For the second time in a year, US Air Force airmen have been found consuming illicit substances in facilities used to oversee the nation's nuclear arsenal.
The USAF's Office of Special Investigations is looking into “reports of suspected illegal drugs at an above-ground facility” at the service's Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, 2nd Lt. Gabriel M. Cushing, a spokesman for the base's 5th Bomb Wing, told Task & Purpose Wednesday.
Task & Purpose noted the investigation first became known to the public thanks to an image posted on the Facebook group Air Force amn/nco/snco, which is popular for sharing memes about military life as well as general watering hole chitchat for servicemembers.
The text in the image describes an incident at Minot in which “there was an airman who was caught smoking marijuana in one of the MAFs during 791 MSFS shift,” noting that during the subsequent investigation, “there was a rolled joint found in one [of] the interior couch cushions” at the MAF.”
“The 791 commander is trying to keep this under wraps for fear of losing his job for this along with ignoring the suicide epidemic within the airforce when he has had airmen voice their concerns about taking their own lives,” the post continues.
However, Cushing told Task & Purpose that “there is no indication that any illegal substances were found below ground near any missile operator.”
“We take this matter seriously and will investigate this fully,”…
