Chief of Staff of the Air Force Resignation
I received a phone call Wednesday afternoon from a good friend of mine telling me General Moseley had been asked to resign. I did not want to believe it at first. Another phone call to a connected friend in Washington DC confirmed the news. My first thought was more will be coming. Bad grades on Nuclear Surety Inspections are not taken lightly. My second thoughts were reflections on the time I spent in the Prince Sultan Air Base CAOC with General Moseley running two major air campaigns; Operation ANACONDA during March and April of 2002 and then Operation Iraqi Freedom. Airborne gas was tight. The SPINS stated it was the CFACC’s most precious resource due to the long distances every one was flying to get to the target areas. General Moseley was obviously concerned. The tanker folks did the best we could given the hand dealt us and we even were able to keep Bagram full of gas after Smokey Robinson and my tanker folks came up with a rather unique way of using C-17s as gas trucks. We got the mobility requirements for ANACONDA five days before D-Day, big bill with little time to work the payments. General Moseley never got in the way of innovation and new ideas. This is one sign of a great wartime commander. I can think of many more.
If you flunk a nuke inspection then fire the leadership at the base, don’t start with the guy at the very top responsible for the best air force on the planet during a time of war. If that is not the reason why he was asked to resign then tell us what the real reason is…ALL of us who have served or are now serving want the truth. I feel civilian elected and appointed officials have politicized the military since 9/11 and continue to do so. What message do we send to an internet and media savvy enemy by firing two top leaders? A possible sign of weakness I think. We have shown our enemies too many signs of weakness in this war and they are exploiting them to the fullest if any one would care to notice. How will our common enemy exploit the news of these firings? Embolden is the term you are searching for when contemplating these weaknesses. I would think the next CSAF might be a little uneasy sitting in the Chief of Staff of the Air Force chair if I was under consideration. I understand civilian control of the military as part of our great Constitution. I also understand corruption when I see it. It must give President Bush great satisfaction knowing his polling numbers double the approval number of Congress. Numerous general officers in the military have gone to Washington DC only to have their careers die at the hands of the elite elected bureaucrats. As an elected leader, is this a reasonable way to treat your all volunteer force? If I were to see General Moseley on a street corner I would ask him one simple question; Are you relieved the nightmare is finally over?
Those of us who have worked with General Moseley under some of the most intense and dynamic combat situations will always remember him as one of the finest and most revered airpower leaders we had the opportunity to work for. We feel he deserved a lot better than this.
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