Washington, DC – House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-MO) released the following statement concerning the resignations of Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff General T. Michael Moseley:

 “General Moseley and Secretary Wynne have been good leaders for the Air Force and have earned our deep respect and gratitude. I thank them both for their years of dedicated service to our nation. 

 “As Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I fully understand the importance of properly handling and securing nuclear weapons and components.  The incidents at Minot and Barksdale Air Force Bases and the misshipment of missile nose cones to Taiwan should never have happened.  I look forward to reviewing Admiral Kirkland Donald’s report on what went wrong with the Air Force’s management of nuclear weapons security and safety. 

 “I commend Secretary Gates for establishing a senior level task force headed by Dr. James Schlesinger to review the stewardship of our nuclear weapons.  Under Dr. Schlesinger’s leadership, this task force should provide invaluable guidance on maintaining the proper institutional safeguards on our nation’s nuclear arsenal.”

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