As a current 12-year member of the Air Force, I've seen my fair share of gaffs; but none that resulted in anyone going to jail or having their career ended. Those consequences are reserved for committing crimes

During my six year stint in the navy aboard nuclear fast attack submarines, I did in fact see one man go to *jail* so you're experiences are not canonical. What you fail to address is the fact that loss of control of a nuclear weapon *is* a crime and is not only career-threatening but definitely in the realm of landing someone in the big house.

As for the last part of what you said:

Oh, and to the other posts that keep talking about 'attached to the wings'...Um, B-52s don't have anything attached to their wings except engines. The weapons would have been in the internal bay.

You are a blithering idiot and obviously work as an air force cook, not a weapons handler. This from a 4 year old article from http://www.military-aerospace-technology.com/artic le.cfm?DocID=192

In the last four years, four of these smart weapons have been integrated into the B-52: the WCMD, the joint direct attack munition (JDAM), the joint standoff weapon (JSW), and the joint air-to-surface standoff missile (JASSM). All are certified except the JASSM, which is still undergoing operational testing.

Price said that the Air Force would like to create the capability to carry these smart weapons externally and internally on the B-52. Currently, the aircraft can only carry these weapons externally on pylons. Air Combat Command (ACC) would like to incorporate the weapons into the bomb bay but has not committed the funding to do so yet.

Buffs have carried external pylon mounted cruise missiles as well as AGM's for a couple of years now, and are constantly being upgraded with longer range missiles, more advanced targeting systems and control systems.