Air Force Secretary Michael Donley Thursday morning issued a letter of admonishment to retired Gen. Michael Moseley, former Chief of Staff, for his alleged role in the terminated $50 million Thunderbird Airshow Production Services (TAPS) contract. Donley acted after reviewing a DOD Inspector General report released in July that claimed Moseley had violated ethics regulations. Moseley will continue to be retired at the four-star pay grade and not lose any other retirement benefits. At a press conference, Donley said the Navy is conducting an impartial review of whether Moseley can conduct business with the government. In a USAF release, Donley said, “Moseley’s years of dedicated service temper, but do not excuse, his failure in this case to live up to the well-established standards of conduct expected of all airmen.” In a Sept. 28 memorandum to Donley, Moseley continued to reject the IG findings, saying that Air Force lawyers had vetted his actions throughout and found no violations of ethics rules. And, he emphasized, “The only guidance I gave anyone during the evolution of this endeavor was to ‘do this right.’ ” (For more read, Moseley Admonished, Rejects Conclusion of Wrongdoing)
Collaborative Combat Aircraft designs from Anduril and General Atomics passed their critical design reviews early in November, clearing the way for detailed production efforts to get underway, the Air Force said. How future versions will be upgraded is still under discussion.