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Schwartz, Donley face Senate panel today

The men nominated to be the Air Force’s new secretary and chief of staff will testify Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of a full Senate vote on whether to confirm them.

While both Michael Donley, the acting secretary, and Gen. Norton Schwartz, nominated to become chief, are expected to be confirmed, committee members are likely to ask hard questions and will be looking to see if the new leaders’ heads are in the right place.

“I think many members share [Defense] Secretary [Robert] Gates’ assessment of the Air Force’s prior leadership, in its strengths and weaknesses,” said Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense policy analyst with the Heritage Foundation who previously worked on Capitol Hill. “I think members will first and foremost be looking for a sense of humility, a desire to listen and urgency regarding ... nuclear security and modernization.”

The hearing will also consider the nomination of Gen. Duncan McNabb, currently vice chief of staff, to take over for Schwartz as head of U.S. Transportation Command.

Eaglen said Donley and Schwartz have most likely already been vetted by senators and their staffs, and the hearing is not likely be contentious.

“If previous posture hearings this year are any indicator, the tone should be friendly, perhaps even a little sympathetic,” she said. “Senate Armed Services Committee members [are] a naturally friendlier audience than the House or nondefense committees.”

The most difficult issues, Eaglen said, will likely be acquisition reform and the competition to build a new refueling tanker. Senators have been concerned about the Air Force’s acquisition programs for some time, she said.

The issues of nuclear security and modernization also will be raised at length, she said.

One of the Air Force’s fiercest critics, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, is not expected to attend the hearing because he will be campaigning for president in New Hampshire.

But a McCain ally, Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, said Friday he plans to ask the leaders about an Air Force program to spend $7.6 million to build offices and berths for top generals and senior civilian officials that can be installed on transport planes, the Connecticut Post reported.

The Air Force faced criticism about the program last week from the Project on Government Oversight, a nonprofit government watchdog group. The group said the program is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Other issues likely to come up at the hearing are Air Force leaders’ plans to produce more unmanned aerial vehicle pilots and to get more UAVs into the theater, the demand for airlift and the appropriate number of F-22s the service should buy.

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