CSAF and SA Asked to Resign

[CAP Producer]

From the AP: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,363495,00.html

Top 2 Air Force Officials to Resign
Thursday, June 05, 2008

WASHINGTON —  Both the top uniformed officer of the Air Force and its civilian leader have been asked to submit their resignations, FOX News confirms.

Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne will resign by the end of the day, two sets of sources tell FOX News.

Defense Secretary Gates has publicly identified a number of problems recently with the Air Force, including last year's accidental flight of nuclear weapons on a B-52 bomber, a top ranking official who ran into contract problems.

Gates also recently spoke at the Air Force Academy describing the Air Force's sluggishness to step up its force readiness.

FOX News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

[Timothy]

I was just going to post this myself! New men in both positions will mean some changes in AF for sure. And I believe that Mosely was the one pushing the new Heritage Service Coat through.

[mikeylikey]

Wow.....There must be some real problems with these men (other than what is publicly known).  Could they both be owners of a certain foreign company that recently got a procurement deal with USAF?  I bet we see a GAO report on the subject.

I am amazed both got fired. 

[afgeo4]

This just in on yahoo news...

05Jun08

By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - In an extraordinary shake-up, the Air Force's top uniformed and civilian officials are leaving their jobs, U.S. officials said Thursday after an internal report on a mistaken shipment to Taiwan of warhead fuses for nuclear missiles pointed substantial blame at the Air Force.
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Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to step down, said defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Air Force officials had no immediate comment.

Gates was expected to make a public announcement later in the day and to emphasize the importance of the Taiwan fuse debacle in his decision to remove the service's top leaders.

More than the other military branches, the Air Force in recent years has endured trouble at the top. Still, it is extremely rare for a service to lose its most senior uniformed and civilian leaders at the same time. There was no immediate word on who would be nominated to succeed Moseley and Wynne.

In another embarrassing setback, this one last August, a B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown across the country. The pilot and crew were unaware they had nuclear arms aboard.

That error was considered so grave that President Bush was quickly informed.

Gates' Air Force decision is the latest example of his impatience with Pentagon leaders he deems to be out of line. In March 2007, three months into his tenure, he forced the Army secretary, Francis Harvey, to quit. Gates was unhappy with Harvey's handling of revelations of inadequate housing conditions and bureaucratic delays for troops recovering from war wounds at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Bush was aware of the new changes, but the White House "has not played any role" in the shake-up, said press secretary Dana Perino.

Moseley, who commanded coalition air forces during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003, became Air Force chief in September 2005. Wynne took office in November 2005; before that he was the Pentagon's top acquisition and technology official under Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

In response to flaws exposed by the nuclear weapons error last year, Moseley said the Air Force would change the way bomber crews organize for their nuclear training mission. It was disclosed in recent days that the bomber unit, based at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., had failed portions of a nuclear security and safety inspection in May, although it did not lose its certification.

Gates seemed to be especially disturbed by the mistaken fuse sale to Taiwan. He was briefed last week on the conclusions of an internal investigation of the matter but the written results have not been released.

Four cone-shaped electrical fuses used in intercontinental ballistic missile warheads were shipped to the Taiwanese — instead of the helicopter batteries Taiwan had ordered. The fuses originated at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., but the mix-up apparently occurred after the parts were shipped to Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

After the March disclosure of that mistake, Gates ordered a full inventory of all nuclear weapons and related materials.

At the time the erroneous sale was disclosed by the Pentagon, Ryan Henry, a senior aide to Gates, said mistakes involving elements of the nation's strategic nuclear arsenal "cannot be tolerated."

In another incident, the Pentagon inspector general found in April that a $50 million contract to promote the Thunderbirds aerial stunt team was tainted by improper influence and preferential treatment. No criminal conduct was found.

Moseley was not singled out for blame, but the investigation laid out a trail of communications from him and other Air Force leaders that eventually influenced the 2005 contract award. Included in that were friendly e-mails between Moseley and an executive in the company that won the bid.

"It is my sense that General Moseley's command authority has been compromised," Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said at the time.

[smitjud]

I think someone beat you to it

http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=5245.0;topicseen

Crazy stuff though.

[John Bryan]

Even if my comment is a little off topic, I don't mind 

Often times when CAP's leadership fails there is a cry from the field to replace CAP officers with Air Force Officers (or "real" Officers). I think there is an important lesson in this story. Leaders fail.....CAP leaders, AF leaders, and SES federal employees. It does not matter what you wear.

In any organization, the important thing is the organization fix the mistakes or failures and move on.

Anytime this kind of thing happens in any organization it is sad.....today is a sad day for the AF family.

[mikeylikey]

^ Ya but, these AF leaders are not the Officers who loaded nukes onto planes and flew around the US.  This was a pure political move to appease the Senate.  Nothing more, nothing less. 

[PHall]

^ Ya but, these AF leaders are not the Officers who loaded nukes onto planes and flew around the US.  This was a pure political move to appease the Senate.  Nothing more, nothing less. 

The senior leadership of the 5th Bomb Wing got canned for that already.

[Cecil DP]

^ Ya but, these AF leaders are not the Officers who loaded nukes onto planes and flew around the US.  This was a pure political move to appease the Senate.  Nothing more, nothing less. 

The senior leadership of the 5th Bomb Wing got canned for that already.

The CofS and SecAf are responsible for ensuring that the standadrs and training were in place and enforced. In the last year the AF has sent nuclear detonators to Taiwan, Lost those nukes that were sent to Louisinan, and than had the contracting scandel. This is a clear signal to all the military that if you're resonsible for what happens during your watch. Mosely will retire with a several DSM's and his full 4 star pension,.The SecAF will get a job in the Defense Industry

[lordmonar]

There is also a lot of animosity between the SECDEF and the AF Leadership over a whole host of issues.....This is not a case of one big screw up and they got canned....but a lot of little issues that have built up over time.

