Commander of California National Guard resigns amid allegations

SACRAMENTO – The commander of the California National Guard has resigned amid accusations that he failed to meet a Pentagon combat requirement and tried to arrange a flight on a military aircraft for members of a Republican group.

Major Gen. Thomas Eres resigned late Monday after questions were raised by the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times newspapers about whether he passed a required shooting-skills test before visiting troops in Iraq. The papers also said Eres attempted to provide a military flight for a Lincoln Club group – a partisan Republican organization – that wanted to travel last month to North American Aerospace Defense Command center in Colorado.

Eres, 61, was appointed in March 2004 as leader of the nation's largest National Guard force, which includes 22,000 troops, 13 bases and more than 100 armories.

In a resignation letter quoted by the news organizations, the two-star general said it was an "ideal time" to step down "so that my family and I can start to enjoy a much-anticipated retirement."

Brigadier Gen. John Alexander, the guard's second in command, has taken over the operation.

Questions about Eres' shooting skills relate to a Pentagon requirement that personnel pass a complex test before traveling to a war zone. Eres was scheduled to meet with California National Guard troops stationed in Iraq in August, a trip that was postponed. He eventually made the trip around Thanksgiving.

The newspapers' Sacramento bureau obtained interviews and documents indicating Eres did not meet the requirements and that a top aide improperly informed Department of Defense officials that the general had proven his shooting skills.

Also raising questions was a trip a Republican friend wanted to take last month to NORAD headquarters in Colorado.

Eres had offered to put the Coachella Valley Lincoln Club on a military flight for the trip, which appeared to violate military rules because of the group's partisan party affiliations. The Coachella Valley is the Southern California desert region that includes Palm Springs and Indio.

Two weeks before the planned trip, the National Guard Bureau in Washington rejected the request to put the group on a refueling tanker to Colorado, the newspapers reported. Schwarzenegger Cabinet Secretary Terry Tamminen also directed Eres to cancel the trip.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/11833588.htm

(snip)

At the heart was an allegation that he failed to fulfill a Pentagon shooting requirement before traveling to visit California troops fighting in Iraq.

Interviews and documents obtained by the Mercury News indicate that Eres did not meet the requirements and that a top aide improperly informed Department of Defense officials that the general had proven his shooting skills.

Before traveling to Iraq, Eres was required to submit proof that he was qualified to use his 9mm pistol, something soldiers are generally required to do every year. As the trip approached, Eres had not taken time to go to a shooting range and complete the course.

Four days before he was scheduled to leave for the Middle East, interviews and documents show, Eres went to a civilian shooting range outside Sacramento to fire a 9mm and an M-16 rifle.

But two National Guard officials who went with Eres to the range Aug. 27 said that the general did not complete the complex qualifying course as suggested in documents submitted for the Pentagon.

(snip)

After Eres returned from the range, Lt. Col. Sonja Banowetz, the general's top administrative aide, filled out the required form and faxed it to Washington, D.C., as part of his packet for the trip.

The form indicates that Eres qualified as a sharpshooter by hitting the targets 37 of 40 times he fired while standing, kneeling, crouching and lying down.

In a short telephone interview Monday, Lewis said no one at the range was keeping track of the general's score and that others at the range fired at the same targets.

``No one scored him,'' said Lewis, who is preparing to be sent overseas. ``He sat at a table and shot the weapons.''

Banowetz said she was given a 3-by-5 card with the general's score and that she transferred that information to the document submitted for the trip.

Although she was not at the range, Banowetz signed off as the officer to verify that the general had completed the shooting course -- an extremely unusual act.

"He qualified," Banowetz said Sunday in an interview at her Roseville home.

http://www.schwarzenegger.com/en/news/uptotheminute/news_upto_en_eres_appt.asp?sec=news&subsec=uptotheminute

March 3rd, 2004

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER APPOINTS MAJOR GENERAL THOMAS ERES AS ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE STATE MILITARY FORCES

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointment of Major General Thomas Eres as adjutant general of the State Military Forces for the State of California.

"General Eres has demonstrated leadership and accomplishment throughout his years of service to the state and the nation; He is well qualified to lead the largest and most tasked National Guard force in the United States," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "During this period when our National Guard is facing extraordinary challenges both at home and abroad, I have every confidence in General Eres to maintain the high standards and traditions of the institution."

