BISMARCK, N.D. - Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne is slated to visit the Minot Air Force Base today to talk with airmen privately and go over procedures for handling nuclear weapons there.

The visit comes after Pentagon officials reported that a B-52 bomber from the Minot base was mistakenly armed with six nuclear warheads and flown across several states last month.

"The recent breakdowns in the munition system is a very serious incident," said Lt. Col. Brenda Campbell, an Air Force spokeswoman at the Pentagon. "This is an opportunity for (Wynne) to get on the ground in Minot and understand firsthand what the processes and procedures are to make sure this never happens again."

Wynne's visit will be closed to the public and the media, Campbell said.

Wynne will travel to North Dakota from Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, S.D., where he is attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new financial services center at the base, Campbell said.

The Air Combat Command has ordered a command-wide stand down today to review "procedures, discipline and attention to detail" in response to the Aug. 30 incident, said Maj. Patricia Traynor, a Minot Air Force Base spokeswoman.

"All continental United States-based non-mission essential flying operations will cease that day," Traynor said. "Mission-critical flights will still occur."

Officials said there was minimal risk to crews and the public during the August incident because of safety features designed into the weapons.

Traynor said an investigation is ongoing. At least one Air Force officer, whose name has not been released, and some airmen have been disciplined, she said.

"A munitions squadron commander has been relieved of duties," Traynor said. "Additional airmen have been temporarily decertified to perform duties involving munitions."

Traynor would not release the number of Air Force personnel responsible for mistakenly loading a B-52 with advanced cruise missiles with nuclear warheads from the Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

"We can't discuss specific numbers," Traynor said. "Individuals or crews that deviated from our extremely strict standard of proficiency have been decertified, pending corrective actions or additional training."

Campbell said the Air Force intends to release the results of its investigation to the public.

"We are going to do everything we can to release as much of it as we can," she said.