Is he forced to retire with the increased rank money intact? Tough life huh.
I don't think anything good will come out of this for him.
There is more about this story yet to come out, I'm sure.
He will likely be forced to retire, but not at the four-star rank. The SecDef is required by law to certify that all 3-star and 4-star officers have served admirably to retire at those ranks. Those who retire under a cloud such as this are retired as 2-star generals. (It doesn't mean that much of a reduction in retired pay though. But it will likely keep Byrne from landing many consulting jobs -- except with the Clinton News Network. And the Pink Network.)
This guy was a 4-star general. They don't just retire, go home, and grow petunias. They go on to be mayors and city managers, members of the board of fortune 500 companies, etc. How many corporations do you think are going to hire a guy who got quite publicly relieved at the very end of his career? Not many. How many elections do you think the guy can win? All his opponent has to do is keep bringing up the fact that he got relieved for cause.
It's a bit more than a wrist slap.