General William 'Kip' Ward demoted for lavish travel, spending

Associated Press ^ | Published: 02:09 PM, Tue Nov 13, 2012 | AP

[haffast]

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has demoted the former head of U.S. Africa Command who was accused of spending thousands of dollars on lavish travel and other unauthorized expenses, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

Panetta stripped Gen. William "Kip" Ward of a star, which means that he will now retire as a three-star lieutenant general despite arguments from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff against the demotion. Ward also has been ordered also repay the government $82,000.

(snip)

The demotion comes as retired Army Gen. David Petraeus resigned as CIA director because of an extramarital affair and Marine Gen. John Allen is being investigated for improper communications with a woman.

According to the official, Panetta reviewed the Ward matter and concluded that the wrongdoing found by the Defense Department Inspector General, in a report released earlier this year, demanded accountability.

Retiring as a three-star will cost Ward about $30,000 a year in retirement pay - giving him close to $208,802 a year rather than the 236,650 he would get as a four-star.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged Panetta to allow Ward, the former head of U.S. Africa Command, to retire at his full four-star general rank, according to defense officials. Other military leaders had noted that the demotion would cost Ward a lot of money.

[haffast]

Petraeus, Allen, Hertling, Ham, and now Ward.

Dempsey Opposes 4-Star's Demotion - Oct 05, 2012

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/10/05/dempsey-opposes-4-stars-demotion.html

Hertling Leaves USAREUR Without Fanfare, Retires - Nov 09, 2012

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/11/09/hertling-leaves-usareur-without-fanfare-retires.html

General Ham Is Still Commander of U.S. Africa Command November 3, 2012

(Retiring Spring 2013)

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/11/general_ham_is_still_commander_of_us_africa_command.html#ixzz2CAKE05Uc

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

Welcome to the Stalinesque Purges. Bloodless.....for the moment.

[Cicero]

If they keep this up, they’re going to lose the good will of all the top commanders and perfumed princes, as well as the good will of the guys in the ranks.

Who’s going to help them lose most of the military absentee ballots if this goes on?

[RginTN]

Only Obama can live lavishly off the taxpayer!

[ilovesarah2012]

I’m waiting for Michelle to be demoted.

Seriously, what is Obama doing to our military? He wants to put homosexuals in and get rid of our nukes. He wants more muslims in America. He plans on visiting Russia but not Israel. And he will be in charge for four more years (at least). America will be no more.

[doc1019]

AMEN!

[PhiloBedo]

Moochell is the only one who can engage in lavish travel at the taxpayers expense.

$82,000 isn’t much if you start adding all the costs to operate a large airplane.

It’s not like he took an entourage to Spain and rented an entire resort hotel....

[WilliamofCarmichael]

This reminds me a lot of the Tailhook massacre of the U.S. Navy pilots.. now these New Normal pukes have more power and they are going after generals.

Meet the New Normal

Can you believe it? These are our elites.

[haffast]

Our Great Leader got bin Laden. Now he’s cleaning out the corrupt baby killers and waste from our military while simultaneously casting out the foul demon Mitt and his minions. Free stuff for all! Benghazi was just a bump in the road. Now bow down and kiss the ring of our Great Leader:

http://www.wnd.com/2012/10/obamas-ring-there-is-no-god-but-allah/

[Irenic]

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta should be incredibly embarrassed. Look how Panetta travels around, back and forth to his walnut farm.

Look at Michelle Obama.

[doc1019]

Stalin purged his generals because of paranoia, Hitler purged his generals because of paranoia.

Is Obama purging his generals because of paranoia?

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

Putin would be more than happy to send troops to help 0bama keep his throne since he works for them anyway (possibly:.. OBAMA: "After MY election I have more flexibility.." MEDVEDEV: "I understand.. I transmit this information..)

Tin foil hat?: Some think that Russia already has troops here, waiting for orders..

[zeestephen]

Love the way no blame is assigned to Obama, the Personnel Director-In-Chief of the military and intelligence agencies.

At the very least, Obama signed off on all three of these guys.

Any MSM blowback?

That’ll be the day!

[Rembrandt]

“Seriously, what is Obama doing to our military?”

Have you forgotten? After the election, more flexibility! This is but a taste of things to come.

You Republicans....up against the wall!

[haffast]

Comrade, see post #5. We need a less intimidating military. Flowers, not guns. We want the world to love us. We need to embrace our neighbors with the different faith tradition and create a warm and fuzzy world. Forward!

[chargers fan]

If you’re misusing Government Travel cards for personal reasons you deserved to get demoted, period. I’ve followed this story for the few months it has been going on.

[Blogger]

Don’t forget Gaouette

[zeestephen]

Just remembered...

