XPost: alt.abortion, alt.politics.homosexuality, alt.hollywood
XPost: talk.politics.guns

In article <ru9jf5$1eee$1@neodome.net>
<governor.swill@gmail.com> wrote:

Only believe CNN!

The head of the California Air National Guard and one of its
five wing commanders have been removed from their positions amid
complaints of reprisals against whistleblowers and allegations
of a cover-up of misconduct that reached into the highest ranks
of the organization, officials announced Friday.

Maj. Gen. Clay L. Garrison, the top commander of the 4,700-
member air guard, was dismissed for being unable to “maintain a
positive command climate,?? said Lt. Col. Thomas Keegan,
spokesman for the California Military Department. Keegan said
the department had lost “faith, trust and confidence?? in
Garrison’s ability to lead.

In a report released after the ousters of Garrison and Col. Dan
Kelly, the commander of the 144th Fighter Wing in Fresno, the
Military Department inspector general cited findings of a Times
investigation two months ago that detailed the whistleblower
allegations. The complaints disclosed by The Times focused on
the leadership of the Fresno base and included an alleged cover-
up of an incident in which someone urinated in a female Guard
member’s boots.

“Based on this article, and in addition to other evidence
collected, it would appear that there is a culture of reprisal,
or at a minimum the perception of reprisal, that has a long
stemmed history within the 144th,?? the inspector general report
states.

Brig. Gen. Gregory F. Jones, who has served as an assistant
adjutant general in the Guard since December 2017, was appointed
to replace Garrison. Col. Jeremiah Cruz was named Kelly’s
interim replacement.

Jones was unavailable for comment, Keegan said. Garrison and
Kelly did not respond to interview requests.

Keegan said Garrison will retire in the coming weeks. Kelly’s
future in the Guard has yet to be determined, Keegan said.

Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, who oversees both the air and army
branches of the California Guard as adjutant general of the
Military Department, was unavailable for comment, Keegan said.

In interviews with The Times, several current and former members
of the Guard have described a climate of retaliation by high-
ranking officers and mistrust in the organization’s inspector
general system intended to hold them accountable. At least five
Guard members from the 144th wing, including a pilot who was
killed in October in a crash during a training mission in
Ukraine, filed formal complaints.

The urine incident and its aftermath fueled suspicions that high-
ranking officers, including Garrison, mishandled two
investigations to find the perpetrator and tried to bury the
episode to protect someone who may have been involved, according
to interviews and Guard records obtained by The Times. Some in
the wing refer to the scandal as “Pissgate.??

The saga dates to March 2015, when Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pineda, a
15-year veteran of the Guard, was about to change into her
uniform in a women’s bathroom at the 144th Fighter Wing when she
discovered her boots had been soiled. Reached by phone Friday,
Pineda said, “At this time, I don’t have a comment.??

Maj. Dan Woodside, a retired 144th fighter pilot who is a
witness in an inspector general’s Pineda investigation and has
complained about how she was treated, said Guard members were
afraid to approach Garrison with any reports of wrongdoing,
fearing they would be punished.

“Pissgate was just one example,?? Woodside said. “Gen. Garrison
did not act alone in this.... It all happened under his watchful
eye, but he was not alone in allowing this to happen.??

After The Times began asking questions about the Pineda episode,
the military department asked the U.S. Air Force Inspector
General’s Office to conduct an investigation — the third into
the Pineda incident. Keegan said Friday he did not know the
status of the probe. That inquiry is part of a broader
investigation into whether whistleblowers at the 144th suffered
reprisals for questioning the actions of their superiors on a
range of matters.

The California air guard is the second largest, after New
York’s, in the Air National Guard, which is a force of more than
100,000 pilots, other officers and enlisted people. Many of the
pilots are part-time reservists, signing up after careers in the
U.S. Air Force, and some fly in their civilian lives for
commercial airlines.

The guards function as state militias whose leaders report to
their respective governors. The 144th is the biggest wing in the
state, home to roughly 115 officers, including about two dozen
fighter pilots, and more than 1,000 enlistees in support units.

A spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom referred questions about
Friday’s shakeup back to the Guard.

Members of the 144th’s security forces, who police the base,
conducted two investigations into the Pineda incident, according
to internal investigative records obtained by The Times. Both
were inconclusive and the case was closed.

Pineda filed a whistleblower complaint, in which she wrote that
she feared she’d be forced out of the military because some had
speculated that she urinated in her own boots “for attention.??

A 144th pilot, Lt. Col. Rob Swertfager, also filed a complaint
alleging that commanders punished him — including by withholding
his pay on occasion — for going to bat for Pineda.

The following year, officers at the 144th destroyed the evidence
collected from the crime scene, saying it was old and no longer
needed. The evidence included Pineda’s boots and a vial of urine
collected from the bathroom floor that was never tested for DNA.

Col. Dave Johnston, a commander who signed off on the evidence
destruction, said in statements provided to The Times that he
had consulted with Garrison before doing so. Garrison ran the
base at the time of the incident.

Garrison’s only guidance, Johnston wrote, was that he first
confer with the 144th’s judge advocate general at the time. She
also signed off on the request to discard the evidence.

Dave Bakos, a retired general who served in the Guard for 32
years and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, was among those
who said Garrison should have demanded a more thorough
investigation from the start.

“It’s unfortunate that the young people in the California Air
National Guard, our citizen soldiers, have to witness this type
of activity that’s occurring at the top,?? Bakos said Friday.
“They deserve better.??

He said the Guard now has “an opportunity to get a fresh start
with new leadership.??

Jones began his career as a jet engine mechanic in the Nevada
Air National Guard. In California, he held various positions at
the 146th Airlift Wing at Port Hueneme before heading the 129th
Rescue Wing in the Mountain View area.

In a statement Friday, Keegan said, “The Guard is committed to
providing a transparent, respectful and positive command
climate.… I am confident that Brig. Gen. Jones will be able to
lead the organization effectively and with the utmost
integrity.??

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-california-air- national-guard-removed-20190405-story.html

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)