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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Follow-up on Amish parachute rigger general officer |
| 2024-03-23 |
| [Washington Examiner] A four-star Army general was suspended on Friday after the Department of Defense learned he allegedly pressured an assessment panel to sign off on an officer deemed "unfit for command." "Suspended." WTF does "Suspended" mean ? Gen. Charles Hamilton, who allegedly lobbied on behalf of a female lieutenant colonel, was also recommended for an investigation by the Defense Department’s inspector general. Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan, deputy commander of the Army Materiel Command, which Hamilton oversaw, will be the interim commander. "Suspended?" Where is that found in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) ? "This week, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth became aware of credible allegations Gen. Charles Hamilton, commanding general of Army Materiel Command, interfered in the Army’s Command Assessment Program process last fall," Col. Randee Farrell, a spokeswoman for Wormuth, told Military.com in a statement. Farrell added that the suspension was pending the outcome of the Pentagon’s investigation and any further investigations that were ordered. Hamilton allegedly contacted members of the panel on the woman’s behalf to try and pressure them to sign off on promoting her to a battalion commander position. But despite his endeavors, the panel concluded she was unfit because of her "ineffective and counterproductive leadership." The female officer was also rejected by a different assessment panel, but she was later placed on a selection list for command. However, she has since been removed as a candidate and will need to recompete next year. In the assessment, the process is completely blind, where five generals are pulled at random to interview an unnamed candidate hidden behind a curtain. Officers claim this is to avoid any bias. The assessment also consists of a physical fitness test, examinations of communication skills, and psychological evaluations. Hamilton then reportedly asked for a second panel, claiming the first psychologist was "too negative." It was approved because of "technical issues" and rescheduled for two days later, on Nov. 1, 2023. The approval of the second panel was unprecedented because Army rules state that a candidate must wait another year to be retested. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #10 Ref # 4 & 5 above. Had a Tank Battalion Operations NCO (E-8 Master Sergeant) retire when I was the S-3 and when I showed up at his retirement party he was a Major again. A fellow OCS graduate, he has been the S-3 of a Cav Squadron in Viet Nam but was passed over twice and had opted to finish the 20 as an NCO. I had no idea until he showed up with Oak Leaves, a Stetson and a big smile! |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2024-03-23 15:26 |
| #9 On the other hand, recently there have been a couple instances lately where former officers and enlisted got brought back for court-martial. (See also David Petraeus.) One of the changes brought on during the #Metoo hysteria to placate those who suffered from indiscriminate zipper disease. Recall to active duty for prosecution under the UCMJ. Screw ex post facto. Wonder when they'll unearth Eisenhower. Kathleen Summersby to the courtesy phone. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2024-03-23 11:04 |
| #8 "Suspended?" Where is that found in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) ? It ain't, but it's part of the process. When a FO screws up so badly that even the US Army (or USN, or USMC, or My Beloved Service) has to do something, the first thing they'll do is 'temporarily' relieve him of his duties - 'suspended' to the civilians writing the article. Ideally, the next step is that said FO gets the hint and submits for immediate retirement. In most cases - anything short of murder or sexual assault/harassment - they'll be allowed to do it, knowing full well that the alternative is looking at losing all the goodies. On the other hand, recently there have been a couple instances lately where former officers and enlisted got brought back for court-martial. (See also David Petraeus.) And FWIW, I have seen a couple of articles on this subject that stated that the anonymous 05 is Mrs Amish Parachute Rigger General Officer. Mike |
| Posted by: MikeKozlowski 2024-03-23 10:55 |
| #7 Perhaps off topic, but wasn't 'Charles Hamilton' Melanie's brother and Scarlet's ill fated first husband in 'Gone With the Wind'? Not really a believer in the proverbial Simulation, but given the available image somebody, somewhere has one Hell of a sense of humor. |
| Posted by: Cesare 2024-03-23 10:22 |
| #6 Thanks for that memory jogger P2k. I will never forget seeing highly decorated, Vietnam combat wounded getting RIF notices at building #4. They were mid-way through the Infantry Advanced Course. They were allowed to complete the course, but released from active duty soon thereafter. I believe it was 1972. The betrayal was sad then, remains sad today. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2024-03-23 08:42 |
| #5 ..that would have been a post Vietnam RIF, to keep the EM rank, he had to have been a OCS grad. iirc prior to the 80s, the Army operated on the expandable force concept. You had the regular army supplemented by the reserve. The reserves were technically fillers dependent upon mobilization or draft. There were regular commissions, the West Point class, along with selected individuals from other commissioning source. All others received a reserve commission. Both received a rank in the Army of the United States which was the working grade for promotions, pay, and job assignments. In theory if the service was reduced to the core regular force, the reserves would be released and the remaining regulars would revert to their assigned regular army rank which was never as high as the AUS rank. Sometime in the 80s in response to legal proceedings brought by RIF'd reserve officers, the structure was revamped with all new commission being reserve and upon promotion to O4 rank being made regular army commissions. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2024-03-23 07:58 |
| #4 /\ Not uncommon. As I recall, if you had been commissioned for at least ten years, you could revert to previous enlisted rank, continue to keep a reserve commission (do mandatory schools by mail to stay up-to-date), and retire at 20 year service at your commissioned rank. The term was "hip pocket orders." Took a bit of pride swallowing. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2024-03-23 07:56 |
| #3 Back in the day, most commissions up to O5 at least were reserve. Your "regular" rank was considerably less. Saw a major turn into a staff sergeant after second time passed over. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2024-03-23 07:02 |
| #2 Used to be when a LC got passed over twice it was time to retire. |
| Posted by: Itsoktobewhite 2024-03-23 05:34 |
| #1 All quartermasters are dirty - it's the job. But few are megalomaniacs. |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2024-03-23 03:00 |