Lawyers, Liars, and Other Virtual Predators.

The Army could force retired Gen. David Petraeus back into uniform to face charges if ongoing investigations turn up evidence of an earlier timeline for the start of his affair with Paula Broadwell, military law experts said.
“As a regular officer, you’re subject to court-martial jurisdiction forever,” said Michael Noone, a Catholic University law professor and a retired Air Force colonel and judge advocate general.
“Theoretically, Petraeus would be subject to court-martial for any offenses discovered after he leaves service,” and could be called back to duty to answer for them although the prospect was unlikely.
The most obvious offense that Petraeus could face would be adultery, a violation of Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but adultery charges in the military are rare and rarer still as stand-alone offenses.

Petraeus has been as careful in admitting to the affair as he was careless in becoming involved with Broadwell, a West Point graduate and lieutenant colonel in the Army reserves.

 http://www.amazon.com/CONDUCT-UNBECOMING-Officer-Lady-ebook/dp/B006VPAADK
Through former military aides, Petraeus has put out word that the sexual relationship with Broadwell did not begin until after he retired from active duty and became CIA director in September 2011, although she was closely involved with him for several years while working on her book “All In: The Education of David Petraeus.”
And even if proof emerged of a sexual relationship before Petraeus retired, the military would be unlikely to pursue it. “The chances are low, if any, of that happening,” Cave said. “I’m not convinced that would change things dramatically.”
“But if evidence of abuse of status or the misuse of government funds” to further the relationship with Broadwell came to light, “that would be an extraordinary change in the landscape,” Cave said.
The FBI investigation of the affair is still open. It began with a complaint from Florida socialite Jill Kelley to an FBI friend about allegedly threatening emails she was receiving. The emails were eventually traced to Broadwell, who apparently saw Kelley as a rival.
The email trail then led to Marine Gen. John Allen, who succeeded Petraeus as overall commander in Afghanistan. Allen had exchanged a large volume of email with Kelley.
Allen’s nomination as head of U.S. European Command has now been put on hold while the Defense Department’s Inspector General investigates the Allen-Kelley emails, which have been described by a defense official as possibly “inappropriate and flirtatious.”
The Inspector General’s office of the CIA is also investigating whether Petraeus may have disclosed classified information to Broadwell during their involvement.
Despite the ongoing investigations, the consensus of several military law experts was that there was little appetite to pursue a case against Petraeus.
“Sure, in theory hetnam veteran and a former JAG who is now a professor at the Georgetown University Law Cen could be brought back into the military, but that’s not going to happen,” said Gary Solis, a Marine Vieter. “Nobody is going to charge David Petraeus.”

(LCDR Shawn Gray, pictured in the center of photo) Authorities say Lieutenant Commander Shawn Gray,U S Coast Guard, an attorney and officer with the U.S. Coast Guard Judge Advocate General Corps, drove from his home in Miami to Sarasota recently to meet an 8-year-old girl he had met in a chat room. But when LCDR Gray arrived in Sarasota County, to a house where he thought the child would be home alone, he was instead greeted by Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office deputies who arrested him. "He had hoped to have sex with an 8-year-old girl," Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight said of Gray, who was charged with use of a computer and traveling to seduce, solicit or entice a child to commit sex acts. LCDR Gray is being charged with a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, said Chief Assistant State Attorney Ed Brodsky. LCDR Gray was one of 31 nabbed in a six-day sting called Operation Intercept, an attempt to protect Manatee and Sarasota counties’ children from online predators, Knight said Monday during a news conference at the sheriff’s office in downtown Sarasota. Two of the 31 arrested were from Miami-Dade County. Besides LCDR Gray, 21-year-old Dalbert Borges of Hialeah was also charged with the same crime. All 31 suspects responded to Internet-based ads and engaged in sexually explicit written and verbal conversation, according to a Sarasota Sheriff’s Office press release. What also is disturbing about the sting, in which the sheriff’s office also was able to take the suspect’s vehicles as "tools of their trade," is that this form of predation seems to be able to fool children who are not fooled when someone tries to entice them in person. "This is a different way of doing the stranger danger, and now they are using technology," said Venice Chief of Police Thomas McNulty. "An informed child is a child not likely to be victimized," McNulty added. The suspects all agreed to come to a secret location in Sarasota County with the intent to have sex with a child or children, the sheriff’s office said. "We’re keeping the location secret because we plan to use it again," Knight said. When the suspects arrived, they were met by detectives and placed under arrest. "Predators establish contact with kids through chat rooms, instant messaging and discussion boards," Knight said. "The anonymity of the Internet allows these criminals to seem like caring individuals, but they’re only looking for vulnerable victims. Parents, you have to be your child’s protector and monitor what they are doing online." The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office conducted the operation with the assistance of the Bradenton Police Department, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Sarasota Police Department, Venice Police Department, North Port Police Department, the State Attorney’s Office and other members of the Central Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

