The Medical Implications of Nuclear War (1986) / Chapter Skim
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25 Sources of Human Instability in the Handling of Nuclear Weapons
25 Sources of Human Instability in the Handling of Nuclear Weapons
Pages 490-528
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National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. Sources of Human Instability in the Handling of Nuclear Weapons HERBERT L
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This paper examines the issue of personnel reliability in the handling of nuclear weapons. It explores and summarizes the character of nuclear weapons duty and its impact on behavior; drug use, alcohol abuse, and psychiatric problems in the military and the degree to which they comprise a security risk; efforts to ensure reliability in nuclear weapons personnel; and the weaknesses of the Personnel Reliability Program (PRP)
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The feeling is one of perpetual jet lag (Moore-Ede, 19821. The duty routines of the navy's nuclear submarine crews are organized around an 18-hour cycle, composed of three 6-hour shifts.
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We block out sounds after we have grown accustomed to their drone, or we stop seeing the familiar in our daily lives. Military personnel, who sit for hours watching lights bleep across an electronic screen, or guards, who stand watch day after day at a sensitive military post, react similarly.
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Human error is also responsible for faulty components and systems failure. On June 3 and 6, 1980, false alerts on the air force missile attack warning system were triggered by a bad computer chip.
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Drug and alcohol abuse, a problem that is serious enough in civilian life, takes on a new dimension when it occurs among those who have access to nuclear weapons or military plans. ALCOHOL, DRUG USE, AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS While the information base for this paper is for the U.S.
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277-278~. The highest TABLE 3 Percentage of Personnel with Work Impairment due to Drug Use Total Marine Air Impairment DOD Anny Navy Corps Force Total 21 22 28 28 9 High while working 19 21 26 25 8 Lowered performance 10 12 15 13 3 SOURCE: Reprinted from Burt (1982, p.
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Alcohol dependence was found in 7 percent of all military personnel. Another 27 percent suffered some degree of work impairment due to alcohol (U.S.
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432~. In recent years, the armed forces have experienced a measurable decrease in drug use, according to the Research Triangle Institute of North Carolina (New York Times, January 21, 19861.
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Congress, House, 1982~. As recently as last year, 1,400 individuals were decertified from nuclear weapons handling because of drug and alcohol abuse.
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Army Patient Administration Systems and Biostatistics Activity: Disposition and Incidence Rates Active Duty Army Personnel, Psychiatric Cases, Worldwide, CY 80-84.
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Eight percent of those referred were psychotic (SatIoff, 1967~. The Soviet Military Accurate information on sources of human instability in the Soviet armed forces is not readily available.
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Suicide is another index and there appears to be a high rate in the Soviet armed forces (Gabriel, 1980; p.
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Alcohol abuse throughout the ranks of the Soviet military has also been documented (Gabriel, 1984, p. 119; Goldhamer, 1975, p.
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stated that one pressing military issue involved setting up a still more strict framework in the training of troops and staff, the determination of the composition of arms, Me organization of still more strict control, for the assured exclusion of the unsanctioned launch of nuclear weapons from the tactical to strategic. The chain of command in the Soviet military flows from the Politburo through the Defense Council to the main Military Council, which governs the general staff, the direct controlling agent for strategic nuclear forces (Ball, 1981~.
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No description of the screening procedures for personnel reliability in the British nuclear forces has been made available. SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS AS A SECURITY RISK What kind of security threat is posed by psychiatric and drug-related disorders in the military?
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121. The impact of drug and alcohol abuse also varies with the substance used and the pattern of use.
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Perhaps the greatest threat to security involves unstable individuals who have access to theater nuclear weapons,- including bombs and depth charges on nonstrategic aircraft; air, sea, and land-based cruise missiles; nuclear land mines; artillery projectiles; and short-range ballistic missiles. While short- and medium-range weapons can do less damage than strategic weapons, the controls over these weapons are also looser.
