Gates Ousts Chief of Staff, Secretary of the USAF
It’s about accountability.
In office 18 months, Mr. Gates has made accountability a central theme, firing senior Army officials after disclosures of shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and pushing into retirement other generals closely associated with a faltering strategy in Iraq.
WaPo:
Speaking at a Pentagon news conference yesterday, Gates noted with some irritation that after the two highly publicized incidents in which the Air Force lost control over nuclear components, the call for a thorough investigation “was not initiated by the Air Force leadership, but required my intervention.”
WSJ:
In 18 months, Secretary Gates has built a record of holding senior leaders accountable for poor performance. In addition to firing both the two-star general in charge of Walter Reed as well as the Secretary of the Army, the NYTimes article reminds that the SECDEF “decided last year not to recommend either the reappointment of Gen. Peter Pace… or that of Gen. John P. Abizaid…” due to the role of each in setting early military policy in Iraq.Mr. Gates said he asked former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger to lead a task force charged with improving oversight of the military’s nuclear arsenal. He added that a “substantial number” of Air Force generals and colonels could face disciplinary measures ranging from removal from command to formal letters of reprimand.
