Not a Slam Dunk

The confirmations of Gen. Norton Schwartz to be Air Force Chief of Staff and Gen. Duncan McNabb to replace him at US Transportation Command did not go as smoothly as the Administration had hoped. There were two in the Senate Armed Services Committee who opposed Schwartz and one of those also opposed McNabb. Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) held three additional hearings—all behind closed doors—on the Schwartz nomination, apparently achieving satisfactory assurances from Schwartz, since Levin sent the nomination forward. However, Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) remained unconvinced and addressed the Senate to explain why he opposed the nomination, saying he had "very strong feelings" about Schwartz who "was asked repeatedly to give answers to a question for which I personally believe there were answers." Also opposing Schwartz was Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said he was "a very good guy," but added and included McNabb in this rebuke, "There have been times when they were not completely forthcoming when asked questions by a Congressional committee." McCaskill, in particular, had questioned McNabb over his role in the development and purchase of the so-called luxury pods to transport VIPs on standard airlifters.

Tanker Issue Foils Quick Donley Confirmation

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) plans to continue with her hold up of a floor vote for the confirmation of Michael Donley to be Air Force Secretary "until such time that I feel the Air Force and DOD have adequately addressed all these issues," reports Megan Scully of CongressDaily. The issues, Cantwell wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week, concern the Air Force's KC-X tanker program, which is about to be rebid under the active leadership of Pentagon acquisition czar John Young. Donley was widely considered to be the easier of the two nominations, but the Senate on Aug. 1 confirmed only Gen. Norton Schwartz for the other top USAF leader spot. (See above) Cantwell, an ardent Boeing supporter, warned DOD last week in remarks on the Senate floor that rumors of changes to the original requirements would not fly. She said the problem with the original tanker award was "an evaluation problem, not an [request for proposal] problem." Additionally in her letter, Cantwell mentioned that she had been briefed on several classified issue by the Intelligence Community that "raise troubling questions that are much broader than the selection of a new tanker."

USAF Slates Nuke Summit for September

The Air Force anticipates holding its nuclear summit on or around Sept. 18, the Daily Report has learned. The location is still to be determined, but likely will be in the Washington, D.C., area, according to Air Force spokeswoman Capt....

The Last 564th Missile Pull

The 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., on July 28 pulled the last Minuteman III “owned” by the 564th Missile Squadron, according to a July 30 release. It was just a year since the Air Force directed the unit...

Predator Crashes in Iraq

An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crashed Aug. 1 at about 10:45 a.m. (local time) just north of Joint Base Balad in Iraq, according to an Aug. 1 release. There was no indication as to what caused the...

Wynne, Rated Pilots Make Sense for UAVs

The Air Force’s policy that allows only rated officers to operate its larger-sized and more complex unmanned aerial vehicles “should stay that way,” From Wynne Interview Wynne, Air Force Best to Oversee Space Going Head-to-Head Stealth Duel Tough Love Wynne,...

A Strategy of Balance?

Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes the one word that best describes the new National Defense Strategy he released last week is “balance.” The strategy, he told Pentagon reporters July 31, strikes a “balance between the range of capabilities to prevail...

Strain Survey

The Air Force plans to send a team to 10 bases to study the strains airmen face in working at a constant high pace with limited resources. “We are at war and [operations] tempo is very high,” said Lt. Gen....

Have Old Warbird, Join Us

Air Combat Command is looking for a few good pilots with vintage fighters to fly in its Heritage Flight. According to a July 30 release, “The program is open to highly experienced pilots in the air show environment with [US...

Air Sorties From SWA

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaJuly 30- Aug. 1, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 776 41 118 6,664 CAS/Armed Recon 96 198 294 19,579 Airlift 375 375 26,729 Air refueling 182 182 9,456 Total...