Editor’s note: This article ran in the Jan. 31, 1992, issue.
FORT MCPHERSON, Ga. — The Nuclear Weapon Branch at Fort Carson is among 14 at U.S. Forces Command installations closing in 1992 as part of a presidential initiative to eliminate programs for ground-launched tactical nuclear weapons.
Forces Command planners estimate that all 14 branches will close by May 1992. The branches are also located at forts Ord, Sill, Hood, Bliss, Stewart, Meade, Lewis, Sheridan, Riley, Polk, Bragg, Devens and Redstone Arsenal.
“The nuclear weapons support branches provided training and technical assistance to units that would have to deliver special weapons systems,” said Maj. Bill Whitlock, chief of the Nuclear Branch at FORSCOM’s directorate of Operations.
“The support branches served about 300 Reserve component and active-duty field artillery units, 47 explosive ordnance detachments and two training schools in the United States.”
The branch closures stem from President Bush’s Sept. 27 announcement, which was the single biggest change in the deployment of nuclear weapons since 1954, according to Army officials. The nine-point initiative called for the elimination of ground-launched tactical nuclear weapons, the withdrawal of tactical nuclear weapons from ships at sea, and the standing down of strategic bombers from alert. The current mission to support mission field artillery and EOD units dates back 15 years, although many of the Soldiers and civilians in the field have over 18 years’ experience, said CWO3 Steve Seamen, FORSCOM nuclear weapons technical support officer.
“The NWSB gave the Army a stable base of knowledge for units to use for their training with handling, storing and maintaining special weapons,” Whitlock said. “With the mission eliminated, we must channel that great expertise into other areas.”
Similar efforts to close the nuclear support branch at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, are underway. The office there serves military units in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
“Being in the field and coming back recently from Europe, I expected this,” said CWO3 John Kearney, chief of the Fort Sheridan NWSB. His office is starting to place soldiers and civilian employees now in anticipation of the closure of this year.
“The NWSBs were the link between the Army reserves and active-duty,” Kearney said. “We kept them all abreast of the security, safety and training required for this special field.”
About 120 Forces Command positions will be affected by the branch closing across the nation. Of these, 40 civilian positions may be lost in the process, according to Whitlock, although efforts are underway to place as many employees as possible. Most of the Soldiers involved will transfer to related occupational fields, like ordnance.
Other nuclear initiatives announced Sept. 27 include standing down Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles slated for deactivation under the START agreement; canceling the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison Program and the small ICBM Mobility Program; and establishing the U.S. Strategic Command. (FORSCOM)