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Navy Investigating Alleged Cheating By Nuclear Trainees

The Navy is investigating alleged cheating on tests by sailors training on nuclear reactors and propulsion at a Navy school, senior navy officials at the Pentagon tell NPR's Tom Bowman.

The extent of the cheating is unknown, but the AP reports that the cheating did not involve nuclear weapons so it "is not comparable to the Air Force's investigation of alleged cheating by officers who operate land-based nuclear missiles."

As we've reported, the Air Force cheating scandal has implicated 92 nuclear officers and cost the Air Force general in charge of the nuclear missile force his job.

Update at 4:01 p.m. ET. Disappointed:

During a press conference this afternoon at the Pentagon, the Navy's top admiral said the cheating involved written tests about nuclear power reactors.

The AP reports:

"Adm. Jonathan Greenert told a Pentagon news conference Tuesday that he was disappointed in the alleged breakdown in discipline. He said the investigation was ongoing.

"The head of the Navy's nuclear propulsion programs, Adm. John Richardson, told reporters that the examinations on which sailors allegedly cheated included classified information."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.