LT Jason Frank, U S Coast Guard, a Gaithersburg, Maryland man who repeatedly sneaked into a Stafford County, Virginia teenager's room to have sex with her pleaded guilty to six charges in 2008. Jason F. Frank, 37, was convicted in Stafford Circuit Court to three counts of computer solicitation of a minor, two counts of carnal knowledge and attempted carnal knowledge. He faced a maximum penalty of 55 years in prison. According to evidence presented by prosecutor Lori DiGiosia, Frank met the girl on MySpace a few years ago and communicated with her by phone and text-messaging. LT Frank, a member of the Coast Guard was assigned to the Command Center Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington DC. He is married and has a teenage daughter. He told the Stafford girl that his name was "Eric" and that he was 28 years old. He came to see the girl at her home at least three times, according to the evidence. He entered the home in the middle of the night through her bedroom window. In September and December of 2006, LT Frank and the girl had consensual sex. He told her that he loved her and that she was special to him. They were about to have sex again on August 1, 2007 DiGiosia said, but the girl's mother heard a noise and came downstairs and confronted LT Frank. LT Frank told the mother he was Eric and claimed he thought the girl was 19. The mother told him to stay while she called police, but Frank left. Police were able to determine his real identity and Frank was later arrested. Frank, who had no prior criminal record, had been free on bond until he was sentenced.

(L-R:Capt Mike Sullivan,Capt Bruce Baffer,Capt Brian Perkins)
USCG CAPT Mike Sullivan Has Been Charged With Use of Cocaine.

ALAMEDA, Calif.(8/20/08) - CAPT Sullivan, a senior officer on the Coast
Guard's Pacific Area staff has been charged with
wrongfully using cocaine and has been temporarily
reassigned to a non-supervisory position.



CAPT Michael Sullivan, who had been serving as
Pacific Area's Chief of Response, was charged with one
specification of wrongful use of cocaine under Article
112(a) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and one
charge of obstruction of justice under Article 133 of
the UCMJ.

Vice Adm. David Pekoske, the Coast Guard Pacific Area
Commander, has directed that the charges against
Sullivan be investigated in accordance with Article 32
of the UCMJ. Such an investigation is required before
charges could be referred for trial to a general
court-martial.

An Article 32 hearing is a preliminary hearing in
which an investigating officer inquires into the truth
of the matters set forth in the charges and recommends
disposition of the charges. The accused member and his
counsel are present and have the right to question
witnesses at such a proceeding. A date has not yet
been set for the Article 32 hearing.

If found guilty of both charges, Sullivan faces a
potential maximum sentence of a dismissal from the
Coast Guard, 10 years confinement and forfeiture of
all pay and allowances.

Capt. Michael Sullivan, formerly commanding officer of the USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC), has 26 years of service in the Coast Guard.

CAPT Sullivan, the Pacific area's Chief of Response since May 2007, supervised the operation of 20 major Coast Guard cutters and directed law enforcement units that protect ports and fisheries and fight drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

CAPT Sullivan earlier commanded three cutters, and his assignments have included acting as the Coast Guard's liaison to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.

The Coast Guard's Pacific area, based in Alameda, extends from South America to the Arctic Circle and west to the Far East.
CG Demotes, Retires Ex-Commander
April 10, 2010
Knight Ridder/Tribune

The Coast Guard is demoting and retiring a former commander of its Anchorage office who was charged with having inappropriate relationships with staff members over a more than 13-year period. The Coast Guard said Herbert M. Hamilton III will retire July 1 as a lieutenant with a general discharge instead of undergoing a court-martial.

Hamilton was a captain when he was relieved of his Anchorage command last May.

