WASHINGTON — Last summer, when dozens of nuclear missile officers allegedly cheated on exams, test scores were among the lowest of the year, according to Air Force records obtained by The Associated Press.

That is the opposite of what might be expected if answers were being shared as widely as officials allege.

Were they inept cheaters?

Was there, in fact, no sharing of answers during that period?

Were test questions so difficult that even the cheating by some failed to produce higher-than-usual scores for the group as a whole?

The Air Force isn’t saying. It notes that tests are not identical each month, and thus score “variances can be expected.”

The facts of the tainted testing are still under investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. It ranks as the worst such scandal in the history of the intercontinental ballistic missile force and is among a series of security lapses and slip-ups that have plagued the ICBM corps over the past year.

The missteps prompted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to launch two probes of the entire nuclear force to find root causes for leadership lapses and other problems – steps Hagel deemed necessary to restore public confidence.

Hagel says he believes the nuclear force remains secure and reliable but says “something is wrong.”

The alleged cheating has been described as a symptom of mismanagement by commanders who have given too much weight to monthly test scores in determining which launch officers get promoted. More broadly, it reflects a degree of turmoil inside a force responsible for 450 nuclear-tipped Minuteman 3 missiles that stand launch-ready in underground silos in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.

The alleged cheating was uncovered in January during an Air Force investigation of illegal drug use.

Two officers questioned in that probe happened to be members of the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., and at least one stands accused of having transmitted test answers to colleagues via text message.

The exam in question, known as a T-1, is given monthly and is meant to test knowledge of classified procedures for targeting and launching the Minuteman 3s, the nation’s only land-based nuclear missile. Over the course of a year, the tests cover different segments of a long list of launch tasks.

In addition to these and other written proficiency tests, missile launch officers undergo classroom instruction and routine training on launch simulators; most do 24-hour shifts “on alert” in underground launch control centers about eight times a month with a team of two officers responsible for 10 missiles.

 

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