AF Secretary and Chief of Staff Dismissed

[Tom Odom]

From MSNBC

Top two Air Force officials resigning
NBC: Secretary refused to fire chief of staff so both are forced out

WASHINGTON - The nation's top two Air Force officials are resigning, and military sources told NBC News Thursday that they were being forced out.

At the White House, press secretary Dana Perino said President Bush knew about the resignations of Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, but that the White House “has not played any role” in the shake-up.

Moseley, a general, is the Air Force's top uniformed officer. Wynne is the top civilian official.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week told Wynne to fire Moseley but Wynne refused, sources told NBC. As a result, Gates took the unprecedented step of asking both men to resign.

[Ken White]

much anxious stirring in the pachyderm herds tonight...

That ruins Bob Bateman's article on unfired Generals. Still none for tactical blunders or technical malfeasance but the clock maybe she's a-ticking (hat tip to Dr. Emilio Lizardo).

[Fuchs]

It's likely more because of the AF lobbying for more F-22's after Gates said 'no' than about the safety regulations mishap.

[Steve Blair]

It's likely more because of the AF lobbying for more F-22's after Gates said 'no' than about the safety regulations mishap.

No, I don't think so. It's a combination of things, and the F-22 is only a part of that. There were actually two nuke-related mishaps, and in the second case Gates didn't even trust the AF to look into it on its own.

[Cavguy]

No, I don't think so. It's a combination of things, and the F-22 is only a part of that. There were actually two nuke-related mishaps, and in the second case Gates didn't even trust the AF to look into it on its own.

The unit from the first one failed its re-inspection miserably a few weeks ago - if the CEO can't accomplish simple leadership fixes, than Gates has a case for what he did, especially given the combination of other factors - UAV's, F-22's, etc.

[Steve Blair]

He also gave them plenty of public notice that he felt the AF was moving down the wrong garden path. There was no noticeable correction of course...if anything they got more stubborn about what they were doing. Combine that with the Thunderbirds contract issue ($50 million or so of PR stuff done in a suspect manner) and some of the other things and you could really see the writing on the wall.

[Culpeper]

He also gave them plenty of public notice that he felt the AF was moving down the wrong garden path. There was no noticeable correction of course...if anything they got more stubborn about what they were doing. Combine that with the Thunderbirds contract issue ($50 million or so of PR stuff done in a suspect manner) and some of the other things and you could really see the writing on the wall.

Well stated, and I wish I had posted exactly that. Without trying to bash the Air Force I have to state that not much has changed in the company language of the organization in the last thirty or more years. This is a good start with disciplinary action on the higher echelon. There very well may be a lot of USAF Technical Sergeants and Lt. Colonels that would concur with what happened.

[selil]

as to Batemans article "whoops". as to the USAF... playing that blue boy political media blitz football may have backfired. I'm not putting much faith in this until I see the results down stream.

[Stevely]

While I agree Fuchs there is a larger context here, and the two nuclear mishaps were the excuse to lower the boom on the USAF leadership for many more sins, I do not think they are merely pretexts but are also of a pattern with the other abuses that has set Gates and others in DOD against the USAF. The senior leadership of a service sets the tone for its organizational culture. So does it come as a surprise that in a service where the senior leadership habitually subverts and even defies the express will of its superiors in government to further their own agendas, that farther down the ranks you find officers becoming lax and unserious about their own duties and jobs?

[JJackson]

much anxious stirring in the pachyderm herds tonight...

That ruins Bob Bateman's article on unfired Generals. Still none for tactical blunders or technical malfeasance but the clock maybe she's a-ticking (hat tip to Dr. Emilio Lizardo).

Thanks for that I did not know what a pachyderm was so I had to look it up but it is such a brilliantly apt term I am sure I will find plenty of use for it (obviously with acknowledgements).