Air Force nominees say they will try to regain public's trust

The Bush administration's nominee to fill the top civilian slot in the Air Force tried on Tuesday to assure the Senate Armed Services Committee that he already is working to resolve problems with the service's handling of nuclear weapons that triggered the ouster of the Air Force secretary and chief of staff last month.

During his confirmation hearing, Michael Donley, who has served as acting Air Force secretary since late June, said he has met with Adm. Kirkland Donald, head of Navy nuclear propulsion who led an investigation into the Air Force's handling of its nuclear weapons.

Donley said it is "apparent to me" that the Air Force has been working for the last several months to come up with roughly 100 recommendations to address issues concerning its nuclear arsenal.

Donley said he has directed a task force to prepare a "strategic road map" by the end of September to illustrate the plan forward.

"There must be no question about the Air Force's support for this fundamental mission," Donley told the panel.

On Tuesday, the committee considered the nominations of Gen. Norton Schwartz to become Air Force chief of staff and Gen. Duncan McNabb to fill Schwartz's post at U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. All three are expected to be confirmed by the Senate.

In written responses to questions posed by the committee in advance of Tuesday's hearing, Donley and Schwartz said they will work to restore the country's trust and confidence in the Air Force.

In early June, Defense Secretary Robert Gates sought the resignations of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley, chief of staff, after the Donald investigation found widespread problems with the service's handling of its most dangerous weapons. The investigation was sparked by the mistaken delivery of ballistic missile fuses to Taiwan in 2006 that was discovered in March, just months after the Air Force mistakenly and unknowingly flew nuclear weapons from North Dakota to Louisiana.

"The challenge facing the next Air Force secretary and chief of staff will be to fix the underlying problems and not just to address the obvious symptoms," Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Tuesday.

During the hearing, panel members focused on other issues facing the embattled Air Force, including Gates' recent decision to reopen competition on a lucrative contract for aerial refueling tankers after the Government Accountability Office found several problems in the Air Force's selection process. Donley stressed that he does not believe the problems with the contract were caused by any wrongdoing within the Air Force.

Schwartz stressed the urgent need to replace the aging tanker fleet. "We have to keep the timelines of this foremost in our mind as we go forward," Schwartz said.

The general, who would become the first nonfighter or bomber pilot to be the Air Force's top military officer, indicated the Pentagon's plans to buy 183 F-22 Raptor fighter jets may not be sufficient. He said estimates that the Air Force needs 381 of the advanced fighters could be too high. Schwartz said he would "delve deeply" into the issue as chief.