Wasn’t the Persian Gulf Naval Task Force Commander recalled a couple weeks back?

That means 4 senior officers involved in major screw ups within one month.

You sure can pick them, Mr. President.

[Barnacle]

Odmamma has managed to do what no foreign enemy could do to America... Knockout four of our top generals.

Me thinks all four know the truth about Benghazi.

Unless justice is served, God help us all.

[haffast]

I agree. I did my part to demote Michelle. Not enough agreed.

[weston]

Blame Obama? Not his fault.
But Abu Graib was all Bush's fault, of course. /s

[haffast]

Navy Replaces Admiral Leading Mideast Strike Group Because of Ongoing Investigation
Oct 27, 2012 8:27pm
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/10/navy-replaces-admiral-leading-mideast-strike-group-because-of-ongoing-investigation/

[Oldexpat]

There is a major failure in leadership. If officer’s know that the general is violating the rules..they are more inclined to violate the rules also. Good olde Kip did a lot of stupid things trying to live large on his expense account.
I just heard from a friend in Afghanistan that it is effecting the field grade officers. A CO Col was just relieved for sleeping with a female DOD employee..he was married. Plus two officers just got relieved for sleeping together..boss and subordinate.
This is a failure of leadership..not a plot. It just means we got some leaders on all levels that are abusing the system. Maybe the top leaders are being selected for the wrong PC reasons...Petreaus thought he was safe with his affair..his superiors knew about it. I bet some of his subordinates did also..and he lost his authority over them.

[doc1019]

So, when are we going to see the equivalent of Kristallnact and night of the long knives (killing of the brown shirts)?

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

There's an interesting dynamic there, and 0bama benefits from it. Although he is in charge of the military, he's completely disassociated from any accountability for wrongdoing because 0bama is not an American. He's a foreigner who can take credit for the things he chooses to, or deny culpability if he chooses to. It's astonishing but he gets away with it.

0bama is not one of us, otherwise he'd not be able to get away with this. Imagine if Nixon were president while this was happening.. IT WOULD BE ALL ABOUT NIXON, NIXON, NIXON 24/7!!!

[cruise_missile]

This General is an African-American. Which means he is one of the elite. A minority in a position of power.
If a normal American stole $80,000 he would be in jail. Minimum he would lose his job.

[haffast]

When you’re evaluating yourself, what qualities do you try to focus on?

Petraeus: On every bit of guidance I give, the last instruction is: Learn and adapt. We also work very hard on [being] **first with the truth**. That’s a powerful admonition: First of all, we’re going to **tell the truth**. We’re not going to put lipstick on pigs. We’re going to be absolutely **100% forthright** and **brutally honest** with — not just with ourselves and with our subordinates and our superiors — but **with the press**. The credibility of leaders is of enormous importance.

How do you identify which officers are going to make the best leaders?

Petraeus: “There has to be a foundational level of just sheer physical fitness. As we say sometimes, soldiering is still an outdoor sport. There is a certain degree of mental toughness. There’s obviously **integrity**. There is sheer professional expertise — technical and tactical competence. But what then starts, I think, to separate the future stars from the rest of the pack are some other qualities. And now you’re getting into judgment, **just hugely important**. Whether you think about it or not, subconsciously, **who** do you go to when you really want to **bounce** an idea off someone? That’s the person who has judgment that you value.”

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/04/news/companies/petraeus_leadership.fortune/index.htm

....and then Adam saw Eve.....

[AZLiberty]

If Michelle is demoted, does she become Second Lady, or can she be demoted straight to Third Lady for particularly egregious vacationing?

[Barnacle]

So, when are we going to see the equivalent of Kristallnact and night of the long knives (killing of the brown shirts)?

From Wikipedia:

"The Reichstag fire (German: Der Reichstagsbrand (help·info)) was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany.

"At 21:25 (UTC +1), a Berlin fire station received an alarm call that the Reichstag building, the assembly location of the German Parliament, was ablaze. The fire started in the Session Chamber,[1] and, by the time the police and firemen arrived, the main Chamber of Deputies was engulfed in flames."

I hope there is a fire station close to Capital Hill.

[Tucker39]

Appears to be another Coleen Powell-type Affirmative Action General....and with a modus operandi very similar to Mooochelle’s.

[Ann Archy]

$208,000.00 a Year in RETIREMENT????? OMG!!! That is ridiculous!!

[tdscpa]

FR needs to start quarterly fund raising projects to help him fund his retirement in the style to which he has become accustomed.

[oh8eleven]

General William 'Kip' Ward demoted
I guarantee before Øbama; leaves office ...
... he will restore the general to four star status.
How can I be so sure ...