The Coast Guard said the deal with Hamilton "is the result of a pretrial agreement and Hamilton's unsatisfactory service in the grades of captain, commander, and lieutenant commander."

"Interoffice senior-junior sexual relationships result in unfair advantages and are contrary to good order and discipline," said Rear Adm Colvin. "The resolution to this case should send a strong message that conduct unbecoming an officer and violations of the Coast Guard's interpersonal relationships policy will not be tolerated and may have significant repercussions, especially at the senior officer level."

Hamilton was accused of adultery, fraternizing with enlisted staff, and fraud. Coast Guard lawyers said he had extramarital affairs with three enlisted woman and a junior officer.

Until last May, he was commander of Sector Anchorage and oversaw 200 Coast Guardsmen in Western Alaska.







CAPT Elmo Alexander, the CO of the CGC Midgett, a Seattle-based 378-foot Coast Guard cutter has admitted in an official inquiry that he berated and struck an enlisted man when the ship was in Mexico.

CAPT Alexander, a 31-year Coast Guard veteran, acknowledged at a Flag Mast that he struck a subordinate during a port call in Mexico and also announced plans to retire from the service, according to agency spokesman Lt. Dave Oney.

CAPT Alexander stated after the hearing that he wanted to leave the Coast Guard.

Vice Adm. Charles Wurster of the Coast Guard's Pacific Area command issued a Letter of Reprimand and a fine that amounts to half his base pay for a two-month period. This was the final action of the NJP, a "nonjudicial punishment," an action typically taken for minor disciplinary offenses. LT. Oney said Alexander "struck an enlisted crewmember in the head while counseling him on his performance as a security watchstander."

CAPT Lance Bardo assumed command of the Midgett until a change of command ceremony could be held.

Last year, CAPT Bardo became the commander of the San Diego-based cutter Hamilton. Coast Guard officials had lost confidence in the Hamilton's previous commander, LT Oney said.

Prior to the incident in Mexico, CAPT Alexander had an "unblemished" record, officials reported.

In 2006, he led CGC Midgett on a scheduled seven-month tour to the Persian Gulf, marking the first time a Seattle-based cutter was deployed to the Iraq war.

In addition to the Midgett, CAPT Alexander has commanded the cutters Tampa, Sturgeon Bay and Cape Jellison.

CAPT Alexander also is a former commanding officer of the Coast Guard's special missions training center in North Carolina. He was responsible for training Coast Guard, Navy and Marine Corps personnel, according to his official biography.

He decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, the Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon, the National Defense Medal and one for humanitarian service.

CGC Midgett is one of ten "high endurance" cutters on the West Coast. Its crew is responsible for homeland security, search-and-rescue missions, law enforcement and migrant interdiction operations.

The CGC Midgett usually patrols the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and waters in Central America. It typically has a crew of 24 officers and 160 enlisted personnel, according to the Coast Guard's Web site.

The ship is named after Chief Warrant Officer John Allen Midgett Jr., a recipient of the Gold Lifesaving Medal




Lt. Kerry D. McKeever, CO CGC Monomoy, a 110-foot patrol boat, stationed in the Persian Gulf has been “temporarily relieved for cause,” the Coast Guard announced in February 2008.

Lt. McKeever was reassigned to the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Area command in Portsmouth, Va., said Atlantic Area spokesman Lt. Rob Wyman.

The Woods Hole, Mass.-based CGC Monomoy has been assigned a temporary commanding officer. The Coast Guard did not disclose more information on the cause of McKeever’s relief.

“The Coast Guard takes the responsibility of command very seriously, and we’re following the established administrative processes to determine the most appropriate course of action from here,” said Atlantic Area commander Adm. Brian Peterman.

The CGC Monomoy is attached to Coalition Task Force 158, a multinational naval force that conducts maritime security operations and specifically protects the oil terminals of the Persian Gulf.


Rear Adm. Timothy Sullivan, Commander of the First Coast Guard District, on 1 February 2008 relieved CDR Jeffrey Dow, as CO of the 225 foot CGC Willow, a Newport, Rhode Island-based cutter following reports of an improper relationship.