[FW]

One good reason for the "friction" is for the AF asking for an additional $415 Billion for modernization of the fleet.  Seems that something going on in the Middle East has been using up the "merchandise" at an alarming rate.  

Instead of the AF getting the cash, it went for Farm Subsidies.  

What's a SECAF going to do?  He cries to the CSAF who calls his friends in the Defense business.  Stuff happens.. deals made....  Bombs over heartland..... fuses in Tiawan.....

Where's Tom Clancy when you need him.  

[shorning]

^ Ya but, these AF leaders are not the Officers who loaded nukes onto planes and flew around the US.  This was a pure political move to appease the Senate.  Nothing more, nothing less. 

The senior leadership of the 5th Bomb Wing got canned for that already.

...and they're not done yet...

[Short Field]

The CSAF and SA didn't get canned because the events happened - they got canned because they didn't act to fix the problems and institute procedures to ensure it doesn't happen again. 

From CNN:  The resignations come after a report on a Navy admiral's investigation that criticized the Air Force's reactions to the incidents.

Gates said the report "depicts a pattern of poor performance" in which Air Force brass didn't act to improve security after mishaps and Air Force personnel handling nuclear weapons consistently failed to follow existing rules.

Air Force leaders "not only fell short in terms of specific acts, they failed to recognize systemic problems, to address those problems or, when beyond their authority to act, to call the attention of superiors to those problems," Gates said.

The investigation found that although the Taiwan incident didn't compromise the integrity of the U.S. nuclear force, it represented "a significant failure" by the Air Force to ensure sensitive military components, Gates said.

Gates said the report concluded that erosion in the branch's command and oversight standards helped lead to the incidents, and that they could have been prevented if the oversight programs had functioned correctly.

[afgeo4]

It's also no secret that Secretary Gates is a long time friend of the Navy and his work will reflect that. I think there were other ways to handle it, including asking the people responsible to step down in a less public manner. He wanted to make an example out of them. However, you can't make an example out of a SECAF or a CSAF. That's like making an example out of the President. Who is the example for? I think it's just a stunt for the elections. To show that the DoD, under the current White House administration is able to make changes and to correct wrongdoing (something they've been accused of not doing in the past). I wouldn't be surprised if Sen. McCain had a say in this too.

The problem is the system, not the people in charge. It's not like they can make sweeping, radical and fast changes during war time anyway. Especially when there's no budget. Face it, right now the Air Force is a bastard child in the Pentagon. Most just see it as a necessary evil that drains the funding. That will probably change again once we get out of the middle east (whenever that will happen) or once we enter a more traditional conflict.

[Short Field]

It's not like they can make sweeping, radical and fast changes during war time anyway. Especially when there's no budget.

As a former SAC member, I can promise you that maintaining positive control of nuclear weapons does not require sweeping, radical changes.  It might require fast changes - depending on how far the procedures have been allowed to slide.   It only requires the leadership to set the standards and continually follow up to see they are being met.  SAC was an easy command to get fired in because there was no excuse for failing to pay attention to the details.   It doesn't take a budget increase to change procedures.     The next CSAF will probably have no problem setting his priorites.

[afgeo4]

It's not like they can make sweeping, radical and fast changes during war time anyway. Especially when there's no budget.

As a former SAC member, I can promise you that maintaining positive control of nuclear weapons does not require sweeping, radical changes.  It might require fast changes - depending on how far the procedures have been allowed to slide.   It only requires the leadership to set the standards and continually follow up to see they are being met.  SAC was an easy command to get fired in because there was no excuse for failing to pay attention to the details.   It doesn't take a budget increase to change procedures.     The next CSAF will probably have no problem setting his priorites.

Agreed, but how much control can a CSAF have on daily procedures of a particular wing? Every MAJCOM has  its own things to worry about and their own procedures for their own jobs. There's no way someone in the Pentagon can have such wide span of control. The problem laid with the Wing CCs when it came to the actual events. The problem in lack of training and oversight lays with the MAJCOM commanders. In this case ACC and PACAF. They have to set the rules and maintain oversight.

Asking the CSAF to control missile loading and inventory is like asking him to control armories, motor pools and kitchen stockrooms. Simply impossible. By the way, did he appoint people to the positions I just mentioned or were they there before his command?

[Short Field]

The SAF and CSAF set the standards and priority.  The CSAF hired the intermediate commanders.  He supervises them.   He also has an Air Staff to let him know how the field is doing.    It wasn't that important to the CSAF, so it wasn't that important to his staff and his intermediate commanders.   One rule of thumb for commanders has always been "expect what you inspect".    The actual work would be done by the Wing Commanders, but the priorities should come from above - with oversight.

When we got inspected by the IG in SAC, the person that bought a write-up was the first person in the chain with the authority to fix the problem.  If the problem was poor oversight by ACC and PACAF, then the next one up the chain is the CSAF. 

[mikeylikey]

So Really the Secretary of Defense should resign.  He knew what was going on.......

[Short Field]

It was his inspection team that identified the problem.  He was doing his job providing oversight.  Too bad he found his next level down was not doing it either.

Besides, isn't it a tried and true practice that if you can see where your subordinate is failling in his job and fire him before your boss finds out and fires you, you are home free?   

[PHall]

So Really the Secretary of Defense should resign.  He knew what was going on.......

Using that reasoning, then you should resign too. You seem to know what's going on and you did nothing to fix it.