Military Commanders: A Purging, or the Lowering of Standards?

“TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF OFFICERS”

by Sharon Rondeau

(Nov. 3, 2013) — On October 23, The Blaze reported that current and former military commanders suspect that a “purging” of high-ranking military officers is being carried out by the Obama regime as evidenced by the dismissal of nine flag officers between April and October of this year.

The Blaze quoted a source as having said, “They are purging everyone, and if you want to keep your job, just keep your mouth shut.”

Other news outlets picked up the story quoting from various military sources, both retired and active-duty. One report called the nine terminations “a historic military shake up.”  FrontPageMag and Breitbart have reported that an above-average number of firings have occurred in previous years under Obama.

The officers are Maj. Gen. Michael Carey; Vice Admiral Tim Giardina; Lt. Gen. David H. Huntoon; Maj. Gen. Charles M.M. Gurganus; Maj. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant; Brig. Gen. Bryan Roberts; Maj. Gen. Ralph Baker; Rear Adm. Charles Gaouette; and Gen. Carter Ham.

The story became widespread on blogs, which at times misstated the facts.

Military.com states that “At least 30 percent of military commanders fired over the past eight years lost their jobs because of sexually related offenses,” which has reportedly brought focus to an endemic ethics problem encompassing alcoholism, sexual misconduct, drug abuse and viewing pornography.

On Thursday, WND quoted Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady (Ret.), a Medal of Honor recipient, who had written a column in which he said that Obama is an elitist who believes that the military is inferior to the current governing class, causing “weakness” throughout the fighting force.

The Post & Email asked CDR Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III if he believes that a “purge” of the military is currently under way, to which he responded, “There have been some flag officers who have been relieved of command appropriately.  I don’t include Adm. Gaouette or Gen. Ham in that group.  I do include the three-star vice-admiral from Strategic Command, Tim Giardina.  He was not a commanding officer; he was a deputy commander.  He was one of those specified commands I’ve talked about.  He was relieved based upon the report about issues going to gambling.”

Fitzpatrick said that he would not have been surprised if Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos was on the list for undue command influence.  While not one of those dismissed, Amos reportedly has a volatile temper and is loyal to Obama.  Maj. James Weirick, who Amos ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after he became a whistleblower, accused Amos of undue command influence in the case of eight Marines charged with abusing Taliban corpses in 2011.

On October 22, 27 former officers of the Marine Corps and Navy as well as defense attorneys requested a congressional investigation into Amos’s actions and those of his legal assistants, one of whom accused Weirick of “triggering safety concerns” because of his outspokenness on the matter, which occurred prior to the shootings at the Washington Navy Yard on September 16.  The Washington Times reported that the dismissal of Weirick from his position as a deputy staff judge advocate was among the group’s complaints.

A source familiar with Fitzpatrick’s court-martial told The Post & Email on Thursday that it is well-known among members of the Navy that Fitzpatrick was victimized egregiously and that JAG trainees are forbidden from discussing his case.

Fitzpatrick has documented extensively how a commander can use the court-martial process to frame, convict and expel a person from the military because the Fifth Amendment protection of a grand jury review of evidence does not exist within the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).  Fitzpatrick himself was court-martialed in April 1990 and convicted on a charge of which he was not guilty through a rigged process and jury panel.  His admiral, John Bitoff, had been at odds with Fitzpatrick’s commanding officer, Capt. Michael Nordeen, and Fitzpatrick believes his court-martial was carried out in secret as retaliation against Nordeen and him.  Fitzpatrick was subsequently bypassed for promotion twice, triggering his retirement at 20 years of service in September 1994.

Fitzpatrick’s misspelled and incomplete signature was applied to a “Response to Letter of Reprimand” document which he never knew existed until he received it following a series of FOIA requests for the court-martial record which spanned many years.  There are still documents relating to his appeal which the Navy has not released.

Fitzpatrick is completing the manuscript for a book detailing the crimes carried out by his admiral and staff and perpetrated by Navy officers eager to maintain a cover-up of the conspiracy.

The Post & Email had inquired of the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin about Adm. Charles Gaouette, who was reported to have been removed from his post as commander of Carrier Strike Group Three within several weeks of the attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 which killed four Americans.  While Levin’s office issued a “No comment” response, WND reported last week that Gaouette’s dismissal remains under congressional investigation,” which does not appear to be widely known.

