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Six leaders — including two commanders and four of their subordinates — were fired from a key Air Force nuclear base in North Dakota without explanation Monday.
Col. Gregory Mayer, who ran the 5th Mission Support Group at Minot Air Force Base; Maj. Jonathan Welch, the 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron commander; and four unnamed subordinates lost their jobs due to a “loss of confidence” in their ability to lead, Air Force Global Strike Command said in a release Monday.
“These personnel actions were necessary to maintain the very high standards we demand of those units entrusted with supporting our nation’s nuclear mission,” said Maj. Gen. Andrew Gebara, the two-star in charge of Air Force nuclear units under 8th Air Force, in the release.
The Air Force declined to say what led to their ousters or what disciplinary action they may face.
Mayer held the support group’s top job for eight months after arriving at Minot last June. He has held leadership roles in the civil engineering community for the past several years of his nearly 25-year career.
At Minot, Mayer oversaw 1,900 airmen across six squadrons and a base portfolio worth $4.3 billion. Minot is the Air Force’s only installation that houses two legs of the nuclear triad.
Mayer’s group supports daily operations of the base’s B-52H Stratofortress nuclear-capable bombers, Minuteman III nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles and launch control centers, and UH-1N helicopters, according to an official biography that was removed from Minot’s website Monday.
The Air Force declined to provide more information about whether the other airmen were officers or enlisted, who will replace them, or whether they were all fired over the same incident.