Combat Duty?

This is coolbert:

Women in combat.

The women of Malmstrom!!

Thanks to the tip from Larry and the Malmstron AFB web site we have the photo and brief description of ten young American military women, officers each and every one of them, those lieutenants at the very leading edge of the U.S. military atomic arsenal and deterrent.

These young women prior to a 24 hour alert, manning deep underground a command post [two officers per post] of a missile silo, able to launch the Minuteman III intercontinental  ballistic missile each and everyone of those Minuteman carrying ten atomic warheads.

That debate over women in combat was ended long time ago? Unbeknownst to the American public and unappreciated, for some time now U.S. military women have been an integral part of the American nuclear deterrent? This qualifies as COMBAT DUTY EVEN IF WAY UNDERGROUND?

"Mission planning before ICBM alert"

"2/2/2012 - Crew members from the 10th Missile Squadron deployed to the five missile alert facilities for a 24-hour alert Jan. 30"

 "Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base . . . is the home of the 341st Missile Wing (341 MW) of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC)."

Those young women chosen for intellect, highly trained and screened for security and reliability their mission while on duty having a global reach!

NO PERSON can command a nuclear equipped unit if there is even the appearance of wrong-doing, even if totally unfounded! A very high standard almost beyond measure for which these young American woman more than pass the test!!

My absolutely instantaneous and intuitive reaction when seeing this photo and also from the web site the listing of names was that this is some sort of gross breach of operational security [OPSEC]. The names and photographs of persons assigned to and in command of nuclear equipped units is usually classified to some extent? Evidently not the case here!

coolbert.