Capt. Larry Bailey (Ret.), co-founder of Special Operations Speaks, told The Post & Email in July that he had been told that on September 11, 2012, Gaouette “was going to launch airplanes to help the guys” who had come under attack in Benghazi despite knowing that his fleet was positioned “out of range.”  Fitzpatrick agreed that Gaouette was “not in close proximity to northern Africa.”

The Washington Times reported that General Carter Ham had organized a “rapid response team” to dispatch to the scene of the Benghazi attack but was told to “stand down,” then “placed under arrest” in the National Military Command Center located in the basement of the Pentagon.  Fitzpatrick told The Post & Email that Obama’s inaction on September 11, 2012 rendered Obama guilty of treason and dereliction of duty.

The Blaze reported that Gaouette was “accused of using profanity in a public setting and making at least two racially insensitive comments. While he was cleared of any criminal violations under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he still faced administrative penalties that have ended his career.”

The Post & Email asked Fitzpatrick if such accusations are normally sufficient to remove an officer from his position, to which Fitzpatrick responded, “No.  It was not about profanity or racial slurs he might have used.  It was about his reaction to the events of Benghazi.  It’s important to remember that Adm. Gaouette’s battle force was in the Indian Ocean.  They were not in the Mediterranean, and any of Gaouette’s assets would have had to travel, and the kind of support the aircraft would have needed to get to Benghazi was more difficult than any of the assets that could have been deployed from in or around the Mediterranean.  Gaouette was relieved just because he wanted to respond; he attempted to respond; it doesn’t matter what the result of that response might have looked like.  It was the fact that he was making an attempt, and in that attempt, he could have emboldened or encouraged other commanders in the area to do the same thing.  For example, Carter Ham tried to do the right thing, which was to provide military support.”

Regarding Gen. Carter Ham, Fitzpatrick said, “Carter Ham was relieved of his job as commander of AFRICOM that day, and in that moment of time, he knew that his career was over.  They let him resign.  They would have forced him out.   He reached the level of four-star general.  Commanders at that level have moved laterally; if he had stayed, he could have perhaps risen to perhaps Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or something like that.  Part of the reason that an officer steps down at a certain time is that they’re tired or have other things they want to do. Sometimes they want to go to another job.”

The Post & Email has found that Ham has been quoted as having made inconsistent statements about whether or not the Benghazi victims might have been helped by military intervention.

“Carter Ham is compromised, and he’s facing pressure.  Every move he makes is being watched.  Who knows how he’s been threatened and what’s been said to him?  Carter Ham was relieved because of his attempted actions regarding Benghazi.  We know Benghazi was unnecessary.  Ham and Gaouette were relieved because they stood up against Obama and said ‘no.’  End of story.  If they had gone along with Benghazi, both men would probably still be on active duty today; Gaouette for sure, and Ham, maybe not, because he was getting to the end of his career.  Either way, they had him man a desk until they were able to let him ‘retire out,'” Fitzpatrick said.

“The three-star vice-admiral, Tim Giordina, from Strategic Command in Omaha was cashiered appropriately because of gambling, if the allegations are true.  You can’t have a vice-admiral who is #2 in the chain of command to become the head of strategic command.  This is the outfit that deals with nuclear weapons around the world:  the care and feeding of a nuclear weapon.  You can’t have a guy in that job compromised over a gambling issue; it’s just not appropriate.”

Fitzpatrick continued:

We have something out there called the “Personal Reliability Program.”  I used to be a member of the Personal Reliability Program and anybody who deals with nuclear weapons is watched all the time.  When you have someone who is in the PRP (and it may be called something different today), if he is going through a divorce, a death in the family or something that might affect his performance in the care and feeding or handling and delivery of a nuclear weapon, you are obligated to report on that person and say, “I’ve got concerns about this individual for the following reasons…take a closer look and see if he should still be involved in the care and feeding of a nuke.”  Somebody apparently blew the whistle on Giordina, and appropriately so. If I had been on active duty and I knew that this vice-admiral was involved in heavy gambling, I would have said, “Excuse me, but this is a compromise of his ability to operate in the world of nuclear weapons.

