The U.S. Army has fired a four-star general for abusing his authority by giving promotions and preferential treatment to less qualified female subordinates, according to an Army Inspector General report obtained by Military.com on Tuesday.
Gen. Charles Hamilton, with the help of Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, gave leadership roles to subordinate officers deemed unfit for command. According to to the report. Hamilton is the first four-star general to be fired in 20 years.
“This was an abuse of power, from Hamilton.” [to] “Secretary”, an officer involved in the command selection process for Lt. Col. said military.com. “It’s hard to imagine [Hamilton] I had no idea what he was doing. There were some skeptics about this process, but now we see that it is open to nepotism. We had a renegade general…but it’s more unfortunate that the highest levels of the chain of command allowed this to happen without asking questions. ”
Lt. Gen. Piatt retired in January, according to Military.com, but it’s unclear whether George will face consequences for his role in the project.
According to the report, Hamilton orchestrated the rise of a particularly friendly lieutenant colonel who wanted a command position. According to the Battalion Command Assessment Program (BCAP), the lieutenant colonel scored in the bottom 1% of 800 candidates for command.(Related: New defense spending bill blocks numerous left-wing initiatives)
Despite failing the assessment, the lieutenant colonel was given a second chance, but failed again, according to the report. However, on General George’s instructions, she was still on the list of commanders.
This is an aerial photo of the exterior of the Pentagon. (Photo from Getty Images)
Gen. Hamilton also personally requested to see the lieutenant colonel interviews used in BCAP, an unprecedented request, according to the report. He also contacted BCAP staff to ask which generals would be on the lieutenant colonel interview committee, and then contacted each general to ask about their voting philosophy in screening candidates.
According to the report, when Hamilton was first questioned by investigators, he denied speaking to BCAP.
“General. Hamilton’s actions seemed focused on excuses. [the woman’s] “Rather than identifying a systemic problem with BCAP, BCAP scores poorly,” the report reads. “In his interviews, nothing [with Army investigators] Did General Hamilton speak about [her] Performance, potential, or why she was qualified to become a battalion commander. ”
The report said it was found that Hamilton and the lieutenant colonel shared a friendly relationship that “gave real or perceived bias or inequity.” The investigation also “could not conclusively determine” whether Hamilton and the lieutenant colonel had a sexual relationship.
The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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