The US air force study paints a truly troubling picture. It provides evidence of malaise and broader behavioral issues across the intercontinental ballistic missile force, including sexual assaults and domestic violence.
Continue after the break.


Court-martial rates in the nuclear missile force in 2011 and 2012 were more than twice as high as in the overall air force, said the study. Administrative punishments, such as written reprimands for rules violations and other misbehavior, also were higher in those years.
These indicators add a new dimension to an emerging picture of malaise and worse inside the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) force.
Concerned about heightened levels of misconduct, the air force directed RAND Corp., the federally funded research house, to conduct a three-month study of work conditions and attitudes among the men and women inside the ICBM force.
It found a toxic mix of frustration and aggravation, heightened by a sense of being unappreciated, overworked and at constant risk of failure.
Based on confidential small group discussions last winter with about 100 launch officers, security forces, missile maintenance workers and others who work with the missiles, plus responses to confidential questionnaires, RAND found low job satisfaction and what it termed "burnout."
The study calls into question the management of a force that demands strict obedience to procedures.