AF vice commander relieved after sending 'unprofessional' emails

The vice commander of the Air Force's 12th Flying Training Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph has been relieved after investigators learned he exchanged emails with the wife of a subordinate officer.

The messages were sent in 2007 while Col. James Gifford Jr. served at Vance AFB in Oklahoma, where he was director of operations with the 8th Flying Training Squadron. A major at the time, he rose to lieutenant colonel in October of that year and was the squadron's commander from 2009 to 2010.

He left the base to become military assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

“The internal investigation found no evidence of a sexual relationship between the two people involved,” the Air Education and Training Command said in a statement. “However, the correspondence sent between them was determined to be unprofessional and Colonel Gifford showed poor judgment as an Air Force member, leading to his commander's decision to remove him from his post.”

The Air Force said the 12th Flying Training Wing's commander, Col. Gerald Goodfellow, relieved Gifford, a fighter and tanker pilot with more than 3,500 hours in the air, on March 24.

The action was taken because of a “loss of confidence in his ability to lead” the wing, but the statement did not explain how the emails were unprofessional. The Air Force did not elaborate after the San Antonio Express-News sent a list of questions asking about the nature of the messages, citing “privacy rights and concerns.”

The Air Force also wouldn't say how many messages were exchanged and said it has not been determined why the email relationship ended. An AETC spokeswoman, Amy Bartholomew, did say that Gifford did not review the officer's performance evaluations.

Gifford was reassigned to AETC's headquarters. His abrupt exit apparently marks the first time a vice commander at the wing has been relieved. Bartholomew said she did not know of an incident like it.

A relationship involving commanders and the wives of their subordinates - even by electronic mail — would be highly unusual and strictly prohibited.

“Unprofessional relationships, particularly by Air Force leaders, stand to undermine our entire team, damage good order and discipline, and threaten the trust people have in us,” the AETC statement said. “They simply aren't tolerated.”

A graduate of Rutgers University, Gifford came to the 12th Flying Training Wing in June 2012 after graduating from the Marine Corps War College, where he was honored for submitting the best thesis.

The Randolph-based wing, with 1,456 military and civilian workers, trains instructor pilots, combat systems officers and those who will fly drone aircraft. It also screens Air Force officers who enter pilot, combat systems and drone aircraft training, and has an average of 745 students a day.

Looking at his timeline, seven years ago, he was in a leadership position in a training wing.

Bad.

We don’t know the details of the female(s) involved or if she (they) had a family.

Let me explain: When I was flying F-15Es we had an ops officer in a training wing that trolled for young wives of students. This O-4/5 would hit on the wives.

In one particular case the wife’s husband wasn’t doing well and the ops officer offered to help her husband pass if she did the nasty with him. She objected and spoke up. This led to an investigation that spanned years.

The investigators found many wives that were hit on but said nothing at the time because they didn’t want to hurt their husbands career by speaking up (fear of retaliation. . .if you want to fail someone on a ride, you can always find a reason).

The investigators basically had to speak with all the wives of the students that were under is command for several years. Time. This takes time. Eventually the investigation was complete and the guy was fired, removed for cause.

Perhaps something like this was going on regarding Gifford? Who knows. But at the very least he was a vile piece of scum because when you are in a command position you never hit on the wives or girlfriends of your subordinates.

Oh, Gifford went from being a tanker toad to a F-15E? A golden boy, a rising star for sure. No one but the “chosen” make that sort of transition. He was not a victim of a Zero purge. He was a victim of his abuse of power and arrogance.

Affairs happen. However, as an officer, especially a commanding officer, you never abuse your power and position. Gen Ron Fogleman resigned early from the USAF because he would not compromise his integrity regarding the Kobar Towers bombing and Lt Flynn.. .a female that was having an affair with an enlisted married man.

(http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-07-29/news/1997210031_1_air-force-fogleman-force-chief: “Fogleman, a 1963 Air Force Academy graduate who was awarded the Silver Star for heroism in Vietnam and the Purple Heart for his wounds, also had other run-ins. In May, he tangled with senators over the case of First Lt. Kelly Flinn, the Air Force’s first female B-52 pilot who was charged with adultery, lying and ++ disobeying orders.

When one senator — like many others on Capitol Hill and the public at large — focused on the adultery charge and criticized the Air Force for wanting to court martial Flinn, Fogleman grew testy. “This is an issue about an officer who is entrusted to fly nuclear weapons who disobeyed an order, who lied,” the general snapped. “That’s what this was about.”

“He has a good nose for getting in trouble, I mean that in the best sense,” said McPeak. “If there’s a fight out there, he can find it.”

Fogleman also strove to hold all Air Force personnel to high standards, said McPeak, who was Fogleman’s squadron commander in Vietnam.”)

Nah, just another stupid officer who thinks his brass entitles him to another man’s woman...

An abuse like this is more cause for harm in a unit than a fistfight between two members...

None of the pilots will want to deploy if this douche is staying home for whatever reason...their mind will not be on flying airplanes and the mission.

They’ll be wondering if he was “successful” with their wife or not...we had pieces of $hit who didn’t deploy during DS/DS who were attempting this...when caught, they were busted and gone by the time the vast majority of us returned and for good reason...it’s not just an officer thing. It’s a stinking douche bag thing.

“went over to her apartment one night and caught the married Vice Commander in a compromising position with her on the her couch. I just laughed as I was reared in the USAF and had seen this behaviour all of my life.”

Odd. I spent 25 years in the USAF, and I didn’t see it all the time. Actually, not at all. If I had, I would have reported it.

I realize it happened at times. I was quite happy to have a Wing Commander forcibly retired after he was caught doing a Captain and making her promises he didn’t keep...although I felt sorry for his wife, who was a very nice person married to a total ass. But I sure didn’t see it happening all the time...

////////////////////////
Anyone ever been to Korea or the PI in the Old AF? Give me a break. Folks (both male and female officers and NCOs and airmen — both married and single) did a bit more than exchange emails — and often went on to have good careers. I call BS. Sorry. “Exchanging emails in an unprofessional manner?” That is quite the major offense indeed, now, isn’t it! ROFLOL.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.