US Government Agents Driving Nuclear Weapons ‘Got Drunk On The Job’

Men charged with transporting nuclear weapons in the US have been getting drunk on the job.

The U.S. Energy Department’s watchdog says government agents hired to drive nuclear weapons and components in trucks sometimes got drunk on the job.

The Energy Department’s assistant inspector general, Sandra D. Bruce, said her office reviewed 16 alcohol-related incidents involving agents, candidate-agents and others from the government’s Office of Secure Transportation from 2007 to 2009.

Multiple American security agents hired to transport nuclear weapons have been drunk during missions, a new report revealed

The federal agents who drive the nuclear material are trained to defend, recapture, and recover nuclear materials in case of an attack

A new report Monday said the incidents ‘indicate a potential vulnerability’ in what it described as a ‘critical national security mission.’

There are nearly 600 federal agents who ship nuclear weapons, weapon components and special nuclear material across the U.S.

In 2007, an agent was arrested for public intoxication.

In 2009, two agents were handcuffed and temporarily detained by police officers after an incident at a local bar.

In both those cases the agents were on overnight rest stops during extended missions.

During the overnights, the vehicles and nukes are supposedly ‘placed in a safe harbor’ while the agents stay in local hotels. Or at least in some cases, while the agents go drinking.

Before they are allowed to drive the sensitive nuclear and weapon materials, the OST agents take a 21-week training course to help them prevent ‘the theft, sabotage or takeover of protected materials by unauthorized persons’.

The agents also are supposed to meet the ‘highest standards of reliability and physical and mental suitability.’

They are not allowed to drink for ten hours before duty.

The review of the 16 alcohol-related incidents will be used to decide if agents should be treated with a zero-tolerance policy in regards to their alcohol use.

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:17 PM on 22nd November 2010

Source: The Daily Mail

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