WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2008 – The Defense Department Inspector General reports that the America Supports You program was being managed in a “questionable and irregular manner,” the department’s top public affairs official said today. Robert T. Hastings, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, spoke with reporters in advance of the release of the inspector general’s audit. Dorrance Smith, then-assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, requested the IG audit in May 2007. Still, Hastings said, America Supports You is a “tremendous initiative” for U.S. servicemembers and their families. As originally conceived, the program aimed to inform servicemembers...
