The Defense Department's inspector general found that the contract with Strategic Message Solutions "was tainted with improper influence, irregular contracting practices and preferential treatment for SMS," the air force said in a statement.

The investigation was triggered when a company that also competed for the contract lodged a complaint with the Government Accounting Office, it said.

Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne took "administrative action" against Major General Stephen Goldfein, who was commander at the time of the Air Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, it said.

Air force Thunderbird teams, which are based at Nellis, put on demonstrations at air shows around the country of aerial maneuvers and precision flying with F-16 fighters.

An air force spokesman would not explain Goldfein's role in awarding the contract, or say exactly what measures were taken against him or the other officers.

Wynne also referred two other officers to their chain of command for action.

"I am deeply disappointed that our high standards were not adhered to in this case," Wynne said in a statement. "This is not how the air force does business and we are taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen again."

The air force is still recovering from a 2004 scandal over a 35 billion dollar contract to lease air refueling tanker planes from Boeing that sent a top former air force procurement officer to prison.

Darleen Druyun admitted in court to steering contracts to Boeing in return for jobs at the aeronautics giant for herself and members of her family.

The air force also has been in the news recently for mistakenly shipping fuses for nuclear weapons to Taiwan, and the inadvertent transfer of nuclear-armed cruise missiles from one US base to another.

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