Pentagon chief nears Air Force leader decision

By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day after he fired the top two Air Force leaders, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to pick Michael Donley, a senior Pentagon official, as Air Force secretary, a senior defense official said on Friday.

Gates could ask President George W. Bush to nominate Donley, director of the Pentagon's administration and management office, as early as Friday afternoon.

Donley, who has previously served in senior civilian positions in the Air Force, would replace Michael Wynne, who was fired on Thursday after a series of mistakes involving the handling of nuclear weapons and parts.

Gates also fired the Air Force's top general, Chief of Staff Michael Moseley.

The decision to remove the Air Force's top leaders followed an investigation into the mistaken shipment of nuclear missile fuses to Taiwan -- a misstep the U.S. military never caught on its own. The probe's results were highly critical of Air Force actions and its leaders' response.

That incident was revealed in March, just months after another embarrassing Air Force mistake involving nuclear weapons. An Air Force bomber wrongly armed with nuclear weapons flew across the United States in August.

Several more Air Force generals and other senior Air Force and Army officers were identified as at fault in the mistaken shipment of fuses to Taiwan.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell would not say how many senior officers were named in the report, but said there were "several generals" identified.