--- title: Nuclear Weapons: Hagel, Pentagon to Shore Up Nuke Arsenal description: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday that a pair of reviews calls for spending about $7.5 billion over the next 5 years canonical: https://time.com/3585705/hagel-nuclear-weapons-force/ author: Mark Thompson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-14T17:49:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:21.688Z article:section: Politics og:title: More Band-Aids for the U.S.’s Ailing Nuclear-Weapons Force og:description: Pentagon beefs up spending to keep yesterday’s weapons ready for tomorrow og:url: https://time.com/3585705/hagel-nuclear-weapons-force/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43a60177ace49c9a/698768da35ba6f2d89c05560/us-air-force-nuclear-weapon-missile-chuck-hagel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: A US Air Force missile maintenance team removes the upper section of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead in an undated USAF photo at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: More Band-Aids for the U.S.’s Ailing Nuclear-Weapons Force twitter:description: Pentagon beefs up spending to keep yesterday’s weapons ready for tomorrow twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43a60177ace49c9a/698768da35ba6f2d89c05560/us-air-force-nuclear-weapon-missile-chuck-hagel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # More Band-Aids for the Nation’s Ailing Nuclear-Weapons Force > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=bde7a4ae-67f5-4202-a586-58726f055047&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=bde7a4ae-67f5-4202-a586-58726f055047&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=bde7a4ae-67f5-4202-a586-58726f055047&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=bde7a4ae-67f5-4202-a586-58726f055047&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: See What You Missed This Week [Watch (HLS stream): See What You Missed This Week](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VmCGKpJz.m3u8) (1:19)  _Published 2014-11-14. Here are four of the biggest stories for the second week of November._ by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Nov 14, 2014 5:49 PM UTC  A US Air Force missile maintenance team removes the upper section of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead in an undated USAF photo at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. A US Air Force missile maintenance team removes the upper section of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead in an undated USAF photo at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Airman John Parie—U.S. Air Force/Reuters by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Nov 14, 2014 5:49 PM UTC The U.S. military’s nuclear force — both its hardware (the weapons) and its software (the people who operate those weapons) — is in disarray. That can only come as a surprise to those who don’t concede the Cold War is over, and that neither the funding, nor the required mindset, exists to keep it going indefinitely. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday that a [pair](https://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/external-review.pdf) of [reviews](https://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/summary-internal-ner-final-for-sd-review.pdf) calls for spending about $7.5 billion over the next five years to shore up the nation’s nuclear weapons, as well as the bombers, land-based missiles and submarines that carry them. “The reviews found evidence of systematic problems that if not addressed could undermine the safety, security and effectiveness of the elements of the force in the future,” he said. “These problems include manning; infrastructure; and skill deficiencies; a culture of micro-management; and over-inspection and inadequate communication, follow-up, and accountability by senior department in nuclear enterprise leadership.” There was a palpable sense of national mission when you visited nuclear sites during the Cold War. While that remains true at most sites, there’s a feeling gleaned from speaking with current nuclear officers that their mission isn’t as vital as it once was. Congress feels the same way, which is why the nation’s nuclear-weapons organization has been nickled-and-dimed, relatively speaking, for the past 25 years (although it’s [slated](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/140107%5Ftrillion%5Fdollar%5Fnuclear%5Ftriad.pdf) to cost $1 trillion over the next 30 years). Hagel ordered the reviews in January, after reports of widespread [cheating](http://swampland.time.com/2014/01/15/nuclear-triad-continues-to-creak/) surfaced among the airmen operating the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles at Montana’s Malmstrom Air Force Base. The Navy also discovered that some of its sailors had apparently cheated on tests involving the nuclear reactors that power some of the service’s ships and subs. The panels [recommended](https://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ner-fact-sheet-final.pdf) more than 100 changes, which will be monitored by a newly created Nuclear Deterrent Enterprise Review Group that will report directly to Hagel every three months. “Our nuclear triad deters nuclear attack on the United States and our allies and our partners,” Hagel told reporters. “It prevents potential adversaries from trying to escalate their way out of failed conventional aggression, and it provides the means for effective response should deterrence fail.” Arms-control advocates disagree. “Apart from deterring a nuclear attack, nuclear weapons play an increasingly limited role in U.S. national security policy, but our arsenal is still configured and sized for a Cold War world that no longer exists,” says Kingston Reif of the non-profit Arms Control Association. “There are simply no plausible military missions for these weapons given their destructive power, the current security environment and the prowess of U.S. conventional forces.” The Air Force has already made improvements. Last month, missile launch officers became eligible to receive up to $300 monthly because of the importance of their mission. New uniform and cold-weather gear also have been provided the ICBM crews, who work in North Dakota and Wyoming as well as Montana. It has added 1,100 more troops to its nuclear force (the Navy’s hiring 2,500 more). Last week, the Air Force awarded 25 airmen the new Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service medals to honor their work. The roots of