Air Force Secretary Michael Donley has issued a letter of admonishment to former Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley for receiving gifts and socializing with company officials bidding for an Air Force contract.Donley disciplined the retired four-star general on Oct. 8, three months after the Defense Department inspector general completed an investigation into a $50 million contract awarded to Strategic Message Solutions in 2005. It is the first time the service has disciplined a chief of staff after his retirement.Moseley, who was fired by Defense Secretary Robert Gates in June 2008 for the service’s mishandling of nuclear weapons, will keep his four-star pay and benefits.The letter of admonishment “struck the right balance” after the service secretary considered a wide rage of options for disciplinary action, Donley said.“General Moseley’s years of dedicated service temper, but do not excuse his failure in this case to live up to the well-established standards of conduct expected of all airmen. Everyone is accountable for his actions. This is especially so for our senior leaders who must also create an environment where subordinates respect established standards and are willing to engage when things are not right,” Donley said.The admonishment comes four years after the Air Force awarded a now-canceled contract to Strategic Message Solutions to help produce shows promoting the Thunderbirds, the service’s aerial demonstration team.Moseley did not have a direct role in awarding the contract to Strategic Solutions.An investigation by the Defense Department’s inspector general faulted Moseley for his interactions with Edward Shipley, then president of the company, and retired Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hal Hornburg, who was a company partner.In early June 2005, Moseley, Hornburg and their wives visited Shipley at his home in Pennsylvania and spent the night. Moseley also shared e-mails with the two during the selection process for the contract.Moseley said the contract was never discussed during social gatherings or in any of the e-mails.“I am disappointed in a process that puts the secretary in a position to do this to a senior officer. There is still a debate over the facts of the case. I reject the notion that I violated a regulation, a policy or an expectation of performance,” Moseley told Air Force Times.Moseley has sent a letter to the Defense Department inspector general that disputes the findings of the report. Moseley wrote that “factual inaccuracies” resulted in “flawed conclusions and a biased investigation.” He told Air Force Times his social interactions could have provided the perception of preferential treatment, but maintained he never provided the company any advantage.Five other officers involved in the contract’s selection process have been disciplined including Maj. Gen. Stephen Goldfien, then director of the Air Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. He retired in grade.