The story might have been easy to miss over the holiday weekend. What with all the cookouts and festivals and fishing on the to-do list. But the story should have been above-the-fold, lead-the-news frightening. Right up there with earthquakes and hurricanes.
The Associated Press has spent the last few years hounding this nation's troubled missile force. Which is what good journalists do when there's a problem. And the AP has found many problems, from training and leadership issues to personnel and resources problems. And the latest? Hard to believe.
In the last few months, the Air Force has had to discipline some of its service members for drug use. Not just any drug, but LSD. And not just any service members, but the men trusted with guarding this nation's nuclear missiles.
At the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, investigators broke up an LSD ring among its airmen. They were taking the hallucinogen off-duty, but so what?
"Although this sounds like something from a movie, it isn't," said Capt. Charles Grimsley, the lead prosecutor. So far, 14 airmen have been handed various forms of discipline.
None of the airmen have been accused of taking the drug on duty. Or as a spokesman told the AP: "There are multiple checks to ensure airmen who report for duty are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and are able to execute the mission safely, securely and effectively."
But from what we know of LSD--which is, admittedly, not a lot--you can't always sleep it off. A trip could go on and on, altering your mind in various ways and for various amounts of time. And even come back later in flashbacks. This isn't like a beer bender at the picnic. And bad trips aren't hangovers.
To quote the airmen at the courts martial:
"I felt paranoia, panic" said an airman first-class. "I didn't know if I was going to die that night or not." So naturally he took a couple more hits after that, but only on his off-weekends.
"Minutes felt like hours," said another airman. "Colors seemed more vibrant and clear. In general, I felt more alive."
And instructions from the airman first class said to be the ringleader, just before the group dropped acid: "No bad trips. Everybody's happy right now. Let's keep it that way."
As if bad trips were a choice.
It should be said that the nation doesn't give the keys to the nukes to airmen first class. But these were members of the outfit that's supposed to be guarding all those nuclear silos around the northern Great Plains. The 90th Missile Wing, which has that responsibility, operates one-third of the 400 Minutemen 3 intercontinental ballistic missiles that stand on alert 24/7 as part of this nation's nuclear shield.
And if all that isn't enough, the AP also reported that many of the punishments for these airmen involved some jail time, but also confinement and the loss of pay. Some avoided discharge.
Here's a suggestion for the Air Force: Discharge anybody found using LSD. Consider it a good rule of thumb. Or are there jobs in that service that can be performed while tripping? Or recovering from a weekend of LSD use? If there are, let's make sure that "guarding nuclear weapons" isn't one of them.
On second thought, this doesn't sound like a movie. It's too unrealistic.
The Air Force had better get control of this situation, and pronto. Or it won't be just airmen first-class who should lose their ranks.
Editorial on 05/29/2018