THIS STORY IS A LITTLE PUZZLING

Here are the excerpts:

No. 2 US nuke commander suspended amid probe
Associated Press
ROBERT BURNS 12 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The No. 2 officer at the military command in charge of all U.S. nuclear war-fighting forces has been suspended and is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service for issues related to gambling, officials said Saturday.

Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, who heads Strategic Command, suspended the deputy commander, Navy Vice Adm. Tim Giardina, from his duties on Sept. 3, according to the command's top spokeswoman, Navy Capt. Pamela Kunze. Giardina is still assigned to the command but is prohibited from performing duties related to nuclear weapons and other issues requiring a security clearance, she said.

Kehler has recommended to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that Giardina be reassigned, Kunze said. Giardina has been the deputy commander of Strategic Command since December 2011. He is a career submarine officer and prior to starting his assignment there was the deputy commander and chief of staff at U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Two senior U.S. officials familiar with the investigation said it is related to gambling issues.

I don't know the etiology of a gambling addiction so maybe I'm off base here, but I thought this habit was developed over years and that leads me to ask "Why now?" As the AP points out, our nuclear forces have been having some real problems recently:

Last spring the nuclear missile unit at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., pulled 17 launch control officers off duty after a problematic inspection and later relieved of duty the officer in charge of training and proficiency. In August a nuclear missile unit at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., failed a nuclear safety and security inspection; nine days later an officer in charge of the unit's security forces was relieved of duty.