Your focus is on the “approval.”
The question is who “requested.”
No Air Force general can move Air Force One without the knowledge of the White House. There was a thread here the week this happened and a FReeper (sorry I forget his/her name) posted the regs.
is this the comment you are referring to?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247156/posts?q=1&;page=101
scroll down to #118
Chapter 5. Special Flight Handling
Section 1. Presidential Aircraft