the problem runs deep. Over the past two decades, the Air Force has shifted responsibility for its ICBMs around like an unwanted child. The missiles bounced from Curtis Lemay’s Strategic Air Command, where they had been since becoming operational in 1959, to Air Combat Command in 1992\. They moved to Space Command in 1993, and finally to Global Strike Command in 2009, created as a mini-SAC following a [pair](http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1812228,00.html) of nuclear snafus of 2007-08 that led to the cashiering of the Air Force’s top two officials. “We mattered under Strategic Air Command,” Dana Struckman, a retired colonel who manned missiles from 1989 to 1993, said earlier this year. “The Cold War was still on, and we had a sense of purpose that I don’t think they have today.” Some official Air Force reports acknowledge the problem. “Many current senior Air Force leaders interviewed were cynical about the nuclear mission, its future, and its true (versus publicly stated) priority to the Air Force,” a 2012 Air Force paper said. Commanders routinely told nuclear airmen that they were in a “sunset business” and “were not contributing to the fight that mattered,” it added. A second Pentagon study noted that most airmen manning ICBMs “were not volunteers for missile duty.” Hagel conceded the problems aren’t new. “Previous reviews of our nuclear enterprise lacked clear follow-up mechanisms,” he said. “Recommendations were implemented without the necessary follow-through to assess that they were implemented effectively. There was a lack of accountability.” To fix that, he said he has assigned Pentagon cost experts to monitor the new changes being made so that the Defense Department knows “what’s working and what’s not.” The defense secretary pledged to “hold our leaders accountable up and down the chain of command.” That’s because the problems aren’t confined to the lower ranks. The Air Force [fired](http://swampland.time.com/2013/12/19/air-force-major-general-michael-carey-loses-job-for-drunken-antics/) Maj. Gen. Michael Carey — in charge of all the nation’s ICBMs — last year after an official trip to Moscow, where he drank excessively and cavorted with “suspect” women. During a layover at a Swiss airport, witnesses told Pentagon investigators that Carey “appeared drunk and, in the public area, talked loudly about the importance of his position as commander of the only operational nuclear force in the world and that he saves the world from war every day.” Those still in charge don’t see their assignment as a Cold War mission. “I don’t think we’re any more a Cold War force than an aircraft carrier, or Special Ops, or the UH-1 helicopter,” Lieut. Gen. James Kowalksi, chief of Global Strike Command, said of his nuclear arsenal last year. A Russian first strike, in fact, has become such a “remote” possibility that it’s “hardly worth discussing,” he said. “The greatest risk to my force is an accident. The greatest risk to my force is doing something stupid.” Kowalski became the No. 2 officer in U.S. Strategic Command in October 2013, overseeing the nation’s entire nuclear arsenal, after President Obama fired Vice Adm. Tim Giardina from the post for allegedly gambling in an Iowa casino with counterfeit chips. The charge — a felony — happened at Horseshoe Council Bluffs Casino, a 15-minute drive across the Missouri River from the nation’s nuclear headquarters. Hagel implied Friday that operating the nation’s most deadly weapons in the 21st century is kind of like using enough wax and elbow grease to shine up an old jalopy: “We must restore the prestige that attracted the brightest minds of the Cold War era, so our most talented young men and women see the nuclear pathway as promising in value.” Only one problem: the most talented young men and women know the Cold War ended before they were born. Given that, they also know there’s no way to restore the resolve and purpose those manning the weapons against the Soviet Union once felt. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] I indicated to Speaker Boehner several months ago, that if, in fact, Congress failed to act. I would use all the lawful authority that I possess, to try to make the system work better ,. And that's gonna happen. [ MUSIC ] [ INAUDIBLE ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3585705/hagel-nuclear-weapons-force/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3585705/hagel-nuclear-weapons-force/"},"headline":"More Band-Aids for the Nation’s Ailing Nuclear-Weapons Force","datePublished":"2014-11-14T17:49:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:00:21.688Z","description":"Pentagon beefs up spending to keep yesterday’s weapons ready for tomorrow","url":"https://time.com/3585705/hagel-nuclear-weapons-force/","keywords":["National Security","Military","Nuclear"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43a60177ace49c9a/698768da35ba6f2d89c05560/us-air-force-nuclear-weapon-missile-chuck-hagel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Thompson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt43a60177ace49c9a/698768da35ba6f2d89c05560/us-air-force-nuclear-weapon-missile-chuck-hagel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A US Air Force missile maintenance team removes the upper section of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead in an undated USAF photo at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.","caption":"A US Air Force missile maintenance team removes the upper section of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead in an undated USAF photo at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.","creditText":"Airman John Parie—U.S. Air Force/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/national-security/","name":"National Security"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3585705/hagel-nuclear-weapons-force/","name":"More Band-Aids for the Nation’s Ailing Nuclear-Weapons Force"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See What You Missed This Week","description":"Here are four of the biggest stories for the second week of November.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/VmCGKpJz/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-11-14T16:05:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/VmCGKpJz.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3585705/hagel-nuclear-weapons-force/","duration":"PT1M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3585705/hagel-nuclear-weapons-force/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```