Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, was relieved of command by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker on Monday. Byrnes, 55, was already scheduled to retire in November after 36 years of Army service.

The Army has released few details about the incident, but in an article in The Washington Post published today, Army attorney Lt. Col. David H. Robertson said of Byrnes: "The allegation against him does not involve a relationship with anyone within the military or even the federal government. It does not involve anyone on active duty or a civilian in the Department of Defense."

News reports said Byrnes had been separated from his wife and the divorce had become final on Monday, the day Schoomaker announced his decision to relieve Byrnes from command of TRADOC. Other officials told the Post that the investigation by the DoD Inspector General's office was continuing.

A number of flag-rank officers have faced similar actions in recent years, including the former chief of the Air Force judge advocate general's staff and a two-star Army general serving on the Joint Staff. However, this is reportedly the first time a four-star officer has been relieved for such conduct.

Two other four-star officers have been axed in the past 15 years. Then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney fired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael J. Dugan in 1990 after he made highly-publicized remarks about his service's war plans during the Desert Shield military buildup in Saudi Arabia . And Adm. Richard Macke was fired in 1995 as U.S. Pacific Command chief after making what some Pentagon officials said were intemperate remarks about a case involving three American servicemen accused of raping an Okinawan teenager.

Ed Offley is Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at dweditor@yahoo.com. ©2005 DefenseWatch. All opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of Military.com.