The Demands of Nuclear Safety: Mishaps and USSTRATCOM

Abstract

This study addresses whether U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is postured to safely conduct the nuclear mission. The author uses two competing schools of thought from organization theory regarding safety in industries with hazardous technologies to assess the validity of his thesis that USSTRATCOM is not currently postured to safely conduct the nuclear mission. One, known as the high reliability school, claims appropriate organizational design and management techniques can safely manage extremely hazardous technologies. The other, known as the normal accidents school, claims serious accidents, while possibly rare, are inevitable over time, especially in technological systems with high degrees of interactive complexity and tight coupling. The author uses Scott D. Sagan's ideas found in The Limits of Safety as the starting point for the analytical framework employed in this study. He evaluates USSTRATCOMs safety posture in relation to each of the high reliability schools four critical factors around the time of the 30 August 2007 Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota Bent Spear, first from the high reliability schools perspective, then from the normal accidents schools perspective, and finally in relation to any area of agreement between the two schools. Then, he examines actions taken by USSTRATCOM in response to the Bent Spear and assesses their impact on its current safety posture. The purpose of this process is to identify any problems at USSTRATCOM that contributed to the Bent Spear, to evaluate whether the problems persist or not, and to assess whether USSTRATCOM is postured to safely conduct the nuclear mission. Additional clarity about which school provides the better approach to ensuring the safety of the nuclear arsenal and the requirements associated with this approach is also expected.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2011
Accession Number
AD1019692

Entities

People

  • Thomas A. Koory

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Cyber
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Business Administration
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Command And Control
  • Employment
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Military Force Levels
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Reconnaissance
  • Surveillance
  • Treaties
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States Strategic Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aviation Safety Risk Assessment.
  • Enterprise Information Systems Architecture and Joint Command Capability Interoperability Support.
  • Strategic Security Studies