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New Chief May Realign Air Force

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Los Angeles Times

Published: June 10, 2008

LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates took action Monday to reorient the leadership of the Air Force, dramatically calling for the nomination of the first nonfighter or bomber pilot to lead the service since its inception after World War II.

His recommendation that Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, who began his military career as a cargo pilot, be nominated by President Bush as Air Force chief of staff probably will mark a significant shift for the Air Force leadership.

Over time, the move could lead the service to give more emphasis to missions that support ground wars such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan engaging in cargo flights and in-air refueling, over more traditional roles such as air-to-air dogfights.

Schwartz is head of U.S. Transportation Command, which coordinates the Pentagon's worldwide transportation operations and manages military logistics.

Last week, after receiving a classified report critical of the service's oversight of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, Gates fired the civilian and military heads of the Air Force. In recent months, he and other Defense Department officials have been critical of Air Force leadership on such issues as concerns that the service had not done enough to shift its spending priorities to unmanned reconnaissance drones and was lobbying too hard for advanced fighter jets.

Schwartz does have experience in combat aircraft. He participated in the 1975 evacuation of Saigon, Vietnam, and has piloted the heavily armed AC-130 gunships, the workhorse of special forces.

He also recommended that a veteran Pentagon official, Michael B. Donley, replace Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, who is leaving at the end of the month.

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