This is one of the more egregious senior official screw-up cases. Most of them seem to be zipper issues or misusing airplanes or misusing travel or misusing staff or things like that. This one involves counterintelligence risk and potential international incident. Summarized: monumental dumb-ass.
I have occasional chance contact in the gym with a very senior Air Force JAG familiar with this case; he told me that when the Report of Investigation (attached) was released I'd see the level of basic stupidity involved. Read the report; it makes a pretty clear case.
Having read the report, my gut tells me that the Air Force leadership took some extraordinary measures to protect this guy. First, Air Force IG rather than DoDIG ran the investigation. Had DoDIG run it, I suspect they would have come to similar conclusions but would have processed the case in ways designed to pressure Secretary of the Air Force to hammer the SUBJECT. As it is, all that seems to have happened is that he was relieved of command and I think Strategic Command did that. He's still an Air Force General Officer, I've heard nothing about him processing for retirement, and, as a GO, I'm sure he still has a TOP SECRET clearance with all of the special accesses he would have had in Strategic Command: SCI and NC2/SIOP-ESI at a minimum. Everybody has their own opinion, but, IMHO, this turkey placed the U.S. at greater potential risk, by a wide margin, than did Army LTG-Ret (formerly GEN and Cdr, AFRICOM) Ward, who essentially embezzled a bunch of bucks through misuse of travel and airplanes, Ward was forced to retire at a reduced rank and to repay several thousand dollars for unauthorized travel. And I thought HE got off easy.
(U) USAF IG on MajGen Michael J. Carey
Phi Beta Iota: The “system” has improved but is still terribly unfair. Low ranking individuals who lose their rifles or get a security violation have their lives ruined — generals that lose wars and make public asses of themselves, perhaps committing treason in passing, get a slap on the wrist.
Media report below the line with yellow highlights.
Continue reading “Marcus Aurelius: Flag Misbehavior in Moscow — and Air Force Favoritism”
