In an unprecedented move, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates yesterday fired both the top military and civilian heads of the Air Force. Gates canned the chief of staff, Gen. Michael T. Mosely, and Secretary Michael W. Wynne after a number of embarrassing failures in securing the country’s nuclear arsenal.

The latest was a transfer of nuclear materials to Taiwan that transpired years before top Air Force officials knew about it. The Washington Post’s Ann Scott Tyson and Josh White report that Gates displayed irritation at a news conference yesterday when he pointed out the Air Force didn’t initiate an investigation into the Taiwan incident.

Gates initiated a study for them. The investigation found “gradual erosion” in nuclear standards. Read Scott Tyson and White here. MB

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