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Donley begins new role as secretary

Michael Donley took the reins of the Air Force on Saturday as acting secretary.

Donley, a career civil servant who most recently served as the Pentagon’s director of administration and management, has been nominated to officially become Air Force secretary after being confirmed by the Senate.

Donley replaces outgoing Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne, who said farewell to airmen Friday during a ceremony at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley to resign June 5 after receiving a damning report that found widespread problems with the Air Force’s handling of nuclear weapons and components.

Moseley will step down as early as June 27, but no firm date has been set. Gen. Norton Schwartz, head of U.S. Transportation Command, has been nominated to take over as chief.

Industry insiders portray secretary-designee Donley as an immensely capable bureaucrat who will be asked to keep a steady hand on the wheel of the Air Force until the next president takes office next year and names a replacement.

Unlike Gates’ bold selection of Schwartz as the next chief of staff, his choice of Donley is seen as the safe move.

A career civil servant, Donley is intimately familiar with the labyrinthine military bureaucracy, said Mackenzie Eaglen of the Heritage Foundation.

“I think he’s a safe choice, and it seems like a smart decision,” she said.

Donley served as acting Air Force secretary for seven months in 1993 and as the service’s top financial officer from 1989 to 1993, Eaglen said, so there will be a small learning curve.

A confirmation hearing at which the Air Force’s proposed new leadership team will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, an Air Force spokeswoman said.

Appearing before the committee will be Donley, Schwartz and Lt. Gen. William Fraser III, who has been nominated to replace Gen. Duncan McNabb as vice chief.

The full Senate will then have to vote on the nominations. Each nominee must receive a majority of senators’ votes in order to be confirmed and take office.

McNabb will take over for Schwartz as head of U.S. Transportation Command.

Moseley has requested retirement from the Air Force effective Aug. 1, after 36 years in the service, but he is expected to step down by the end of the month.

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