Posted on 04/01/2017 7:43:29 AM PDT by ameribbean expat
The dispute represented a rare public challenge by senior military leaders to congressional oversight of the armed forces, and left lingering resentments on both sides. Lawmakers thought they had prevailed by blocking Losey’s promotion last year, but the newly obtained documents reveal the Navy had the last word.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Navy protecting their own Swamp member.
ping
Certainly not emphasized by WaPo, but 100% of these actions occurred under Obama.
He was forced out.
He is still retired.
A panel merely boosted his retirement pay by about 10%.
They did *not* defy Congress.
How did this guy go from USAFA grad to BUDS? Don’t people that graduate from the Air Force Academy stay in the Air Force?
Not sure about the Air Force but Navy Academy grads can opt for the Navy or The Marine Corps after graduation. Might be that choice is available to all service academy grads...
Graduates of the Service Academies have a choice as to which branch they want to serve in. It’s very rare that AF or West Point grads move to another branch, but it does happen.
Acadeny grads were always allowed to apply for a change of Service during their commissioning. It used to be quite popular to do so and many people would take any Academy Appointment they could get knowing they could just change their Service at graduation. The Services got tired of that practice so they made it harder to change a Service during graduation.
In 2002 I was sitting at my desk SWA when a Navy Commander came up and asked was I such and such. I responded yes where he held out his hand saying “Thank You”.
Now I saw he was a Navy SEAL out of Afghanistan, so I said “For what? I am a REMF here, you were in harms way.” As I side note I was on the awards board getting a Bronze Star, and personally recommended him for a “V” because he was “behind the lines” doing his job. But I was told you only get a V for being under fire, not for being brave enough to mix among the enemy.
I spent a day with him and can only quote Kipling about it: “ You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!” Or in this case Brian Losey.
Cadets from any service academy are allowed to try out for BUDS, well before graduation. If they pass, they stay at their academy but are commissioned in the US Navy. They are also allowed to be commissioned by another service if they are marrying someone in that service. In addition to those options, I believe they can petition for a change of service, subject to the needs of the Army/Navy/Air. I would bet on the first path.
Friend of mine was an Army cavalry scout. Applied to be a combat swimmer & diver. Went to a dive school run by the Navy. Most skill schools now are run by one of the services, yet serve all comers. Prevents duplication of effort. He was enlisted and so remained Army.
The turmoil began in July 2011, three weeks after Losey took charge of the military’s Special Operations Command for Africa, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.
Someone filed an anonymous complaint with the inspector general alleging that Losey had improperly sought a government-paid plane ticket for his adult daughter when his family relocated to Germany.
In fact, Losey had paid for the plane ticket himself, and the complaint was soon dismissed. But enraged by what he saw as an act of disloyalty, the admiral became determined to find out who had reported him, according to the inspector general reports.
How did this guy go from USAFA grad to BUDS? Don’t people that graduate from the Air Force Academy stay in the Air Force?
Obviously not Ken.
Education
A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, class of 1983, Losey also holds a Masters degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College, which he received in 2004. He is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute, the Armed Forces Staff College, and Air Command and Staff College.[1] He attended Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in Coronado, Calif., and graduated from BUD/S Class 126 in 1984....
On December 14, 2011, the U.S. Senate confirmed Losey’s appointment as Rear Admiral (lower half).[4] On March 21, 2016, the Navy announced that Losey was being denied promotion to Rear Admiral (upper half) following the Inspector General’s review of allegations of retaliation taken against subordinates (see detail below). The Navy simultaneously announced the planned retirement of Losey following a transition of command.
Retaliation complaints
In 2011-2015, the Department of Defense Inspector General (DOD IG) investigated and upheld three out of five whistle-blower retaliation complaints against Admiral Losey after questioning 100 witnesses and amassing 300,000 pages of records.
According to The Washington Post, Losey “was investigated five times by the Defense Department’s inspector general after subordinates complained that he had wrongly fired, demoted or punished them during a vengeful but fruitless hunt for the person who had anonymously reported him for a minor travel-policy infraction.”
The DOD IG found that Admiral Losey wrongly believed there was “a conspiracy to undermine his command”. Inspector General recommended that the Navy discipline Losey for violating whistleblower-protection laws. Navy leadership reviewed the DOD Inspector General report and concluded that “none of the allegations rose to the level of misconduct on Admiral Losey’s part.”
In a statement to the Congressional Record in December 2015, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore) said he had placed a hold on the nomination of Janine Davidson, a former Pentagon official and Air Force pilot, to become the next Navy undersecretary until the service reconsidered its decision not to punish Admiral Losey for his violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989.[7] In April, 2016 the Navy decided to not promote Losey, paving the way for Davidson’s appointment.
Substantive support
William H. McRaven called him “without a doubt one of the finest officers with whom I have ever served. Over the past 15 years no officer I know in the SEAL Teams has given more to this country than Brian.”[9] He described it as an example of a “disturbing trend in how politicians abuse and denigrate military leadership, particularly the officer corps, to advance their political agendas.”[10]
On the House floor, Retired SEAL officer-turned-Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT), rejected claims that Losey retaliated. “He saw a problem and took action”. “Once again, an entrusted, entrenched bureaucracy was allowed to hide behind threats, hide behind whistleblowers, hide behind rules that were intended to protect command and not to erode it.”
Source: Wikipedia
The dirty little secret is the the Marine Corps is - gasp - part of the Navy.
- marine -
- of, found in, or produced by the sea.
Don’t tell anyone I said so.
Lot of twists & turns in this case. The alleged travel violation was bogus & dismissed. Losey shook up a low performing staff that included two civilians (one the chief of staff) and one Air Force officer. He asked for things to get done or changed at a time when spec ops in Africa were booming because of the horrific Obama-Clinton-ValJar Arab Spring policy. Losey had commanded ST6 and expected instant obedience and results. After months when he didn’t get them, he upended the entrenched bureaucracy, and then got smacked for it.
“Don’t tell anyone I said so.”
Think I recall some uncles saying they were marines, never said they were in the Navy....and the stories told would make you weep.....re Pacific island stuff....and the “Japs.”
Each academy allows for a few transfers after graduation, usually due to prior family heritage. I had a classmate from Navy that went AF. It’s 2-3 a year on average from each academy. Requires permission of both services. Lot of hoops.
Merchant Marine Academy graduates can take any commission and they often do.
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