Dear Gene-Thomas,

After reading about allegations of murder on the part of Marines in Iraq, my wife is insistent that I leave the Corps after my enlistment is up. Her point is that we become no better than the enemy not only by carrying out such acts, but also by covering them up.  Roger

Dear Roger,

Although an investigation into the allegations reported in the New York Times is still underway, I myself have witnessed more than one case in which senior officials covered up wrongdoings of subordinates mainly to protect their own careers.  Some chaplains who have had the courage to confront senior officers for covering up misconduct have themselves been forced out lest their testimony incriminate these officers for their failure to take corrective and disciplinary action.
 
When a Navy Captain who was approaching the end of a 30 year career conducted an investigation that led her to conclude that complaints made by a junior female officer were substantiated, she also reported that senior officers within the chain of command demonstrated “poor professionalism” and were lacking in “decisive leadership” and “moral courage.” The reason she gave in her report for failure on the part of senior leaders to correct and discipline the officer responsible for the misconduct was that the revelation of the salient facts of the case could reflect upon their lack of leadership and, ultimately, harm their own careers.

Because the media never became involved in this case as it did in the matter of the rapes at the Air Force Academy, and because the Inspector General’s Office did not wish to question the command’s decision to dismiss the results of the investigation as “legally insufficient,” the entire case was covered up. Unfortunately, unless the media does become involved in such cases and certain Congressional leaders like Representative Murtha call for an investigation, the matters are often covered up; those responsible for misconduct and those who tolerate it are promoted; and those who are denied justice leave military service rather than work under such corrupt leadership.

The problem is unfortunately systemic. When a person in the military complains about an injustice, the Commanding Officer (CO) often appoints an investigating officer whose fitness report he or she signs. If the investigating officer substantiates certain complaints, he or she could be reprised against by the CO whose career could be harmed as the result of a report substantiating problems at his/her command. For example, when a suicide occurred at a command in which the CO and legal officer chose not to act on a chaplain’s recommendation that led to a suicide on the part of a sailor being counseled by the chaplain, whom did the CO appoint as the investigating officer? Yes, none other than the Legal Officer who ultimately covered up the fact that had the CO acted on the chaplain’s recommendation, the sailor might be alive today. How might the family of the dead sailor have reacted had they learned that their son’s suicide could possibly have been prevented? How might the careers of the CO and legal officer been affected by their failure to have prevented the young sailor’s suicide?

Another case involves a female officer who filed complaints of abuse, harassment and reprisals on the part of her supervisor. When her case came to the attention of DACOWITS (Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services) that criticized her command for failure to promote an environment free of abuse and harassment, her CO appointed his Administrative Officer as the investigating officer into her case. Lest the CO’s career be harmed by his failure to correct a problem that was known to him and other members of his staff, the Admin officer concluded her investigation by recommending that the harassed officer be disciplined for “jumping the chain of command” by revealing her problems to DACOWITS. None of the witnesses who could substantiate the abuse allegations were ever contacted.  In the end, the abused female officer received a letter of instruction and was given an unsatisfactory fitness report that ended her naval career; the abuser was transferred without being disciplined; and the CO continued unabated in his career in time to be promoted to Rear Admiral.

While I have served under some truly inspiring, honorable and moral military leaders, I regret also having witnessed cover-ups that have resulted in good people leaving the military and “unprofessional” people lacking in “decisive leadership” and “moral courage” being promoted. As long as investigations are carried out by people who report to leaders whose careers could suffer if misconduct is substantiated, and until more qualified “untouchable” investigators outside of the Department of Defense are employed to investigate these matters, rapes and murders will continue to be covered up in the military except, perhaps, in cases where both the media and Congress become involved.

Gene-Thomas Gomulka
Author of The Survival Guide for Marriage in the Military available at www.plaintec.net
Have a question? Write Gene-Thomas at letters@plaintec.net