Posted on 12/23/2004 7:05:18 AM PST by jagusafr
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force's former chief military lawyer has been formally reprimanded for conduct unbecoming an officer because of improper relationships with more than a dozen women, the Air Force said on Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Fiscus was given a formal reprimand and ordered to forfeit pay for conduct unbecoming an officer, fraternization, obstruction of justice and violating a lawful general regulation, the Air Force said.
In violation of military rules, Fiscus had sexual affairs over the last decade with more than a dozen female officers, enlisted women and civilians, an investigation found.
These affairs generally were consensual, and any other incidents were minor cases of inappropriate touching, investigators found.
Gen. Donald Cook, commander of the Air Education and Training Command, decided the punishment in the case and also recommended that Fiscus be compelled to retire from the military at a lower rank, officials said.
Fiscus, who oversaw 1,300 military lawyers and 300 civilian lawyers, as well as 1,000 military paralegals and 600 other civilian workers, could face additional action, including being disbarred, officials said.
Fiscus served as judge advocate general of the Air Force, providing legal advice to Air Force leaders, from February 2002 until stepping aside in September in the face of the investigation in what at the time was called a temporary move.
Fiscus did not face military criminal charges and his punishment came in a so-called Article 15 administrative procedure.
'WILL NOT BE TOLERATED'
"The Air Force takes any misconduct by its officer and enlisted airmen very seriously," an Air Force statement said. "The swift and strong actions of Air Force leadership make it clear that such misconduct will not be tolerated, regardless of the rank of the offender."
Fiscus was among the senior military lawyers who raised questions about U.S. policy toward military detainees, which has been under scrutiny since a series of prisoner abuse scandals erupted earlier this year. Continued ...
© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.
RHIP
I work in AETC and the fraternization rules are clear and stringently enforced. The irony is that they came into being because former General officers were actually building stables of sweet young students to use as "gifts" to visiting dignitaries. because the high-powered political vermin couldn't handle the responsibility of being decent, we have to be very careful when around students.
My experience has been that to true leaders, the higher rank they achieve, the less rank matters; i.e., the more humble and servant-hearted they become. Unfortunately, the process doesn't always catch the bad apples.
Funny...there's another thread running right now about AF JAGs getting lighter case loads. Apparently they don't have enough free time....
Any relationship to the affects of that former Commander
in chief who dazzeled America by his brilliance and powerful statement "it all depends what the meaning of is- is" is purely co-incidental .Unles sone believes in the
residual affect especially when the chain of command is
weakest at it's head.
Retired General Tony McPeak comes to mind: Humble? No. Arrogant? Yes.
Aim High!
AMENAMENAMEN!!!Met the guy a couple of times - a truly arrogant individual.
McPeak?...his wife wanted to see our chest hairs...
Well, at least she didn't want to make lamps out of your tattoos!
He should get a Bad Conduct discharge as an example to every other member in the Air Force and receive no benefits whatsoever.
Kind of harsh for consensual affairs don't you think. I could see if harrassment was alleged but BCD for consensual affair?
tattoos taboo now...
Officers can only get dismissals, not BCDs or DDs - but you're right. On the heels of the Academy problems, the senior AF attorney should have been keelhauled for his actions, and the GO deciding what forum to use should have ordered an Article 32 investigation. Instead, they've taken all the disciplinary bullets out of the JAG's gun when we do those military justice briefings to all the first-term airmen. Thanks a bunch, sir.
The affairs concern me, but the obstruction of justice and the sheer volume are what merit charges. Besides, can an affair between an enlisted person and a two-star general every really be consensual?
America has been dazzled countless times by dazzling brilliance, dazzlingly powerful statements, and dazzling charisma. John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and John Kerry come immediately to mind--but then there are such brilliant dazzlers as Barbra Streisand, Peter Jennings, Walter Chronkite... The list goes on and on but is too dazzling to pursue!
I actually breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that all of these consensual affairs were of the heterosexual variety. :-)
If a man that age can have a dozen relationships over such a short period of time then I say make him a poster boy. :-)
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