Editorial: Get rid of officers who cross ethical boundaries

[unhappycamper]

Editorial: Get rid of officers who cross ethical boundaries

Three cases of inappropriate Air Force contracting decisions cast new doubts about the service’s ethics and the way senior officers do business. Worse, they threaten to undermine the Air Force’s credibility at a critical time when leaders are fighting desperately for the resources needed to modernize an aging fleet.

In one case, a two-star general has been given a letter of reprimand for steering a contract to a preferred vendor; two other officers in the case have been punished and two more still face discipline.

In a second case, which like the first occurred at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., two generals (one of whom, retired Gen. Hal Hornburg, was also involved in the first case as an interested civilian party) are under investigation for similarly steering a contract to a favored vendor.

And in a third, the Pentagon and FBI are investigating possible criminal behavior concerning a sole-source Air Force contract with Commonwealth Research Institute, the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that hired Charles Reichers, then awaiting confirmation as a senior Air Force acquisition official, for a $13,400-a-month job, to do no work.

Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne expressed his disappointment this way: “This is not how the Air Force does business and we are taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_editorial_ethical_050508/