Last week I happened to read an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates regarding the New START Treaty. Gates tells us that the “treaty has the unanimous support of America’s military leadership.”

That’s good to know, but they don’t get to vote on it.

The Obama Administration also plans to throw some incentives (around $180 billion) at the Senate to pass the treaty. The Senate starts working on the Treaty this week in the Foreign Relations Committee chaired by Senator John Kerry. It requires a vote of two-thirds of the Senators present and voting (a quorum being present) to pass.

After reading about six paragraphs into his opinion, I found this nugget of information interesting:

Based on recommendations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we plan to meet the Treaty’s limits by retaining a triad of up to 420 ICBMs, 14 submarines carrying up to 240 SLBMs, and up to 60 nuclear-capable heavy bombers.

As with most people who follow the military, especially those who follow the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) missions, that paragraph raised an eyebrow.

A Washington Post story tells us that “the administration will reduce the 450 ICBMs now deployed with single warheads to 420, and perhaps fewer.”

Currently, there are three ICBM bases left (Minot in North Dakota, F.E. Warren in Wyoming, and Malmstrom in Montana). They have 150 ICBMs each, which totals 450. Continue reading →