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Although the impact of drugs and alcohol on military readiness has not been formally studied, the Deputy Secretary of Defense stated in June 1981 that a military unit has never been declared noncombat ready because of drug or alcohol abuse. This may be because the DOD reporting system uses the quantity not the quality of such items as equipment and personnel to define readiness (U.S.
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The heart of the effort is the Personnel Reliability Program (PRP) , which is designed to screen out unstable individuals and "to ensure that such weapons are not subject to loss, theft, sabotage, unauthorized use, unauthorized destruction, accidental damage or jettison .
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Personnel are disqualified for the following reasons: · Alcohol abuse · Drug abuse (isolated or experimental use of marijuana or hashish need not be automatically disqualifying; in each case, the certifying official must judge the impact of the drug use on the individual's reliability) · Negligence or delinquency in perfo'~ance of duty · Court-martial, nonjudicial punishment, serious civil convictions or behavior indicative of contemptuous attitude toward law or authority · Aberrant behavior: mental, physical, or character traits that would lead to unreliable performance · Poor attitude or lack of motivation Relatively little specific information is available on the Soviet counterpart of the PRP i.e., individuals involved with nuclear weapons.
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armed forces. But because of the high degree of secrecy that surrounds the Soviet military, it is impossible to be certain.
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The Walker spy case represents a striking example of the problem of ensuring reliability in the military in general and in nuclear weapons personnel in particular. John Walker, Jr., was in the Naval Nuclear Weapons PRP as a petty officer with communications training and a high-level security clearance.
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Drugs and alcohol accounted for a large fraction, but psychological problems were also important (Table 81. Over the 10-year period, 33 percent were decertified for drug abuse, and 9 percent were decertified for alcohol abuse (Table 9~.
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514 Do 1 _' o Cal Cal ._ C=)
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Decertified Percent Alcohol abuse4,519 9 Drug abuse17,136 33 Negligence or delinquency4,107 Court-martial or civil conviction; behavior contemptuous toward thelaw8,185 16 Physical, mental, or character Gait or aberration10,541 21 Poor attitude6,711a 13 (l9a) Total no.
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Total No. Reason Decertified Percent Alcohol abuse 2,411 11 Drug abuse 5,758 26 Negligence or delinquency 1,453 6 Court-martial or civil conviction; behavior contemptuous toward the law 2,638 12 Physical, mental, or character trait or aberration 4,857 22 Poor attitude 4,751a 24 Total no.
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Traits to watch for in such an interview include suspicion, hostility, impulsiveness, anxiety, and level of motivation. Such an interview could readily be combined with the one that advises the individual of the nature of the PRP and could determine his or her attitude toward nuclear weapons duties.
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6. The candidate's family records should be reviewed for pertinent information such as psychiatric problems, alcoholism, a tendency toward diabetes or high blood pressure, and a history of drug abuse.
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How important are tension, drug and alcohol abuse, psychosis, irrationality, boredom, performance lag, and the other behavioral aberrations observed in nuclear weapons forces? Can such sources of human instability provoke a major nuclear mishap?
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nuclear weapons, with its strategic offensive forces comprising an estimated 90 percent of the United States' total megatonnage strategic capability. Weapons include nuclear-equipped bombers, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)
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Among these, there were 53,255 military, federal, and civilian air force personnel in the nuclear weapons Personnel Reliability Program (P. Delaney, SAC Public Affairs Headquarters, personal communication, 1985~.
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Congress, House, 1978~. Soviet Military Services The Soviet armed forces consist of five services: the Strategic Rocket Forces (SRF)
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295) , but no figures are available on the number responsible for handling nuclear weapons.
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1982. Self-activation of the world nuclear weapons stockpile.
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1983. Military Personnel: Nuclear Weapon Personnel Reliability Program.
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Navy defends its method in fighting drug abuse. New York Times.
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Armed Forces Soc.
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1982. Drug and Alcohol Abuse in the Armed Services.
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