The Air Force Secretary designate, Michael Donley, is officially on the job as Acting Secretary, according to a June 23 USAF press release. The service has updated its Web site, putting Donley’s name in place of Michael Wynne who formally gave up the reins of leadership on Friday. As Air Force Magazine Editor in Chief Robert Dudney states in his July editorial, Donley and fellow designate Gen. Norton Schwartz, named to replace outgoing Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, are “men of great distinction,” who will need “their skill and demonstrated integrity” to handle all USAF’s challenges. As Dudney notes, Defense Secretary Robert Gates “has shown he can tear up a service leadership. He has yet to show that he can help that service cope with its many and serious problems.” (Read “The Post-June 5 Air Force“)
Senior U.S. military officials involved in restructuring the troubled LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program now project confidence that it will achieve operational capability in the early 2030s.