Asks President To Nominate Donley, Schwartz For New Roles

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced Monday the two men he would like President Bush to nominate to replace General T. Michael Moseley and Michael W. Wynne in the top military and civilian posts in the US Air Force. As ANN reported, Gates asked for the resignations of both men last Thursday, following an investigation casting doubt on the focus and performance of the Air Force's nuclear program.

"I recommended that Michael Donley be nominated to serve as Secretary of the Air Force," Gates said. "Mike Donley is presently the Director of Administration and Management for the Department of Defense, essentially charged with running the Pentagon and its many complex operations. Mike served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management in the first Bush Administration and, for a period, as Acting Secretary of the Air Force. In order to minimize any disruption caused by this leadership transition, I have also recommended to the President that he designate Mike Donley as Acting Secretary of the Air Force effective June 21."

If nominated and confirmed, Donley would return to the Air Force after serving most recently as Pentagon director of administration and management. He served as Acting Secretary of the USAF for seven months in 1993, during President Clinton's first term.

"I further recommended to the President that General Norton Schwartz be nominated to serve as Air Force Chief of Staff," Gates added. "General Schwartz is presently the Commander of US Transportation Command, which is in charge of the Department's extensive transportation network and world-wide operations. Prior to that, General Schwartz served in senior joint military positions as Director of the Joint Staff, Director for Operations for the Joint Staff and Deputy Commander of Special Operations Command."

According to the Associated Press, if Schwartz is nominated it would mark the first time in over 25 years a former fighter pilot won't be in charge of the Air Force... yet another sign Gates wants to thoroughly overhaul the USAF, after what he and others consider to be a series of high-level missteps and blunders.

Gates (shown below) also recommended two Air Force officers to replace Donley and Schwartz in their current positions, should his recommendations be confirmed for their new roles in the USAF.

"First, General Duncan McNabb, the current Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, has been recommended to take General Schwartz's place at US Transportation Command. General McNabb has spent most of his three-plus decades in the Air Force in the areas of lift, refueling and logistics -- making him an ideal candidate to assume the helm of this command," Gates said.

"Second, I have recommended that the President nominate Lieutenant General William Fraser III, to follow General McNabb as the next Air Force Vice Chief. General Fraser is currently the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that role he is the Chairman's chief liaison and advisor on international relations and political-military matters. In addition to his numerous flying and command assignment in the bomber community, General Fraser has extensive wartime, contingency and humanitarian relief operational experience.

"I am confident that Mike Donley, General Schwartz and the new Air Force leadership team have the qualifications, skill and commitment to excellence necessary to guide the Air Force through this transition and beyond," Gates said.

FMI: www.defense.gov, www.af.mil