They're Only Nuclear Weapons: An Exploratory Study of Safety Climate within the Nuclear Enterprise
Abstract
By possessing nuclear weapons, the United States Air Force is inherently exposed to extreme safety concerns. With multiple setbacks in recent years (e.g., unauthorized transport of nuclear weapons, cheating scandals, and career dissatisfaction), some have begun to wonder how safe the nuclear enterprise truly is. Building upon the concept of safety climate, this study explores safety climate constructs and trends associated with current nuclear maintenance safety climate survey data. First, exploratory factor analysis is used to explore the underlying psychometric structure of the nuclear maintenance Air Force Combined Mishap Reduction System survey. Next, constructs extracted from the survey are compared across demographic variables in search of safety trends within the nuclear enterprise. Results confirm that a three-factor structure exists within survey data (consisting of Management Commitment, Resources, and Training constructs), and that differences in perceptions of these constructs exist across five of the seven explored variables (i.e., deployment to the intercontinental ballistic missile fields, rank, age, time in unit, and time in career field). Recommendations based on the findings are presented for leadership contemplation and action.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 22, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1056320
Entities
People
- Brandon M Clements
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology