The Air Force said that 34 nuclear missile launch officers have been implicated in a cheating scandal and have been stripped of their certification in "what is believed to be the largest such breach of integrity in the nuclear force," The Associated Press reported. The cheating was discovered during a drug investigation, which involved 11 Air Force officers across six bases in the U.S. and England.
"This was a failure of integrity on the part of some of our airmen. It was not a failure of our nuclear mission," said Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.
Two of the officers are at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and one is at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.
The Pentagon disclosed the original drug probe last week, though "provided few other details beyond saying the officers were suspected of possessing 'recreational drugs," as reported by The AP.
"Last week an Air Force spokesman, Lt. Col. Brett Ashworth, said the probe began with an investigation of two officers at Edwards and quickly widened to other bases because of the officers' contacts with others about drug possession," The AP also reported.
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