(left to right) CDR Jeffrey Dow, LT Grant Thomas, and CAPT Roy Nash.navytimesfilephoto


Commander Dow was relieved of his command following allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate and subsequent loss of confidence by the operational commander. The executive officer or second in command of the Willow, Coast Guard Lt. Mark Crysler, has assumed command of the CGC Willow.
The case remains under investigation.
"We take these types of allegations very seriously, and we will investigate this case fully," said Capt. Timothy Skuby, the chief of staff of the First Coast Guard District.
Commander Jeffrey Dow graduated from the U S Coast Guard Academy in the Class of 1991.
His first duty station was onboard the USCGC Laurel in Mayport, FL. In 1993 he was assigned as XO of the USCGC Asateague in Honolulu, Hi. In 1995 he became an instructor in the Leadership and Management School at the Coast Guard Training center at Petaluma, Ca.
In 1998 he reported aboard the CGC Grand Isle out of Gloucester, Massachusetts as Commanding Officer.
In 2001 he was sent to Post Graduate School at the University of San Diego where he earned a Masters Degree in Leadership Studies. In January 2002 he reported to Coast Guard Headquarters as Chief, Administration and Coordination Staff for the Assistant Commandant for Operations. In 2003 he became the Headquarters Quality Performance Consultant for the Office of Personnel Management.

CDR Dow is a native of Plaistow, New Hampshire and is married to the former Rebecca Brechler of Wausau, Wisconsin.

This is not the first time a Coast Guard Commanding Officer of a seagoing vessel has been relieved of duty for fraternization in the last year.
Commander Karl Gabrielsen,the CO of the USCGC Alex Haley, a 282 foot medium endurance law enforcement vessel stationed in Kodiak, Alaska, was permanently relieved of command following nonjudicial punishment June 13, 2007 for conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, and other charges.
Cmdr. Gabrielsen received a punitive letter of reprimand and fines worth up to $5,000during an NJP (non-judicial punishment) conducted by Pacific Area Commander Vice Admiral Charles Wurster.

Few details were released concerning the specifics of Commander Gabrielsen’s relationships. It was not revealed whether these relationships were while Commander Gabrielson was acting in an official capacity or while he was in a leave status unrelated to his official duties. Nor was it stated whether these were social relationships that only amounted to a possible embarrassment to his wife and the officer corps. However, he was relieved of duty April 24, 2007 for “loss of confidence.”

An administrative investigation confirmed that CDR Gabrielsen had several “inappropriate relationships” which “compromised his leadership ability,” according to Public Affairs Senior Chief Keith Alholm on June 18, 2007. All available information indicates that none of the relationships were with male or female members of his ship's officers or crew.

Did Someone Forget To Put The Salt-Peter In The Chow At The Coast Guard Academy?
What's Going On With The Coast Guard's New Breed Of Officers?



File Photo of Ensign Jason Frank in rabbit fur cap.

LT Jason Frank, a 36-year-old Coast Guard officer, assigned to the Command Center Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington DC was arrested 10 August 2007 after being caught "in flagrante delicto" in the Stafford, Va., in the bedroom of a 14-year-old girl by her mother.

Lt. Jason Frank, of Gaithersburg, Md., allegedly visited the girl’s home on three different occasions and had sex with her at least twice, according to a 15 August Stafford County Sheriff’s Office announcement.

The girl’s mother allegedly found Frank in her daughter’s bedroom in the early hours of August 1. The mother told deputies that after she told the Coast Guard officer her daughter was only 14, he jumped out the window and fled.Informed sources said that Lieutenant Frank met the 14 year old girl in an Internet chat room. He was posing as a 28-year-old.

Frank has been charged with two counts of carnal knowledge of a child (statutory rape), taking indecent liberties with a child, soliciting a juvenile with an electronic device, breaking and entering, vandalism, and misdemeanor assault and battery.


Vice Adm. John “Boomer” Stufflebeem was relieved by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead because , the CNO lost confidence in Admiral Stufflebeem’s judgment and his continuing ability to lead in the office of the CNO,” said Rear Adm. Frank Thorp, the Navy’s chief of information. It appears that he also lied about having sex in the White House with a State Department staffer.

