TO AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF GEN. T. MICHAEL MOSELEY

for telling the Army and Marine Corps to quit assigning Air Force people to jobs for which they are not trained. Having seen more than 20,000 airmen assigned to “in lieu of” jobs outside their specialties, Moseley says he will resist further requests for airmen to fill Army and Marine jobs that fall far outside the airmen’s core competencies. These include assignments as prison guards in Iraq. As Moseley said, the Air Force doesn’t guard prisoners … “we don’t even have prisons.” So the Army is really using airmen as warm bodies to fill gaps and disregarding skills that could be usefully applied. While the need for more boots on the ground is real, the Army and Marines are being disrespectful of their fellow servicemen. It’s also wasteful; when someone has to be trained and equipped for something that is outside his normal job, it costs money and time.