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The unmarked 18-wheelers ply the nation's interstates and two-lane highways, logging 3 million miles a year hauling the most lethal cargo there is: nuclear bombs.
The covert fleet, which shuttles warheads from missile silos, bomber bases and submarine docks to nuclear weapons labs across the country, is operated by the Office of Secure Transportation, a troubled agency within the U.S. Department of Energy so cloaked in secrecy that few people outside the government know it exists.
The $237-million-a-year agency operates a fleet of 42 tractor-trailers, staffed by highly armed couriers, many of them veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, responsible for making sure nuclear weapons and components pass through foggy mountain passes and urban traffic jams without incident.
The transportation office is about to become more crucial than ever as the U.S. embarks on a $1-trillion upgrade of the nuclear arsenal that will require thousands of additional warhead shipments over the next 15 years.
The increased workload will hit an agency already struggling with problems of forced overtime, high driver turnover, old trucks and poor worker morale — raising questions about its ability to keep nuclear shipments safe from attack in an era of more sophisticated terrorism.
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(Score: 4, Informative) by Techwolf on Saturday March 18 2017, @02:38AM (2 children)
I can't read the articial, it pops up an window that I can't get rid of. I'me sure if I waste enough time, I could get around it. But I wanted to get this comment out soon.
The summery bothers me. I've personally seen those trucks a couple times and I am familiar with carriers that do gov loads. Those trucks are usually O/O. (Owner Operator) A lot of those trucks are pre-EGR due to more reliable then the newer trucks. Also, gov loads pay VERY well and those trucks are keep good care of by there owners, after all, it there livelihood that depends on it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 18 2017, @05:49AM (1 child)
Yeah I worked in that industry for years. This smells like bull. 240 million to run 40ish trucks for 1 year? If it is all OO then it smells even more like bull. As that would make them asset light. There would be a huge gap in the budget if true.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 18 2017, @09:24AM
Many of the 322 employees (who all require advanced military combat training) average 75 hours per week ($73k p/y including overtime), 100+ SUV's to escort the trucks, driving countless miles ...
RTFA before claiming OO and just 40ish trucks.