A DoD IG investigation began after officials received an anonymous letter in January this year accusing VADM Stufflebeem of having an inappropriate relationship while serving as President George H.W. Bush’s military aide in 1990. Thorp was careful to point out that VADM Stufflebeem was relieved directly due to the misleading testimony, not because of the allegations in the letter. The letter accused Stufflebeem of carrying on an eight-month affair with a female State Department staffer while the two were assigned to the White House in 1990. Stufflebeem, then a 37-year-old commander, pretended to be a widower. He is alleged to have told the woman that his wife had died of breast cancer and that he was raising his two children on his own. The Admiral allegedly had sex with the State Department staffer in sleeping quarters in the White House basement and when the two traveled abroad with the White House travel team. it is also alleged that the two engaged in “passionate kissing” in a car parked near the White House grounds, and he even sexually propositioned the woman’s close friend on a trip to London.

An earlier anonymous letter regarding VADM Stufflebeem was sent in 1999, but at the time, the Navy and DoD deemed there was “insufficient evidence to pursue the matter,” Thorp said.


At an admiral’s mast, NJP, April 18, 2008 he received a punitive letter of reprimand. A 39-year Navy career was in ruins. At mast, Stufflebeem was found guilty of Article 107 — making a false official statement — by Adm. Kirkland Donald, director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, who read the IG investigation and endorsed the full report.

On May 7, in a letter he said that he never intentionally misled anybody about the affair. In letters he sent to the IG, he said he had “spent a lot of time trying to forget who she was.”

In another statement to Navy Times, he wrote: “It is regrettable that an investigation into an 18-year-old accusation has caused embarrassment to the Navy and my family. It was never my intent to harm or deceive either of them.”
Stufflebeem has put in paperwork requesting retirement.

The woman told investigators that Stufflebeem apologized for lying to her.
“‘I’m very sorry,’” the woman quoted him as saying. “‘I’m married. I didn’t know how long this charade could go on.

If Stufflebeem had told the IG the truth about the affair, he probably would not have advanced but would have avoided nonjudicial punishment and been able to stay in the Navy. That’s because the five-year statute of limitations on adultery has long since expired.

When investigators asked whether he had been held accountable by military authorities for his relationship with the woman, Stufflebeem said he had not been by military superiors, but had been in his personal life.
“My wife held me accountable,” he told investigators, adding that he and his wife had undergone marital counseling for the strain caused by the White House relationship. The two are still married, he said. “I held myself accountable. And it took me a long time to come around to beg God for forgiveness for what had been going on in my life, and this just contributed to it.
“So I have had a great 18-year career since I left the White House,” he said in a letter in response to the report. “If this is the end of it, then I still leave a rewarded individual, thankful for the blessings that I have had.”

VADM Stufflebeem’s rank has reverted to rear admiral, which is typically done when an officer is not serving in a three-star billet. Officers need congressional approval to serve as vice admiral or above, and can only maintain that rank when actually serving in those jobs.

RADM Stufflebeem, a career naval aviator, rose to prominence in the opening days of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, frequently briefing reporters as the deputy director for global operations on the Joint Staff. After graduating from the Naval Academy Class of 1975, RADM Stufflebeem was a practice-squad punter for the Detroit Lions under a special program that allowed the NFL to carry military players in a reserve status while they are on active duty. The Lions asked Stufflebeem to join them full time, but the aviator opted to fly jets.




CMDR Michael Sabellico, the commanding officer of the CGC Escanaba, a Boston-based Coast Guard cutter was arrested and charged with assault Tuesday following a scuffle during a port call in Key West, Fla.

CMDR Sabellico, 42, of Scituate, Mass., the skipper of the 270-foot cutter, was arrested May 15 by Key West police around 1:15 a.m. The Coast Guard temporarily reassigned him.

According to the police report, CMDR Sabellico and several crew members were drinking at establishments along the island’s famed Duval Street when they argued with a bartender at an Irish pub.

CMDR Sabellico and the crew members allegedly were loitering in an alley when the bartender at Irish Kevin’s asked them to leave. They left as requested, but according to the report, CMDR Sabellico returned and scuffled with the man. He then left the scene. CMDR Sabellico was apprehended later and charged with simple assault.

The Coast Guard conducted an administrative investigation into the incident. According to Atlantic Area spokesman Lt. Rob Wyman, CMDR Sabellico was reassigned temporarily to the Coast Guard’s 1st District.

