A Little Too Up-Front

A NIGHT IN A CHEAP HOTEL USUALLY REQUIRES payment in advance. But relations between major defense contractors and the Air Force are thought to be a cut above that. Not always, according to a report from the acting Pentagon inspector general, which recommends disciplinary measures against a cluster of Air Force generals and civilian procurement specialists. The report accuses several Pentagon officials of advancing McDonnell Douglas Corp. $500 million in 1990 to see the aerospace giant through troubles associated with the C-17 military transport plane. The report urges disciplinary action for three generals and two civilians alleged to be involved in the scandal. McDonnell Douglas and the Air Force dismissed the more than 100-page report as old news, but the inspector general's recommendation for disciplinary and possibly criminal sanctions was a startling departure from past traditions of mutual back scratching.