Fitzpatrick said that the allegation against Giordina for using counterfeit poker chips would have manifested “a pattern of misconduct exacerbated over concerns of his cheating others for money.”

Giardina has been reassigned while an investigation takes place.

Regarding Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, who The Los Angeles Times reported was removed from his post and reassigned because of alleged alcohol use, Fitzpatrick said that there were “very serious problems” when several of the nuclear weapons facilities failed their nuclear inspections.  “It wasn’t just one; it was several, and they failed miserably,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Times stated that according to the Air Force, Carey’s removal “was not related to the performance or combat readiness of the missile units or to his stewardship of the force.” The BBC reported that “a senior Air Force commander said the failure did not indicate the US nuclear arsenal was at risk” and quoted Lt. Gen. James Kowalski as having said, “These inspections are designed to be tough to pass.  A failure doesn’t mean the wing isn’t able to accomplish its mission.”

Of Carey’s sitution, Fitzpatrick said, “I was an officer on the USS Marvin Shields, where we closed out a Defense Nuclear Surety Inspection (DNSI) in 1977-78 which was a discrepancy-free inspection.  I wear the Navy commendation Medal because of it.  We aced this thing.  We did as well as can be done.  There are all sorts of issues involved in the handling of a nuclear weapon.  But these missile sites failed, and the officers involved in those failures, if for being careless and carefree, need to be moved out of that part of the military that maintains nuclear weapons and given another job, then see how they do there.”

The Post & Email asked Fitzpatrick if “personal misbehavior” could have led to the failed nuclear tests, to which he said, “No, ‘personal misbehavior’ is if you’re married and you get caught having an affair.  ‘Personal behavior’ could be excessive gambling – getting into a serious bet with friends or any kind of lewd and lascivious activity.  That’s different from professional misconduct, which goes to the failures of the nuclear weapons sites.”

West Point Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. David Huntoon, Jr. was investigated in 2010 for allegedly allowing an unauthorized civilian to obtain lodging at West Point because of “a personal relationship” with Huntoon, although the Army stated that the allegations proved false.  However, a second, more recent investigation resulted in “a written memorandum of concern” which accused Huntoon of “the improper use of subordinate personnel for unofficial purposes,” according to the UK Daily Mail, which also reported that Huntoon would be retiring during the summer of 2013.  He was succeeded by Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, Jr. in July.

When Huntoon was installed as superintendent in July 2010, a report quoted Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey as having said that Huntoon had experienced a “broad and enriching military career [which] uniquely qualifies him to lead the Army’s premier leadership institute.”

Huntoon has been accused of “deceit” by the website militarycorruption.com and is reported to never have been in combat.  In June, the Associated Press obtained a “heavily-redacted” report from the Department of Defense Inspector General which stated that Huntoon had “misused his position.”  The same Associated Press report is duplicated at the UK Daily Mail, The Huffington Post, and other news sites.

Of Maj. Gen. Charles M.M. Gurganus, who The Blaze reported had “questioned having to use Afghan security patrols alongside American patrols after two officers were executed at their desk and a platoon was lead into an ambush on the front lines,” Fitzpatrick said, “That would have been political.  This is one of those generals that Obama would have cashiered for questioning policy, the same way Ham and Gaouette were cashiered for questioning policy.  With ‘a Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merit with Valor, and three Meritorious Service Commendations,’ he crossed swords with Obama,” Fitzpatrick said.

Gurganus was reported in the mainstream media as “fired for negligence after a successful enemy attack.”

As of June of this year, Maj. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant, Marine Corps, was Director of Strategic Planning and Policy, U.S. Pacific Command.  Wikipedia reports that Sturdevant and Gurganus were “forced into retirement after the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Amos, concluded they should be held accountable for failing to secure their base in Afghanistan against the September 2012 Taliban attack that killed two Marines and destroyed materiel,” referencing an article from USA Today.

The attack occurred at the British Air Force Base known as Camp Bastion.