CMDR Chris Austin, the CO of the Portsmouth, Va.-based CGC Northland, assumed temporary command of the CGC Escanaba.
(POST SCRIPT) Here was a real MAN, a ship's captain who is a throwback to the days of the "rocks and shoals". This is the kind of a ship's captain that anyone would want to sail with. He is no wimp or wuss.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

And, we all know that You can't keep a good man down.
"This is me...CDR Mike Sabellico, now retired. I was formally releived for cause as a result of my
arrest in Key West that unfortunate evening. These types of events are never easy for anyone but
I've moved on and the ship has done well despite the circumstances of the summer. I remain extremely
proud of the Coast Guard and of my service for over 20 years. I made a serious mistake in judgement
and was held fully accountable.

I'm working for a company in San Diego and love it. I'm home every night which makes life a little bit better.


Everyone makes mistakes some just gain more noteriety than others. I've learned from it and now it's in my wake.

All my best
Mike"





Capt. Jeffrey S. Lee, CO of the 378-foot USCGC Hamilton, was relieved of command on 23 Septtember 2007 by Pacific Area commander Vice Adm. Charles Wurster.

Wurster cited “loss of confidence” in Lee’s ability to command as reason for the relief, Lt. Dave Oney said. He was flown back to the United States from the CGC Hamilton.

An investigation was conducted by the command and Coast Guard Investigative Service. No further details were forthcoming.

The San Diego-based CGC Hamilton was in the middle of a scheduled deployment to the eastern Pacific. CAPT Lee was removed from the ship as it made a stop in Central America.

CGC Hamilton was Lee’s fourth cutter command. He has been cited for outstanding leadership on numerous occasions and, from 2003 to 2005, served as school chief at the Coast Guard’s Command and Operations School where he instructed future cutter commanders and executive officers for duty afloat.

He has been in the Coast Guard since 1983.

CAPT Lance Bardo, prospective CO of the national security cutter Waesche, temporarily assumed command of CGC Hamilton.

CAPT Douglas G. Russell, the CO of the Seattle-based Coast Guard icebreaker CGC Healy lost command of the ship, two weeks after two of the ship's divers died on a research expedition in the Arctic Ocean.

CAPT Russell was temporarily relieved of his post after the Coast Guard's chief in the Pacific, Vice Adm. Charles D. Wurster, had a "loss of confidence in the officer's ability to command," the Coast Guard announced.

Coast Guard officials wouldn't say specifically what led to that conclusion, but it's not a routine step after a fatal accident, said Lt. Cmdr. Glynn Smith, a spokesman for the Coast Guard's Pacific Area.

"It depends on the facts of the case," he said.

CAPT Russell had been in charge of the ship since June. He is being replaced by Capt. Daniel K. Oliver, the Healy's previous commanding officer.

The Coast Guard has disclosed little about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of LT Jessica Hill, 31, of St. Augustine, Fla., and BM2 Steven Duque, 22, of Miami.

The two died Aug. 17 during a routine dive about 60 feet off the bow of the Healy as it floated 500 miles north of Barrow, Alaska, Smith said. The pair were diving to check equipment and become familiar with diving in the frigid water, according to the Coast Guard.



Not to be outdone by the Coast Guard, the Navy has its share of senior officers stepping knee-deep in ca-ca.



Commander Robert Schetky, 54 years old, should know discipline and should have been able to control his impulses toward the 12 year old girl, Juneau Superior Judge Larry Weeks said on 21 June2007 as he handed down the sentence, which includes two more years that were suspended.

"No one will ever know the damage done to her," Judge Weeks said. Prosecutors said Schetky touched the girl's breasts multiple times last year.

He was arrested and pleaded guilty in January. As part of the plea deal, he spent time at a treatment facility in Arizona that specializes in substance and sexual addictions.

Following his release from prison, Schetky will be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years. He is prohibited from contact with his victim without prior approval and from contact with girls under 17 and must submit a DNA sample.

Before his arrest, Schetky was the Navy's liaison to the Coast Guard as head of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Maritime Homeland Defense Detachment. It was not clear from the evidence whether his close association with some Coast Guard officers led to the decline in his moral character. Bad company corrupts good morals.



Admiral Peter J. Williams,USN fired over improper relationship.


