What Drives the General Who Ordered Missile Cancer Study: ‘If I Don’t Care, Who Does?’
May 9, 2024 | By Chris Gordon
The Air Force general who oversees the nation’s land-based nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile fleet said he is strongly committed to an ongoing study of cancer cases among crews who worked around ICBMs.
“I’m the commander of this mission, and if I don’t care, who does?” Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “It’s my job.”
He also has a personal stake in the issue.
“When I was at Langley Air Force Base flying F-15s, several of my colleagues got different types of cancers, a couple of them died. I got cancer,” he said. “When I was a captain, I asked the Air Force to look into things like that. And quite frankly, you know, we were not interested in doing that.”
In 2021, the Air Force released a study on increased rates of some cancers among fighter pilots. That led to a broader 2022 DOD review of aviators’ cancer rates that drew similar conclusions.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-general-missile-cancer-study-bussiere/
