Why U.S. Air Force Major General Michael Keltz Was Forced To Resign

Major General Michael Keltz (Photo from www.af.mil)

Air Force Times: Racist remark ended general's career

A racially charged comment forced Maj. Gen. Michael Keltz to resign last week, according to Air Education and Training Command.

While serving as the convening authority at a company-grade officer's Article 15 hearing April 9, Keltz said the accused and another officer looked "drunker than 10,000 Indians" while referring to a photograph of the two officers. Blogger and former airman Tony Carr first reported Keltz's comment on his John Q. Public blog, and AETC spokeswoman Maj. Toni Whaley confirmed the statement was made in regard to a photograph of the two officers.

Because of Keltz's remark, the accused officer will have another Article 15 hearing with a different convening authority, Whaley said. The new hearing has not yet been scheduled. It will remain in the same command, but will be with someone outside of the 19th Air Force chain of command.

Update: ‘Drunker than 10,000 Indians’: US Air Force general resigns over comment in court (RT)

WNU Editor: Should one stupid comment end a General's career .... apparently yes.

U.S. Generals Behaving Badly

After Pentagon Investigations, Three Army Generals Censured For Misconduct -- Washington Post

After lengthy investigations, the Pentagon has determined that three Army generals committed misconduct in separate incidents, adding to an unusually long list of senior military commanders who have been censured over the past year.

On Friday, defense officials confirmed that Army Maj. Gen. Ralph O. Baker, the commander of a strategic counterterrorism force on the Horn of Africa, was fired March 28 on charges of sexual misconduct. Two officials familiar with the case said Baker was investigated for allegedly groping a female civilian employee after he had been drinking.

Read more ....

My Comment: I have actually lost count on how many senior officers .... Generals and Admirals .... that have been fired and/or disciplined in the past two years. it does not take a rocket scientist to know that there is something clearly wrong in the promotion process.

Update: It has been a bad week for the U.S. military .... Scandals And Setbacks Rocked The US Military This Week -- Business Insider

Why Presidents No Longer Fire Generals

Gen. David Petraeus (R) testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee
as Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno listens on Capitol Hill May 22, 2008.

From Arm Forces Journal:

We are now more than six years into a war that spans the globe. American forces are engaged on the land, from the sea and from the air, around the planet. More than 1.6 million service members have deployed into the Central Command area of responsibility, and perhaps 35 percent of them have been there more than once.

Americans have done brave service in other areas, as well. The financial cost of this conflict, by even conservative measures, is approaching that of our largest war. The human cost, although lower as an absolute than many other wars imposed, also has taken a heavy toll on our all-volunteer professional military. In many ways one could consider this conflict, even at this point, one of the largest endeavors the nation ever attempted.

In one area, however, the current conflict is anomalous. We have retained nearly all our generals (and admirals) throughout the fight. Only a single brigadier general has been relieved for the performance of duty in a combat zone. Historically speaking, that is a curious fact.

Read more ....

My Comment: If the casualties were ten to twenty times higher in Iraq, a number of generals will be fired right now. But we do not have to speculate .... we have been witnessed to a number of generals being fired only recently. The Air Force Top General and a number of lower ranking generals were fired by Defense Secretary Robert Gates a few weeks ago .... and a number of generals have also not been promoted or reassigned.