Rear Adm. Peter J. Williams was fired from his position and reassigned 21 June 2007 for having an inappropriate relationship and misusing government property, according to the Navy.

RADM Williams, the program executive officer for tactical aircraft programs, was sent to another position within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, following an NJP, admiral’s mast, before ADM Patrick Walsh, vice chief of naval operations.

Delores M. Etter, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, reassigned Williams.

Lt. Ryan Perry, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, said that during the mast proceeding, “it was determined that Williams had engaged in an inappropriate relationship and misused government property.” Perry said the government property was a cellular phone. He would not characterize the improper relationship. RADM Williams is married.

LT Perry would not disclose the details of the inappropriate relationship. ADM Walsh convened the Admiral's Mast under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That gives a commanding officer authority to conduct an immediate non-judicial proceeding for misconduct.

“Adm. Walsh believed he had sufficient information to conduct an Article 15 hearing,” LT Perry said. “An individual notified the chain of command with credible concerns about an inappropriate relationship. The Navy takes such allegations seriously and began the investigation.”

SAN DIEGO, CA (1 march 2008) — CMDR Steven R. Rasmussen the skipper of the frigate Thach was fired this week for a “loss of confidence” in his ability to lead his crew, a Navy official said Friday, 29 February.

CMDR Rasmussen, a 1988 graduate of the Naval Academy who took command of the ship Oct. 6, 2006, was relieved of command by CAPT Michael Gilday, according to CMDR Jane Campbell, a Naval Surface Forces spokeswoman. CAPT Gilday is commodore of San Diego-based Destroyer Squadron 7.

“Loss of confidence is the reason behind it,” Campbell said, declining to provide details. CMDR Rasmussen did not go to flag mast, and his firing “is administrative, at this point,” she added.

Rasmussen was scheduled to hand over command in about a month, Campbell said. He was temporarily reassigned, but no other details were available.

CMDR Dave Haas, who was slated to replace Rasmussen this spring, took command of the ship Thursday, 28 February.

Haas most recently commanded the littoral combat ship Independence “gold crew” in San Diego.

Rasmussen’s assignments include serving as XO of the destroyer O’Kane and flag secretary for Cruiser-Destroyer Group 5 aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz.

His firing came about a week after he and Thach’s crew were recognized by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy for interdiction missions during their six-month deployment in 2006 to Central and South America.

During a Feb. 19 ceremony aboard the ship, Patrick M. Ward, the acting director for supply reduction, cited Thach’s crew for interdicting 29 tons of cocaine, the most of any Navy asset that year, and presented the United States Interdiction Coordinator Award and special coins to 50 crew members.

“We were extremely fortunate to be part of such a robust and capable team. Everyone in the process worked tirelessly to complete these operations in a safe and effective manner,” CMDR Rasmussen said, according to a Feb. 27 Navy News article about the ceremony.



Naval Academy Female Officer Had To Work As A Prostitute To Make Ends Meet.

LCDR Rebecca Dickinson, a former Naval Academy instructor moonlighted as a prostitute for the D.C. Madam, a California woman accused of running an escort service.

LCDR Dickinson said that she had sex with nearly every client she met while working for Deborah Jeane Palfrey from October 2005 until April 2006.

She was paid between $250 and $300 for 90-minute appointments at Washington-area homes, hotels and offices.

Navy spokesman CAPT Jack Hanzlik said that LCDR Dickinson, 38, was fired from her position as an instructor at Naval Supply Corps School in Athens, Georgia in April 2008.

LCDR Dickinson received nonjudicial punishment (NJP) and was given a punitive letter of reprimand. Hanzlik said she could face additional punishment in the future and has been placed on leave.

“We expect the men and women who serve in our nation’s Navy to adhere to a standard of conduct that reflects our core values of honor, courage and commitment,” Hanzlik said. “LCDR Dickinson’s conduct will prevent her from wearing this uniform again in the service of our country.”

While at the Naval Academy, Navy officials say, Dickinson worked as food services officer, responsible for feeding more than 4,000 midshipmen each day, from 2004 until 2007. She also taught one class — Naval Leadership — for a semester.

LCDR Dickinson’s decision might have been motivated by financial issues — she had filed for bankruptcy in the months before she responded to an advertisement placed by Palfrey in a local newspaper.

