training chief with the 91st Operations Support Squadron. He had been at the Minot Air Force Base since March 2005.

Bayless went on active duty in May 2003, the statement said. Base officials did not list his hometown but said he had been assigned earlier to Vandenberg Air Force Base for missile combat crew member training.

“The 91st Missile Wing has lost not only a valuable member of our team, but a member of our family, and he will be missed.” Ayres said in the statement.


Rest of article at: http://airforcetimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_missilecrewcommander_020109/%2e

[mod mom]

1. Related to Minot AFB Nuke Oddities?

Minot AFB Clandestine Nukes 'Oddities' By Lori Price, www.legitgov.org Updated: 30 July 2008

The following section was compiled by 'The Pundit.'
Since the Minot story broke a week ago about the missing nukeclandestine operation from Minot, we have the following (for those who are paying attention):

1. All six people listed below are from Minot Airforce base
2. All were directly involved as loaders or as pilots
3. All are now dead
4. All within the last 7 days in 'accidents'

http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=10465
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070915/BREAKINGNEWS/70915012
http://www.kxmc.com/News/161562.asp
http://www.kxmc.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=140988
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2007/07/20/news/state/136489.txt
http://www.komotv.com/news/local/9679367.html

Silly me, seeing more than there is to this story. I guess this is just another coincidence.

But no doubt now that there will be more coincidences in the near future because as I have stated before, you need about fourteen signatures to get an armed nuke onto a B-52, and they may have told their wives and friends.

"The Pundit"
*****

Air Force brigadier general dies of gunshot wound 28 Jul 2008 An Air Force brigadier general died of a gunshot wound that likely was self-inflicted, a spokesman said Monday. Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Tinsley, the commander at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, suffered a gunshot wound to his chest late Sunday night and was pronounced dead within a half hour, said Col. Richard Walberg, who assumed command at Elmendorf after Tinsley's death. "To the best information, it's possible it was a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Walberg said at a news conference. The weapon was likely a handgun. His previous 22-month assignment was executive officer to the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Mosely, who in June resigned under pressure in an agency shake-up. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates ousted both Mosely, the Air Force military chief, and Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne, the agency's civilian head, holding them accountable for failing to fully correct an erosion of nuclear-related performance standards. One concern was a cross-country flight in August 2007 of a B-52 carrying armed nuclear weapons.

US missile alert crew falls asleep on the job 25 Jul 2008 It was 9.30 in the evening. The crew of three air force members decided to rest a little and within 15 minutes they were fast asleep. They awoke several hours later. The only problem was that the room in which they were snoozing was the missile alert facility at Minot air force base in North Dakota. Directly beneath them was the underground control centre containing the keys that can launch ballistic missiles, and in their care were metal boxes containing the secret codes that allow the nuclear button to be pressed. The incident is the latest in a series of foul-ups and poor ratings for the Minot air force base. Last summer a B-52 bomber was loaded with six air-launched nuclear missiles and flown, unbeknownst to its pilots or crew, across America.

Air Force says officers fell asleep with nuke code --July 12 incident was at Minot AFB, location of other incidents 24 Jul 2008 Three Air Force officers fell asleep while in control of an electronic component that contained old launch codes for nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, a violation of procedure, Air Force officials said Thursday. It is the fourth incident in the past year involving problems with secure handling of components of America's nuclear weapons. The incident occurred July 12, during the changing out of components used to facilitate secure communications between an underground missile-control facility and missile silos near Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, according to Col. Dewey Ford, a spokesman for the Air Force Space Command in Colorado.

Air Force declares lost B-52 crew dead 24 Jul 2008 In a solemn statement early Wednesday, 2nd Bomb Wing Commander Col. Robert Wheeler bore bitter news of tragedy to Barksdale Air Force Base and the surrounding community. The Air Force and Coast Guard have given up hope any of the six crew members of a Barksdale B-52 that crashed Sunday north of Guam are alive. Five of the lost airmen were assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing. The only other base in the world at which B-52s are permanently assigned is Minot Air Force Base, N.D. Its 5th Wing has been peppered for years with 2nd Bomb Wing personnel, and vice-versa, and it has not been unusual over the years for a commander or a vice commander to move from the 5th Wing to the 2nd Bomb Wing.

Air Force Finds Lax Nuclear Security 02 Jul 2008 Most overseas storage sites for U.S. nuclear weapons, particularly in Europe, need substantial improvements in physical security measures and the personnel who guard the weapons, according to a newly available Air Force report. The Blue Ribbon review of nuclear security was conducted after it was discovered that a B-52 bomber had flown across the United States, from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, with neither the pilots nor ground crews aware that six cruise missiles under one wing held real nuclear warheads.

[bananas]

2. k&r thanks for the links and commentary

[rakeeb]

3. of the six people mentioned in the links:

1. All six people listed below are NOT from Minot AFB
2. All were NOT directly involved as loaders or as pilots
3. All are now dead
4. All within the last 7 days in 'accidents' (or apparent suicides)

A1C Todd Blue was security forces, not a weapons loader. He may have been guarding the aircraft or any one of a number of nearby gates or facilities at the time of loading, but would have nothing directly to do with the load itself.

Capt. John Frueh was weather - again, nothing to do with the loading of weapons.

Lt. Kissel died 10 days before the incident happened.

SRA Adam Barrs was a Communications and Navigation Systems Maintainer - nothing to do with a weapons load (conventional or nuke). He wouldn't even be allowed in the area when weapons are being loaded!

And the other two from Barksdale, (not Minot, and only one in the Air Force).
SRA Clint Huff, 26th Operational Weather Squadron, would have had nothing whatsoever to do with nuclear weapons loading or unloading.

Almost as funny as the thread about "mini-nukes" blowing up the WTC.
Let's try to keep the Veterans forum a step ahead of the dungeon, shall we?