“That guy could have been relieved based on professional misconduct related to failure to perform his duty,” Fitzpatrick said.  “I remember the incident.  These guys in Afghanistan were attacked in their tents.  I don’t know the details behind it, but if it was a failure of protection – if this senior officer had been told, ‘Excuse me, sir, but we need more protection’ – it’s like Hillary Clinton having been told that the ambassador  needed more security  and then failing to provide it – there’s an outgrowth of outrage from the junior ranks which builds up, which could have happened to Sturdevant.  When you lose that kind of confidence in your ability to command, then you have to go.  So that’s not a political firing; it comes from the bottom up more than the top down because if you let your men down like that and can no longer be trusted in command, you have to go.  Hillary Clinton should be facing the same kind of consequences because of her failure to protect Amb. Stevens and the others in Benghazi.”

“Every so often, admirals and generals, get fired. It is garnering more scrutiny and attention because Obama is the ‘resident.’  One of the officers who was cashiered at the Southern Command Air Force base was allegedly involved with socialite Jill Kelley,” Fitzpatrick said. Kelley was tied to the Gen. David Petraeus scandal involving his biographer, Paula Broadwell, in which Gen. John Allen was cleared of misconduct after withdrawing his name from consideration for NATO commander.  CNN described Allen as “a Marine of distinction” a year ago.

Newsmax reported that Brig. Gen. Bryan Roberts was removed from his position as commander of the Army Training Center at Ft. Jackson, SC for “allegations of adultery and having a physical altercation.”  Newsmax also said that Congress had become aware of “a rise in sexual assault cases are pushing legislation to address the issue.”  At approximately the same time, CBS reported that the “altercation” occurred with a woman, after which Roberts was suspended pending an investigation.  “The suspension is the latest in a series of scandals involving senior military officers in recent months,” wrote CBS.

In August 2011, Roberts had written, “What this past year has shown me is that everyone wearing this uniform is looked upon as a role model. A Soldier is as credible — if not more credible — than any role model a kid can have, with the exception of their parents. We must take every opportunity to share what we know to help kids succeed in life.”

Of the discipline applied to Roberts, Fitzpatrick said:

One of my classmates from Annapolis named John Stuffelbeem, who was a star in the Navy, was briefing the press on our activities overseas as the operations officer on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as I recall. We used to play football together.  He was a two-star admiral at the time and was promoted to three stars, then he became involved in a female.  I don’t remember if it was called ‘adultery’ or if he was married or separated at the time and started dating somebody else…he was taken to admiral’s mast by then-Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead, who relived him of one star, fined him, penalized him and that was the end of John Stufflebeem’s career.  He retired as a two-star admiral, and that didn’t get much publicity at the time.  These things do happen, and they’re handled very discreetly.  These things are receiving more scrutiny under Obama, but some of them are legitimate.

You have the cover letter with the seven-page FBI report that I wrote to the Naval Inspector General in 1998.  Look at the litany of charges that I make against senior officers.  That’s a pretty heavy list of things.  If these admirals and generals ever get caught up in my case, these are the charges they face, among others.  And that was 1998, 16 years ago, and we still see this going on today.  The military works very, very hard to make sure that the Navy and the Marine Corps are not made to look really bad.  That extends to the Army and the Coast Guard and the Air Force.

When you start dealing with these officers in the rarefied air of command or rank, it’s handled very, very discreetly.

On April 5, 2013, Maj. Gen. Ralph Baker was reportedly fined and dismissed from his post as “commander of the Joint Task Force-Horn at Camp Lamar” for sexual misconduct by Gen. Carter Ham, on which The Blaze had reported that day.  A report in Military.com appears to have been reproduced by The Blaze, The Christian Science Monitor, and copied very closely by The Epoch Times.  The Associated Press, which appears to have been the source of the original article at Military.com, states that “This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.”

Like Huntoon, Baker is also a graduate of West Point.

A tribute made to Ham several days later by Sen. John McCain on Ham’s retirement, but it was unclear as to the exact date Ham would no longer be on active duty.  On July 22, an Army spokesperson told The Post & Email that Ham was “officially retired.”

None of the officers disciplined was subjected to a court-martial.

Of the current military command, Fitzpatrick said, “There are two kinds of officers:  those who are very respected, who stand up to do the right thing; and you have the political animals.  You’re seeing this being played out, and our whole command structure needs to be looked at.   I got thrown out because of my character.”