By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Just hours before leaving Washington for its August recess, the U.S. Senate on Friday approved the nominations of two top Air Force generals but failed to act on the man nominated as its top civilian leader. The Senate unanimously confirmed Gen. Norton Schwartz to be the Air Force's next chief of staff and Gen. Duncan McNabb to become commander of U.S. Transportation Command, said a spokesman for the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Senate also approved 519 military nominations for various posts in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, but took no action on Michael Donley, a former Senate Armed Services Committee staffer nominated as Air Force secretary. Donley has served as acting secretary since Michael Wynne was forced to resign last month, and could continue in that capacity indefinitely, but Pentagon leaders have pressed the Senate to confirm his nomination. Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked Wynne and former chief of staff Gen. Michael Moseley to step down following a scandal over nuclear security breaches and tension over Air Force willingness to embrace tactics needed in Iraq and Afghanistan. At their confirmation hearing on July 22, Donley and Schwartz vowed to restore credibility to the Air Force. But members of the Senate Armed Services Committee called Schwartz back for a rare second round of questioning on Wednesday -- behind closed doors -- about the quality of the information he provided to Congress in 2003. Schwartz had acknowledged during his hearing that he had been less than forthright about details on the security of Iraq ammunition dumps when he was director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to a source familiar with the briefing. But he said he had "matured" and would do better in the future, the source said. Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held several closed-door meetings with committee members to push for the nominations, Senate aides said. Lawmakers were also concerned about McNabb's role in a program to build comfort capsules that can be loaded into military transport planes so that senior officers can travel to war zones in first-class style. The "Senior Leader In-Transit Conference Capsules" come with a flat-screen TV, beds, leather seats and a sofa. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said on Friday, "It's an important time for the Air Force and strong leadership is vital during this period." He said Donley should also be confirmed. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (L) meets Iraqi Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly in Baghdad July 30, 2008. REUTERS/Iraqi Government/Handout (IRAQ). FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING ...
