Air
Force Secretary Michael Donley has agreed to stay on the job as SECAF under the Obama administration. Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff, made the announcement, with Donley sitting next to him, Feb. 26 during a press briefing at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. In a White House press release Thursday, President Obama said of Donley and other former Bush appointees who will stay on: “I am confident that these distinguished individuals have the commitment and expertise to help guide the Department of Defense at this critical time for our nation. Under the leadership of Secretary Gates, this group will help us maintain a strong and effective military to accomplish the fundamental goals of keeping America safe, advancing our interests abroad, and restoring American leadership in the world.”
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.

