'''Michael W. Wynne''', of Florida, was [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/nominations/1528.html selected] August 16, 2005, by President [[George W. Bush]] as Secretary of the Air Force. Wynne has served as the [[Department of Defense]]'s undersecretary Acting Undersecretary for acquisitionAcquisition, technology Technology and logistics Logistics since 2003. [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-briefs17.4aug17,1,6442333.story?coll=la-news-politics-national]
Wynne would replace Preston M. 'Pete' Geren, who has served as acting secretary Acting Secretary of the Air Force since July 29, 2005. Geren replaced Secretary of the Air Force [[James G. Roche]] , who resigned in January 2005.[http://www.gcn.com/24_25/inbrief/36794-1.html][http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-briefs17.4aug17,1,6442333.story?coll=la-news-politics-national]
Wynne's nomination was [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050906-6.html sent] to the Senate on September 6, 2005, and his [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/nominations/1528.html status] is pending.
'''Stage Set for Another Nomination Failure?'''<br>
Following opposition by Senator [[John McCain]] (R-AZ), it was anticipated in January 2005 that the nomination for Wynne, then "the acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, probably [would] not be sent to the Senate again for confirmation as full undersecretary. His nomination languished in the Senate for months, after Mr. McCain opposed it, as well as a number of other Pentagon candidates. All pending White House nominations died when Congress adjourned last year," Rowan Scarborough [http://www.cwwg.org/wat01.06.05.html reported] in the ''Washington Times''. "Defense industry executives also said they have been told by Pentagon officials that Mr. Wynne will not be renominated by the White House." See "Controversy" section below.
'''[[government-industry revolving door|Government-Industry Revolving Door]]'''<br>
==Controversy==
Wynne was one of several people who were blamed by a Pentagon inspector general for a failed 23.5 billion dollar deal with [[Boeing]], which many lawmakers call '''the most significant case of contract abuse in decades'''. [http://www.fsrn.org/news/20050817_news.html]
"The trail of e-mails show Air Force Secretary [[James G. Roche]] doggedly pursued the Boeing deal and disparaged those in the Pentagon who raised questions, according to documents released by" Senator John McCain. [http://www.cwwg.org/wat01.06.05.html]
"Wynne's role was less clear." Wynne, who then oversaw Air Force procurement as [[Donald Rumsfeld]]'s "top weapons buyer, agreed with Mr. Roche to rebuke senior Pentagon officials who worked against the deal. But Mr. Wynne also argued that a second contractor was needed to compete with Boeing. For this, he felt the sting of Mr. Roche's criticism in several e-mails." [http://www.cwwg.org/wat01.06.05.html]
"Questions about the deal, which [reamained] the subject of investigations [in January 2005] by the Pentagon and U.S. [[Justice Department]], have scuttled several other nominations." [http://www.cwwg.org/wat01.06.05.html]
==Profiles==
"In 1999, Mr. Wynne retired as Senior Vice President from General Dynamics (GD), where his role was in International Development and Strategy. He spent 23 years with General Dynamics in various senior positions with the Aircraft (F-16's), Main Battle Tanks (M1A2), and Space Launch Vehicles (Atlas and Centaur) Divisions.
"In between his assignments at GD, Mr. Wynne spent three years with Lockheed Martin (LMT), selling the Space Systems division to then-[[Martin Marietta]]. He successfully integrated the division into the Astronautics Company and became the General Manager of the Space Launch Systems segment, combining the Titan with the Atlas Launch vehicles.
"Prior to joining industry, Mr. Wynne served in the Air Force for seven years, ending as a Captain and Assistant Professor of Astronautics at the US Air Force Academy, where he taught Control Theory and Fire Control Techniques. Mr. Wynne graduated from the United States Military Academy, holds a Masters in Electrical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Masters in Business from the University of Colorado. He has attended short courses at Northwestern University (Business) and Harvard Business School (PMD-42). He is a Fellow in the National Contracts Management Association, and has been a Past President of the Association of the United States Army, Detroit Chapter and the Michigan Chapter of the American Defense Preparedness Association. He has published numerous professional journal articles relating to engineering, cost estimating and contracting ..."
*[http://www.generaldynamics.com/news/press_releases/1999/News%20Release%20-%C2%A0Friday,%20September%2010,%201999.htm "General Dynamics Realigns Management Posts; Michael W. Wynne to Take Early Retirement,"] General Dynamics, September 10, 1999.
*[http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2001/b07182001_bt321-01.html Michael Wynne Sworn In As Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition & Technology], DefenseLink, July 18, 2001.
*Rowan Scarborough, [http://www.cwwg.org/wat01.06.05.html "Pentagon likely to drop weapons buyer nominee,"] ''Washington Times'', January 6, 2005.
*[http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-briefs17.4aug17,1,6442333.story?coll=la-news-politics-national "Bush Names Secretaries of Navy and Air Force,"] ''Los Angeles Times'', August 17, 2005.
*[http://www.gcn.com/24_25/inbrief/36794-1.html "People on the Move,"] gcn.com, August 29, 2005.