LCDR Dickinson joined the Navy in 1986 and served as an aviation electronics technician for three years before attending Auburn University. After she was commissioned in 2003, Dickinson attended Naval Supply Corps School and then served aboard the cruiser Bunker Hill, the fast combat support ship Camden and the ammunition supply ship Santa Barbara.

LCDR Dickinson has 19 years of service time. Hanzlik said no decision has been made on whether she will be allowed to retire, but said if she is, it could be at a lower rank because a retirement grade determination might find that her service as a lieutenant commander was not honorable.

(POST SCRIPT)The woman who hires LCDR Dickinson, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, dubbed the Washington D C Madam, was convicted 15 April 2008 on all counts of money laundering, racketeering, and using the mail for illegal purposes by a federal jury in Washington DC. She was convicted of running a prostituton service that catered to members of Washington's political elite. Ms. Palfrey caused a minor sensation in 2007 when she announced that she was going to sell her client list in order to raise money to pay her attorneys' fees. She alleged that her defunct business, Pamela Martin & Associates, was a legal, high-end erotic fantasy service.

The trial concluded without revealing many new details about the service or its clients. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., was among possible witnesses, but did not take the stand.
Vitter has acknowledged being involved with Palfrey’s escort service. But after issuing brief statements apologizing for “a very serious sin,” he has avoided follow-up questions.
Harlan Ullman, a military strategist who created the concept of “shock and awe” that the United States used to open hostilities against Iraq, also did not testify. Palfrey says Ullman was a regular client; Ullman has declined to discuss what he has called “outrageous allegations.”
Randall L. Tobias, who resigned as a deputy secretary of state after acknowledging to ABC News that he used Palfrey’s service for massages, also did not testify.
Defense attorney Preston Burton argued that what went on during appointments was between the client and the escort. He compared Palfrey to a taxi dispatcher, who shouldn’t be penalized for “the route the cab driver took.”
Palfrey was freed pending her sentencing July 24, 2008.
Prosecutors urged U.S. District Judge James Robertson to lock Palfrey up immediately, arguing that the verdict gives her a motive to flee. But the judge noted that Palfrey has never missed a court appearance.

However, the so-called “D.C. Madam” was found dead on 2 May in Tarpon Springa, Florida. In suicide notes she said that she couldn’t bear to go to prison, and apologized to her mother and sister.
Florida police released the two notes Deborah Jean Palfrey wrote before she hanged herself in a shed outside her mother’s mobile home.
Palfrey was convicted April 15 of running a prostitution service that catered to members of Washington’s political elite — including Sen. David Vitter, R-La. — and employed a Naval Academy instructor, LCDR Rebecca Dickinson, as a call girl.
Another of the escort service employees was former University of Maryland, Baltimore County, professor Brandy Britton, who was arrested on prostitution charges in 2006. She committed suicide in January before she was scheduled to go to trial.
Last year, Palfrey said she, too, was humiliated by her prostitution charges, but said: “I guess I’m made of something that Brandy Britton wasn’t made of.”
Palfrey faced a maximum of 55 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for July 24.
She said in a note to her mother that the case was a “modern-day lynching.” She said she didn’t want to come out of prison “broken, penniless and very much alone.”

HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS OF AN ASEXUAL NATURE.
Not all crimes commited by senior military officers and Senior Executive Service members are of a sexual nature. Some are more serious. "There is nothing more important than the security of nuclear weapons" said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., the Chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne were forced to resign Thursday 5 June 2008because of problems stemming from the Air Force’s mishandling nuclear weapons. A report, by Navy ADM Kirkland Donald, director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, revealed widespread problems in the mishandling of nuclear weapons and convinced Defense Secretary Robert Gates that General Moseley and Secretary Wynne must be held accountable. Both men have tendered their resignations.

Defense Secretary Gates started his career as an Air Force missile officer in the 1960s. He said that a “substantial” number of Air Force general officers and colonels more immediately responsible for recent lapses could still be reprimanded or fired in the wake of the report.

It is not clear how quickly Secretary Wynne and General Moseley will leave their positions. General Moseley has requested retirement effective August 1 and will take terminal leave before that.

“I think the honorable thing to do is to step aside,” General Moseley said in a statement released to the press. “After consulting with my family, I intend to submit my request for retirement to Secretary Gates.