Drug probe undercuts Hagel pep talk to nuke force

Drug probe undercuts Hagel pep talk to nuke force

F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. (AP) — Moments before he launched a carefully planned pep talk to members of the Air Force’s nuclear missile force, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was undercut by yet another sign of trouble in their ranks: a drug probe of two missile officers. Hagel flew here Thursday to deliver a message he felt needed to be heard by men and women who sometimes tire of toiling in a job that can seem like military oblivion. He wanted to buck them up, while also insisting they live up to their own standards, which he said should never be compromised in a business as potentially dangerous as the launching of the world’s deadliest weapons.