Air Force officials in charge of nukes left open blast door, sources say

Four Air Force officers who were entrusted with the launch keys to nuclear-tipped missiles have been punished for leaving open blast doors intended to help prevent a terrorist or other intruder from entering their post while they were sleeping.

Air Force officials confirm to Fox News that twice this year alone, Air Force officers were caught leaving open blast doors. The doors are never to be left open if one of the crew members inside is asleep — as was the case in both these instances — out of concern for the damage an intruder could cause, including the compromising of secret launch codes.

Transgressions such as these, which were first reported by the Associated Press, are rarely revealed publicly. But officials with direct knowledge of Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile operations told the AP that such violations have happened, undetected, many more times than in the cases of the two launch crew commanders and two deputy commanders who were given administrative punishments this year.

The blast door violations are another sign of serious trouble in the handling of the nation’s nuclear arsenal. The Associated Press has discovered a series of problems within the ICBM force, including a failed safety inspection, the temporary sidelining of launch officers deemed unfit for duty and the abrupt firing last week of the two-star general in charge.

The problems, including low morale, underscore the challenges of keeping safe such a deadly force that is constantly on alert but is unlikely ever to be used.

More From FoxNews: