Air Force Officials Resigning

The nation's top two Air Force officials are resigning, and military sources told NBC News Thursday that they were being forced out.

At the White House, press secretary Dana Perino said President Bush knew about the resignations of Air Force Chief of Staff Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, but that the White House “has not played any role” in the shake-up.

Moseley, a general, is the Air Force's top uniformed officer. Wynne is the top civilian official.

Word of the resignations was first reported by InsideDefense.com and the Air Force Times earlier Thursday.

"Top-level Pentagon officials gave Moseley the option to resign or be fired during a meeting this morning," the InsideDefense.com reported, quoting an unidentified military official.

The Air Force Times noted that the resignations follow high-profile scandals and disagreements between with lawmakers and Defense Secretary Robert Gates over the Air Force's role in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Other controversies include the awarding of a contract for the Air Force's elite Thunderbirds flying group and the service's mistaken shipment of fuses for nuclear missiles to Taiwan in 2006, said a congressional source, who had been informed about the matter.

"There has been a lack of accountability that raised concerns," the source said.

Sources told the Air Force Times that other senior officers could also be relieved.

A public announcement was expected later in the day. There was no immediate word on who would be nominated to replace Moseley and Wynne.

The Air Force has endured a number of embarrassing setbacks over the past year. In August, for instance, a B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and flown across the country. The pilot and crew were unaware they had nuclear arms aboard.

The error was considered so grave that President Bush was quickly informed.

Moseley later announced that in response to flaws exposed during the nuclear weapons error, the Air Force would change the way bomber crews organize for their nuclear training mission.

Moseley became Air Force chief in September 2005; Wynne took office in November 2005.

Sounds like it's getting heated up there. haha

I'm hearing a few different stories about the nukes, though. I guess the context of the original story get lost or altered as it transfers from one source to the next. You could never be too sure about the media, eh?