General Eres has over 35 years of service in the California Army National Guard. He has recently served as director of the Office of Homeland Security and Defense for the California National Guard. General Eres was previously commander of the California Army National Guard from 1999 to 2002. From 1996 to 1999 he was special assistant to the judge advocate general of the United States Army and special advisor to the chief, National Guard Bureau. During this period he also acted as deputy adjutant general for the California National Guard. General Eres enlisted in the California Army National Guard as an infantryman in 1965 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant from the California Military Academy in 1970. He was appointed to the Judge Advocate Corps in 1975 and served in this capacity until 1996. General Eres was the senior judge advocate for the California National Guard from 1990 to 1996. In the private sector, General Eres is an attorney at law specializing in commercial transactional matters including real property and land use, corporate, governmental/administrative, and military base reuse matters.

In his most recent position, General Eres focused his efforts as a lecturer with the National Interagency Civil-Military Institute (NICI), presenting Executive Courses on WMD and Counter Terrorism issues involving use of the military in support of Civil Authority. He has participated in symposiums addressing international law, business diplomacy, intelligence, homeland security and terrorism. His focus includes the interrelationship of intrastate, interstate, national and international entities dealing with post September 11, 2001 realities of public safety.

"I am honored that Governor Schwarzenegger has entrusted me with the command of the more than 22,000 men and women serving in the California Army and Air National Guard," said General Eres. "Like them, I am ready to serve and will ensure the finest state of readiness and response attainable."

General Eres, 59, received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Redlands and his Juris Doctorate from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. General Eres is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, as well as the U.S. Army War College. He is a member of the California State and American Bar Associations, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Military Appeals and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, among others. General Eres is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the Pacific, and past chair of the President's Advisory Council for California State University, Sacramento. He is a past member of the Board of Governor's of the California State Bar and past president of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Sacramento Metropolitan YMCA. General Eres is a registered Republican and a resident of Carmichael, CA. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $167,740.

The Military Department is responsible for the command, leadership, and management of the California Army and Air National Guard whose purpose is to provide military service support to California as well as the nation. The California National Guard protects the public safety of the people of California by providing military support to civil authorities during natural disasters and other emergencies, and provides support to the local communities. These services are provided through 118 armories, 10 air bases, and three army bases located throughout California. The California National Guard is the largest National Guard force in the United States, with an authorized strength of 18,000 Army National Guard and 4,900 Air National Guard members.

Sacramento Business Journal, August 31, 2001 v18 i25 p2
Eres gets his stars. (Brief Article)

Veteran Sacramento attorney Tom Eres wears another hat ... and it will have two stars on it as of Sept. 8, when he'll be promoted to the rank of major general during a local ceremony. Eres is in charge of the California Army National Guard. A decade ago, as a civilian, Eres led the Sacramento Metro Chamber's effort to prevent the closure of McClellan Air Force Base. Dire outcomes for the Sacramento economy had been predicted if McClellan closed, predictions which never came true. Today McClellan is leasing up with private companies, and Eres has become a military figure of note.

M2 Presswire, July 17, 2001 pNA
General Officer announcements.

(snip) Major General
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced today that the President has nominated Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Eres for appointment to the grade of major general. Eres is currently serving as the deputy commander, California State Area Command, Sacramento, Calif.

The Business Journal Serving Greater Sacramento, March 23, 1992 v8 n52 p15(14) Who's who. (a listing of prominent lawyers in Sacramento, California) (Who's Who in Law) (Directory)

Thomas Eres, Principal
Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard Sacramento
Age: 48
Eres, known as a shrewd business attorney, is among local law community's elite. He has been a central force at Kronick Moskovitz, one of the area's largest firms, since joining it in 1976. From 1984 to 1990, he chaired the firm's business, real estate and corporate law department. Currently, he emphasizes redevelopment, real estate, land-use and planning law.
Eres, who is a colonel in the state National Guard, also is the state staff judge advocate. He provides legal advice to the adjutant general, who is the overall head of the state's military department. There is only one staff judge advocate in each state.
Eres is a director and the chief financial officer of the California Appellate Project, which oversees the work of attorneys handling appeals of indigent defendants. He also is on the Board of Regents at the University of the Pacific and a director of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. Eres obtained his law degree from McGeorge School of Law.

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