Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

August 17, 2012

Report accuses U.S. general's lavish travel, spending

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The four-star general who headed U.S. Africa Command used military vehicles to shuttle his wife on shopping trips and to a spa and billed the government for a refueling stop overnight in Bermuda, where the couple stayed in a $750 suite, a Defense Department investigation has found.

A 99-page report alleges excessive unauthorized spending and travel costs for Gen. William "Kip" Ward, including lengthy stays at lavish hotels for Ward, his wife and his staff members, and the use of five-vehicle motorcades when he traveled to Washington.

It also said that Ward and his wife, Joyce, accepted dinner and Broadway show tickets from a government contractor during a trip on which he went backstage to meet actor Denzel Washington and they and several staff members spent two nights at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

The allegations, coming after a 17-month investigation, deliver an embarrassing blow to the Army and to Ward, who had claimed a place in history as the military's first commander of U.S. Africa Command.

"We conclude Gen. Ward engaged in multiple forms of misconduct related to official and unofficial travel," the inspector general's report said. "He conducted official travel for primarily personal reasons and misused" military aircraft. It said he also misused his position and his staff's time and received reimbursement for travel expenses that far exceeded the approved daily military rate without approval.

Ward, who is facing possible demotion for his activities, also could be forced to repay the government. The report said that there is an additional review going on to determine reimbursement for unofficial travel and daily travel costs that exceeded approved levels. It is not clear whether he could face criminal charges.

In comments throughout the report, Ward defended the spending, saying his wife performed official duties on all the trips. But investigators, who pored over emails, calendar entries and other documents, disagreed. Ward also said he was unaware that the person who gave him dinner and theater tickets in New York was a defense contractor.

Ward said the Bermuda layover was necessary as a "crew stop" and blamed his staff for making the decision to stay there rather than flying on to Stuttgart, Germany-based Africa Command.

The report by the Defense Department's inspector general was obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

A prominent complaint in the report concerned Ward and his wife's use of staff to run personal errands, traveling in government-rented cars.

One alleged incident involved Joyce Ward asking a staff member to go buy her a bag of "dark chocolate Snickers" bars, saying the general would provide "a couple of dollars" for it. Another time, staff drove her to a spa appointment and on other occasions they were asked to pick up books, gifts, sports tickets and baby items, the report said.

U.S. officials said Ward was warned several times by staff that his activities were wrong, to no avail. Instead, he appeared to reject their concerns and find ways to get around them.

In one case, Ward's request to use military aircraft for a personal trip was denied, so he abruptly changed the trip to an official one, adding a quick meeting, and went anyway, the report said.

During one 11-day trip to Washington, Ward spent one day visiting wounded soldiers, had a 90-minute meeting on another day and a State Department meeting on a third day but billed the Pentagon more than $129,000 to cover the daily hotel and other costs for him, his wife and 13 civilian and military staff, investigators found.

(Continued on page 2)

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