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This is not going away easily Georgia National Guard top 2 generals fired

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  • This is not going away easily Georgia National Guard top 2 generals fired

    Two National Guard generals accused of 'improper' relationship | Political Insider

    Two Guard generals accused of ‘improper’ relationship
    8:15 pm March 8, 2012, by jgalloway

    Before he was forced to retire last year, the head of Georgia’s National Guard was accused of maintaining an “improper” personal relationship with the Guard’s No. 2 ranking general, the first female head of Georgia’s Army National Guard.

    The charge that the two had developed a bond “recognized and feared” within the Guard was leveled last August by the force’s No. 4 ranking officer, Brig. Gen. Larry Dudney.

    Three weeks later, with personnel scattered across the globe, amid hot wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gov. Nathan Deal began an overhaul of National Guard leadership.

    Dudney alleged that the relationship compromised the authority of the top two commanders of a statewide organization where structure, rank and trust are essential to the job of directing 14,000 personnel. It also harmed morale and fostered the “perception of favoritism and unfairness throughout the leadership ranks of the Georgia National Guard,” according to the complaint filed with the inspector general’s office of U.S. Department of Defense.

    Adjutant General Terry Nesbitt, appointed four years earlier, was relieved of command last fall, replaced by former state Sen. Jim Butterworth, a former captain in the Air National Guard.

    Major Gen. Maria Britt, who headed the largest and most powerful component of Georgia’s Guard, was required to retire from her command at the same time.

    The two retired generals on Thursday dismissed Dudney’s complaint as spurious. “The lies and half-truth contained therein amount to defamation of character,” wrote Nesbitt in an e-mailed response.

    Britt, a West Point graduate, called the allegations of an improper relationship “ludicrous.”

    “I earned every promotion that I received,” said Britt, who is now associate vice president of operations for Kennesaw State University. She acknowledged Nesbitt as a rare mentor in a male-dominated profession, and attributed the complaint to “professional jealousy” in “an organization that has some small-minded people in it.”

    Through a request filed under the state Open Records Act, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has obtained a copy of the seven-page complaint filed by Dudney.

    Nesbitt and Britt “have maintained a long-standing personal relationship that has compromised or appears to have compromised the integrity of their supervisory authority and chain of command,” according to the complaint. “This situation has been exacerbated by the fact that Generals Nesbitt and Britt have traveled on numerous occasions together, and reportedly shared adjoining hotel rooms. On many occasions, [Britt’s] need to accompany [Nesbitt] was questionable.”

    The complaint alleges that previous Army investigations “have failed to substantiate a sexual relationship.” Even so, the Dudney complaint states, “on several occasions, Generals Nesbitt and Britt have been seen by senior Georgia Army National Guard [non-commissioned officers] in questionable social situations that have resulted in a loss of confidence and respect for these senior leaders.”

    The U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General’s Office declined to comment on any complaint or investigation involving the National Guard in Georgia, as did a spokesman for the state Department of Defense. Britt said she had not been contacted by investigators. Both Britt and Nesbitt said they hadn’t seen a copy of the complaint until given a copy by a reporter.

    According to state records, Nesbitt earned $189,671 in fiscal year 2011 and Britt $177,373. They oversaw a $630 million-a-year budget and billions more in military assets.

    After Nesbitt’s Sept. 4 announcement that he would give up command at the end of the month, the exiting adjutant general fired Dudney, who has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the state, charging that he was dismissed in retaliation for his complaint.

    In an interview Thursday, Dudney acknowledged that he couldn’t personally vouch for every allegation in his memo. “This was a collaborative effort between me and several other officers,” he said. Although Army investigators accept anonymous complaints, Dudley said he considered it a matter of duty to put his name to the document.

    “Something was wrong,” he said.

    The complaint levels a number of other charges against both generals. Nesbitt is accused of making false statements to the National Guard Bureau in Washington, which coordinates state militia operations, in order to secure increased funding. Britt is accused of covering up an incident in which the son of a member of her staff was caught with drugs. Britt denies the allegation.

    The governor’s office has insisted that Nesbitt’s retirement in September was required by a statute cutting off service at age 65 — the age Nesbitt would reach in October.

    Britt said she was dismissed without any explanation, and Chris Riley, the governor’s chief of staff, agrees. But Riley said that talk about troubles within Georgia’s National Guard operation had been bubbling for months.

    “There was enough verbal communication to raise a level of suspicion,” Riley said. “That was not a decision point, but the governor wanted a clean start.” Both positions serve at the pleasure of the governor.

    Riley said the first indication he received of concern within the Georgia Guard came on April 15 last year. His phone log of that day shows that he received a call from the National Guard Bureau to discuss the “General Nesbitt issue” — a reference to a separate complaint that pre-dated the one lodged by Dudney.

