Maj. Gen.
Michael Carey, a U.S. general who oversaw nuclear weapons, boozed,
fraternized with "hot women" and disrespected his hosts during an
official visit to Russia this year, an investigative report shows.
Maj. Gen.
Michael Carey led the 20th Air Force responsible for three nuclear wings. He was
relieved of duty in October because of loss of confidence in his leadership,
the Air Force said at the time without providing specific details.
But an Air
Force Inspector General report released Thursday sheds more light into the
case. It details the events of a July trip to Moscow in which witnesses recalled
Carey drinking too much. During a layover in Switzerland, the report states, he
bragged loudly about his position as commander of a nuclear force, saying he
"saves the world from war every day. "And the shenanigans continued in
Moscow, according to the report.
Alcohol, comments flowWhile there, Carey and an
unidentified man walked to a nearby hotel to meet "two foreign national
women. "He returned to his Marriott hotel room in the wee hours of the
morning. As a result, Carey was 45 minutes late in joining a delegation to the
Moscow suburb of Sergiyev Posad, according to the report. He attributed the
tardiness to jet lag, and said his body clock was out of whack.
During a lunch
banquet later, he downed more alcohol and talked about Syria and Edward
Snowden, according to the report. His Russian hosts did not seem amused by his
comments, according to the report. Russia granted Snowden, a former NSA
contractor who released intelligence secrets, temporary asylum this year.
Russia is also a major ally of Syria.'Very embarrassing' fist bump.
In addition,
Carey announced he'd "met two hot women the night before," and
continually interrupted a monastery guide during a tour, the report says, his
speech slurred the entire time. "At one point, he tried to give her (the
guide) a fist bump," the report says, citing a witness. "She had no
idea what he was trying to do. It was again, very, very embarrassing.
"The
names of the witnesses are redacted in the report. During dinner at a Mexican
restaurant, he drank more alcohol and wanted to perform with the live band,
which wanted no part of it, the report says. He later left his delegation and
joined the two women he'd met the night before at a different table. Tardiness and
interruptions.
Other inappropriate behavior included arriving at events late
despite his Russian hosts' request to be on time, and interrupting their toasts
to make his own commentary. His conduct was unbecoming of an officer, the report
says.The inspector general's office began its investigation after multiple
"reports of misbehavior" while Carey was traveling on business. He
was reassigned a few weeks ago pending the outcome of the
investigation. Otherwise distinctive career. Though his behavior did not impact
highly sensitive nuclear weapons operations, officials said, it is unbecoming
for a job in such a critical position.
"This was an unfortunate incident.
Maj. Gen. Carey has otherwise served the nation extremely well," said Gen
William Shelton, who heads the Air Force Space Command. "After full
consideration of all the available information, I determined the evidence
supported taking further command action in addition to his previous removal
from command of 20th Air Force. "He was transferred to the Air Force space
operation.
"I am confident Maj. Gen. Carey will use his depth of space
expertise to assist my command in providing foundational space and cyberspace
capabilities to the warfighter," Shelton said. Leading the intercontinental
nuclear ballistic missile facilities and operations is "a position of
great trust and responsibility," said Lt. Gen James Kowalski, head of the
Air Force Global Strike Command.
"Personal behavior is vital to
that. "The U.S. delegation was in Russia for a bilateral presidential
commission on military issues.
Source: CNN
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