{"id":59299,"date":"2020-02-21T19:08:24","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T19:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/02\/21\/pentagon-officials-keeping-an-eye-on-morale-at-nuclear-bases\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:04:19","slug":"pentagon-officials-keeping-an-eye-on-morale-at-nuclear-bases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/02\/21\/pentagon-officials-keeping-an-eye-on-morale-at-nuclear-bases\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon officials keeping an eye on morale at nuclear bases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Defense Department is asking for tens of billions of dollars<\/a> this year to maintain and modernize U.S. nuclear capabilities, while at the same time checking in with personnel at the remote bases maintainers and operators call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, issues like cheating on exams and marijuana use<\/a> have plagued Air Force bases in Montana, North Dakota and Nebraska, calling into question whether the quality of life in those areas was taking a toll on troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very confident that the chain of command will deal with it,\u201d Defense Secretary Mark Esper<\/a> told reporters Wednesday during a visit to Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. \u201cAnd I had the chance today to talk with a couple of the commanders about how do we make sure that we address quality of life issues for the airmen; how do we address stress; how do we address the things that \u2015 that sometimes underlie the issue that you\u2019re mentioning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esper also visited U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, as part of a familiarization tour with nuclear weapons installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overall goal is to replace the outdated systems one by one, so as to not inflame any tensions, a senior DoD official said Friday, briefing reporters on background at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy message is that this is a sensible approach because it addresses the threat, it\u2019s a reasonable approach because it doesn\u2019t precipitate an arms race with the Russians and it\u2019s affordable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the U.S. gets plans underway to upgrade aircraft, missiles, submarines and other systems to deter nuclear threats from countries like China, Russia and North Korea, the people who will take responsibility for them are also a consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is one of the things that the secretary wanted to find out,\u201d a senior DoD official said Friday, briefing reporters on background at the Pentagon. \u201cHe spoke a lot with the airman and the officers \u2026 at STRATCOM and Minot. You know, about 10 years ago, we had a terrible morale problem.”<\/p>\n\n\n\t