    Riley said neither he nor Deal saw a copy of Dudney’s detailed allegations until November, a full month after command of the Guard had changed hands. However, the chief of staff said the contents reinforced the governor’s belief that the Guard leadership needed a shake-up directed by outsiders he could personally trust.

    In addition to Butterworth, a political ally, Deal appointed as the Guard’s No. 2 commander the son of a former law partner. Joe Jarrard is a retired Army lieutenant colonel with 20 years’ experience.

    Military critics have pointed to Butterworth’s low rank – the U.S. military has officially designated him a major. Jarrard’s appointment required an act of the Legislature this month. State law had required an assistant adjutant general to have five years’ Guard experience. Jarrard has none.

    The House and Senate recently passed H.B. 800, which amended the qualifications for the job, to include five years’ service in the active military.
    “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
    Mark Twain

  • #2
    Is something seriously wrong with the National Guard system? First the 800 MP Bde and now this? This crap would not be allowed in the regforce. If you have no business being there, you're not there and I don't care if you've got general stars or not. I've had RSMs telling BGens to fuck off.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Officer of Engineers View Post
      Is something seriously wrong with the National Guard system? First the 800 MP Bde and now this? This crap would not be allowed in the regforce. If you have no business being there, you're not there and I don't care if you've got general stars or not. I've had RSMs telling BGens to fuck off.
      The National Guard is really of 2 worlds.

      You have the actual combat forces of the Army National Guard which have deployed, A LOT, over the past ten years. They tend to be pretty good and no nonsense. There was a time that they were a problem (much of the Cold War) but 9/11 cleaned up a lot of that....kind of like when Marshall relieved every NG division commander but 1 when they mobilized in 1940/1941. That said, the non-divisional artillery and engineer units always tended to be pretty good...lots of stability in the gun crews and staffs as well as engineers bringing civilian workplace experience to the force.

      The Air National Guard has always been pretty good. They assumed the Defense of the homeland mission years ago and have always been more professional. They have deployed forces world wide for decades.

      That is their federal mission.

      In the state mission they have been everywhere from good to excellent in assisting during disasters, etc. And that is a result of some of the issues this story uncovers.

      The state adjutants general are political appointees by their respective governors and answer only to that governor. They do not have to have any active experience (though most do). Almost a third are not federally recognized....that is, acknowledgement from DOD that they are a "real" general. Their job is to handle the state mission and use the NG for assistance in whatever the governor needs.

      Now, that said, MG Nesbitt is a combat veteran with tours in Viet Nam and in the Gulf War. Not sure about MG Britt. Now, the Georgia Army National Guard has always been a "different" organization. The senior NCOs were (and proabably still are) a cabal with the ability to blackball senior leaders. I saw this for 5 years while stationed at FT Stewart where we had a LOT of interaction with the GA ARNG. The 48th Mechanized Brigade (now the 48 HBCT) was supposed to be our roundout brigade and were considered a train wreck. They are the brigade that got sent to NTC when the Gulf War started to train up and deploy with the 24th ID....and six months later they were still there failing miserably. That said, there were several independent battalions in the GA ARNG which were excellent and equalled or exceeded their active duty counterparts in some areas.

      All of that said, today, as a whole, the Guard is univerally respected for the very good to excellent job they have done over the past ten years in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans. Its this kind of politics which besmirch an otherwise good record.


      Now I need to correct one point, sir. The 800 MP Brigade is an Army Reserve, not an Army National Guard unit. Big difference. There were some Army National Guard units attached but it was mostly USAR. That said there were some many issues with the 800 MPs. The chain of comamnd was broken, the unit was designed to deal with EPWs within the context of dealing with a conventional enemy force which had surrendered, the 372nd MP Company, the ones at AG, were not a detention compnay but a standard MP company with low standards of training, and frankly, our doctrine sucked as to how to best deal with noncompliant terrorist prisoners. It was a perfect storm of incompetence meeting lax standards. Kapinski was lucky she got to retire.

      Most of thsi came out inthe Taguba report.

      One of the very bad points to come out of all of that was Tony Taguba got smeared and his career ruined by doing the right thing. Sanchez was a fast riser and Taguba's report excoriated him as well.

      Truth in advertising....I knew Tony Taguba pretty well. He was XO of 1/64 Armor at FT Stewart when I commanded A/3-19 IN and I used to cross attach my company to his battalion regularly...in one stretch for 4 months straight. Damn good officer.
      “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
      Mark Twain

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      • #4
        The Ga National Guard is home to 1stlt Mike Sparks. Nuff said

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Gun Grape View Post
          The Ga National Guard is home to 1stlt Mike Sparks. Nuff said
          That explains SO much!
          “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
          Mark Twain

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Gun Grape View Post
            The Ga National Guard is home to 1stlt Mike Sparks. Nuff said
            Ahhhh. And the other shoe drops
            “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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