Over The Side

A bomber program stalls, and an admiral gets sacked

Embarrassing the boss is never a good move. In September, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney fired General Michael Dugan as Air Force Chief of Staff for disclosing sensitive Air Force war plans for the Persian Gulf. Last week Vice Admiral Richard C. Gentz, head of the Naval Air Systems Command, became another casualty. He was sacked because he was in charge of an oversight system that failed to alert the Pentagon to problems in the Navy's A-12 attack-bomber program. That led Cheney to assure Congress in April that the plane was on schedule and on budget. In fact, the development turned out...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!