MINOT (AP) - Minot Air Force Base officials are preparing for inspections that could help pave the way for dozens of airmen to once again handle nuclear weapons.

Some 65 airmen were disciplined and "decertified" from handling nuclear weapons after a cross-country flight of a nuclear-armed B-52 bomber from the base to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana in late August.

The military, after a six-week investigation, called the flight an "unacceptable mistake." The Minot commander at the time, Col. Bruce Emig, was relieved of command.

The 5th Bomb Wing also was "decertified from its wartime mission," the military said. Upcoming inspections later this month and in January are steps toward recertification, officials said.

The bomb wing has continued all of its other missions, including supporting the global war on terrorism, said Maj. Laurie Arellano, a base spokeswoman.