Generals behaving badly

This article from Washington Post (via Stars and Stripes) is all kinds of bad....  Apparently three Generals have all gotten themselves in trouble for three seperate things. 

First up, BG Sinclair:

The case that came to light most recently involved the criminal investigation  against Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair, who was removed from his job as the  deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division in May and flown home from  Afghanistan.

Although the militiary has released few details about the investigation,  officials at Fort Bragg, N.C., where the 82nd is based, released a summary of  the criminal charges filed against him last month. They include forcible sodomy,  wrongful sexual conduct, engaging in inappropriate relationships, misusing a  government charge card and possessing alcohol and pornography while deployed.

Also in the hot seat is General William Ward, previously of AFRICOM:

The inspector general concluded that Ward used government funds to pay for  personal travel expenses; assigned staff to run errands for him and his wife;  and accepted meals and Broadway tickets from a defense contractor, in violation  of Pentagon rules. The inspector general’s report says he wasted and misused  tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars. For example, he billed the government  $129,000 for an 11-day trip to Atlanta with a team of 13 people, even though he  only conducted business during three of the days, the inspector general found.

On Feb. 14 he sent the following e-mail to an aide: “Might you be able to  stop by a florist and pick up a small bouquet of spring flowers for me? Not  extravagant at all — just a small not very expensive bouquet.” The aide offered  to get it and asked where the general would like the flowers delivered. Ward  responded: “Can you have in the limo pls — trunk. Tnx”

Ward rejected several of the accusations of wrongdoing in a written response  to the inspector general’s findings, arguing, for instance, that many of the  expenses in question were legitimate.

Somewhat interestingly, my friend Jonn Lilyea thinks very highly of Gen Ward:

I’ll say here that I still consider William Ward my friend because of the impact he had on my career over the years. He was my battalion executive officer back in the Cottonbalers and our paths crossed again at Fort Drum when he was a brigade commander. Aside from being a fine infantry officer, one of the finest I’ve ever known, he was a friend to soldiers of all ranks.

The last General in trouble is Lt. Gen. Patrick J  O’Reilly, also covered in the Washington Post article:

The inspector general’s conclusions on Ward were released two months before  the agency issued a report documenting allegations that Lt. Gen. Patrick J  O’Reilly created a toxic atmosphere at the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) by  berating staff members. Quoting a witness, the inspector general’s report  described his style as “management by blowtorch and pliers.”

Staffers at the MDA, the agency tasked with keeping the United States safe  from missile attacks, described a culture of fear and low morale, in one case  citing as an example a senior staff meeting during which O’Reilly called  subordinates “a bunch of goddamned idiots,” according to the report.

The report says O’Reilly disputed the characterizations, saying that some  employees were unaccustomed to “having their work questioned when it included  faulty logic, unsupported conclusions or other deficiencies.” The report says  that the general maintains that he “never insulted or verbally abused anyone.”  O’Reilly remains in charge of the agency, although the Senate is set to vote on  a nominee to be his successor. O’Reilly also did not respond to a request for  comment made through an Army spokesman.

Will be interesting to see how these three cases shake out.