[Paleopsych] NYT: General Disobeyed Orders to End Affair, Officials Say
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Mon Aug 15 01:38:00 UTC 2005
General Disobeyed Orders to End Affair, Officials Say
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/13/politics/13general.html
[I have googled <general byrnes conspiracy> and got thousands of hits,
including the one from Prison Planet about a military coup involving Byrnes.
Welcome to Paranoid Nation! My more mundane idea is that Byrnes was a
dissident, that he was watched extra closely, and that an extra-marital affair
was turned up, something that would ordinarily be overlooked, esp. when the man
was about to get divorced.]
By DAVID S. CLOUD
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.
Several Army officers said they considered the punishment surprisingly
harsh for a general who was nearing retirement.
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.
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