Just out: Moseley resigns; Wynne expected to follow suit
Staff report
Posted : Thursday Jun 5, 2008 12:57:04 EDT
airforcetimes.com
Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley resigned this morning at a meeting with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Moseley was summoned to an early morning meeting with Mullen to discuss a report on the Air Force’s problems handling nuclear weapons. The report, by Navy Adm. Kirkland Donald, director of naval nuclear propulsion, convinced Defense Secretary Robert Gates that senior officials should be held accountable.
Moseley resigned in response.
At the same time, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England was dispatched to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to meet with Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne, sources said, where he was expected to ask for Wynne’s resignation.
It is not clear how quickly these changes could take effect, and other senior officers could still be relieved in the wake of the Donald report.
Moseley could stay on until July or later, at Gates’ discretion.
Navy Capt. John Kirby, Mullen’s spokesman, declined to comment but did not deny the story. A Defense Department spokesman also did not comment.
It is not yet known how who will succeed Moseley and Wynne, but Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Duncan McNabb will likely become acting chief of staff.
The stunning development follows a series of high-profile scandals and disagreements between Air Force leadership and Gates in the past year, during which both the Pentagon and congressional leadership have increasingly expressed frustration about the Air Force’s top bosses.
Wynne became Air Force secretary in November 2005, and Moseley took office in September 2005. Moseley’s term expires in September 2009, and Wynne served at the pleasure of the president.
Moseley, a former fighter pilot, has been in the Air Force since 1972. Before becoming chief, he served as commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces and then as vice chief of staff from August 2003 until September 2005.
Wynne served as an Air Force officer from 1966 until 1973 and then began a nearly 30-year career in the aerospace industry. He rose to become president of General Dynamics’ space division and general manager of space launch systems at Lockheed Martin. He re-entered government service in 2001 and served four years as principal deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
While the simultaneous removal of the Air Force’s top civilian and uniformed leaders comes as a surprise, there has been speculation for months among defense insiders that one or both of them could be in trouble.
The Air Force has been rocked by a series of missteps during the past year, and Moseley and Wynne’s relationships with Gates, England and members of Congressional defense committees have steadily eroded.
Both men are well-liked personally, but that apparently was not enough to make up for a perceived lack of leadership. |
