Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana is home to B-52 bombers that were built five and a half decades ago, but still play a central role in today's U.S. 'nuclear triad.' (U.S. Air Force)
Politico: How the nuclear force dodged the coronavirus
Preparing for doomsday has its benefits in a pandemic.
The nation's nuclear forces, which prepare for the worst even on good days, were among the earliest and most aggressive in planning for the coronavirus pandemic, according to interviews with military officials and an internal timeline of key actions.
And the efforts appear to have paid off.
While other parts of the military have been hard-hit by the virus — including hundreds of sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and dozens of new Army recruits packed into barracks — bomber squadrons, ballistic missile submarines and intercontinental ballistic missile crews have been largely spared, despite their similarly close quarters.
Commanders attribute the success to their early response, which began with a directive in January to review "disease containment plans" at bases around the country and included staggering and extending deployment schedules, tracking the virus in surrounding communities, and deploying inspection teams on bases to ensure social distancing measures were being followed.
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WNU Editor: The commanders are attributing their success to responding early and isolating crews.
