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| General Disobeyed Orders to End Affair, Officials Say | |
| 2005-08-13 | |
| WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 - A four-star general relieved of his command this week for adultery was ordered last January to break off the affair but continued to have contact with the woman, two senior Army officials said on Friday. A major reason the general, Kevin P. Byrnes, was dismissed as head of the Army Training and Doctrine Command was that the inspector general found that he had violated the direct order from the Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is still being adjudicated. Army officials disclosed the details of the inspector general's inquiry to explain the unusual decision to relieve a four-star officer with a distinguished record. The order to break off contact with the woman, whose identity has not been made public, came after the inspector general began an inquiry into an accusation that General Byrnes was involved in an adulterous affair, the officials said. General Schoomaker told him to cease contacts with the woman until the inspector general completed the inquiry, the officials said. But the inspector general later found that General Byrnes continued to make telephone calls to her, although the officials would not say if the contacts went beyond calls. "He was told to knock it off, and he ignored it and continued the affair," a senior Army official said.
The Army officials also disclosed that another senior officer, Gen. Dan K. McNeill, has been appointed to determine if any additional action should be taken against General Byrnes. Possible penalties range from a reprimand to a court-martial. General Byrnes faces uncertainty over whether his rank will be reduced to major general, with a resulting loss of retirement benefits. The Army's Manual on Court Martial describes adultery as "unacceptable conduct," and Army officials say that it is barred under a provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that prohibits bringing discredit on the military. General Byrnes separated from his wife, Carol, in mid-2004, but the couple did not divorce until earlier this month. A lawyer for General Byrnes, Lt. Col. David H. Robertson, said Wednesday that the general had been relieved because of an accusation about "a consensual, adult relationship." The statement said the person was a female civilian. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #7 FDP is right that there is a hell of a lot of fooling around during TDYs, and even back at home station. I don't condone it, but its been a part of the military culture for a long time, and I don't expect it to change anytime soon. This 4 star would have been fine if he had just obeyed a direct order until his divorce was final, and everyone would have looked the other way. |
| Posted by: Scotty 2005-08-13 21:19 |
| #6 My dad messed around alot on TDY while in the Air Force, wives used to tell my mom about the stories and names too... it was very devastating to mom... and today adultry is still king. They only bust those that they want to bust and overlook those who keep a low profile. During Desert Storm in Germany it was rampant and there were few people willing to push the issue to reveal the affairs to the troops down range. During Iraqi Freedom it was barely concealed, especially in Baghdad. It wasn't just between US military... it even crossed US & British military and then on over to contractors and so on. Did I have the misfortune to catch someone in the act? Thankfully not. Was it all just a bunch of rumors? Nope... but I am sure some were just that. Almost everyone just looked the other way, or feigned ignorance, since life was complicated enough and they didn't want to end up being labled a snitch, stuck writing statements, end up on convoy escort duty or worse. So what my dad did was wrong and those before him did wrong and there are those who continue that wrong even today. These people live the slogan " What happens in Las vegas, stays in Las Vegas ". It crosses all ranks, genders, services, nationalities, cultures and sexual preferences. It should not be tolerated but should never be surprising. |
| Posted by: Fun Dung Poo 2005-08-13 21:07 |
| #5 Maybe I served in a different service but this was VERY big in the Air Force. If you couldn't keep your gun in the holster you were asking for trouble. Of course all bets are off when you go on a short tour or TDY (what goes TDY stays TDY). Even then you had to be discreet or it would come back to haunt you. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2005-08-13 19:23 |
| #4 Gen Schoomaker orders you to do something and you disreguard the order, well, you get what you deserve--relieved of command. hope it was worth it for Byrnes, he embarassed himself and his service. I have total confidence in Gen S and there is probably more to the story. |
| Posted by: 49 PAN 2005-08-13 18:46 |
| #3 Adultery is rarely prosecuted. The first poster brought up Kelly Flynn. She was initially busted over disobeying a direct order, not sexual misconduct. I had a soldier prosecuted for adultery. The only reason we went after him (and this was in a command with a lot of very ethical, if not to say moralistic, born again Christians in charge) was because he was screwing another guy's wife and the other guy happened to be in the same company. Plus he had lied to get out of some hazardous duty to bang her while her husband was 1,200 miles away on the same hazardous duty (can you say David and Bathsheba). If he had been messing around with one of the Engineers' wives across the street, believe me, no one would have bothered. It went before a special court and without any photographic or eyewitness evidence, the judge threw it out. GOs and FOs should be held to the highest standards, of course. If Byrnes couldn't keep it in his pants until the divorce went through or he retired, he deserved to get relieved. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2005-08-13 17:32 |
| #2 bah. Call me cynical -but I expect that politics was involved here. I can think of one Admiral in particular where sexual harassment, adultery, misuse of government property, lying and nepotism played a role in his promotion. But kiss the right behinds and you are golden. I'm guessing he crossed the wrong star. but maybe I'm just a cynic. |
| Posted by: 2b 2005-08-13 16:21 |
| #1 TS [and I don't mean top secret]. An officer by law and oath holds his office by special trust and confidence, when he disobeys a lawful order [and it was, just ask Kelly Flynn], he brought it upon himself. Now shut up and retire gracefully. No frigging medal either, but I'll take bets that some weenie while rationalize that out too. Note to the gay advocates - the military disciplines hetros for their behaviors as well, for adultry and fraternization. Keep burying that fact everytime you whine about the military, its going to come back and hammer you. |
| Posted by: Elmavirong Greating7173 2005-08-13 16:17 |