https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/us-strategic-command-deletes-new-years-eve-tweet-about-dropping-nukes

US Strategic Command deletes New Year's Eve tweet about dropping nukes

by Claude Thompson

December 31, 2018 06:07 PM

The U.S. Strategic Command deleted a tweet Monday that said that the unified command was prepared to drop bombs, if need be, on New Year's Eve with a video depicting U.S. stealth fighters doing just that.

"#TimesSquare tradition rings in the #NewYear by dropping the big ball…if needed, we are #ready to drop something much, much bigger," the tweet read.

The tweet encouraged viewers to watch the video "to the end." The conclusion depicted explosions after bombs were dropped by planes like the B-2 bomber out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which was tagged in the tweet.

U.S. Strategic Command personnel did not immediately respond to request for comment.

USSTRATCOM is a unified command in control of the U.S. arsenal of nuclear weapons, among other things, and is based out of Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The command slogan is "Peace is Our Profession" and was used in hashtag form in the tweet, which caused some people to question the motive of the tweet and video.

The tweet inaccurately stated that they were willing to drop "something much, much bigger." The largest nuclear warhead currently in service in the U.S. is the B83 nuclear bomb, which weighs approximately 2,400 pounds and has an 18-inch diameter. The Times Square ball dropped on NYE every year weighs just under 12,000 pounds and is over 12 feet in diameter.