Bad week for U.S. generals... Four-star chief who headed Africa Command is demoted over lavish spending and ordered to repay $82,000
It's not turning out to be a good week for a number of America's top generals.
Following the resignation of retired Army Gen. David Petraeus' as CIA director because of an extramarital affair and the revelation that Marine Gen. John Allen is being investigated for improper communications with a woman, another four-star general is also in the news for the wrong reasons.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has reportedly demoted the former head of U.S. Africa Command, who was accused of spending thousands of dollars on lavish travel and other unauthorized expenses.
Scroll down for video
Army Gen. William 'Kip' Ward has been forced to retire at a lower rank after spending thousands of dollars of government money on unathorized expenses
Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, left, has resigned as CIA director because of an extramarital affair and Marine Gen. John Allen, right, is being investigated for improper communications with a woman
A senior U.S. official says Panetta has stripped Gen. William 'Kip' Ward of a star, which means that he must now retire as a three-star lieutenant general. Ward must also repay the government $82,000.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to discuss a personnel matter.
Ward's excessive and unauthorized spending were documented in a 99-page report which gave a startling insight into his plush lifestyle at the expense of taxpayers.
Share this article
Despite repeated warnings by officials that his spending was not above board, Ward sent military vehicles to take his wife on shopping trips, billed the government for stays in lavish hotels and accepted Broadway tickets from a 'prohibited source' with defense contracts.
Many of Ward’s 79 official trips to Europe, Africa or across the United States involved extracurricular or personal excursions at the taxpayer's expense, the records show.
On one trip to Germany, where Africa Command is based, Ward, his wife and staff stayed in Bermuda for a refueling stop - where the couple stayed in a $750 suite and billed it to the government.
Taking advantage: A running theme of the report was Ward's insistence that his wife Joyce, centre, join him on trips and stay at lavish hotels even though she had no official capacity
A LIFE OF LUXURY: GEN. WILLIAM 'KIP' WARD'S EXCESSIVE SPENDING
While the total amount of spending by Gen. Ward while he was the head of U.S. Africa Command has not been released, it includes:
- $129,000 on an 11-day trip to Washington with his wife and 13 staff where he only had short engagements on the first three days of the trip. The cost covers the hotel and 'other' costs such as transportation
- $10,000 on hotels rooms for himself and staff during a 'refueling stop' in Bermuda on the way to an engagement in Germany. He and his wife stayed in a $750 suite. The bill does not include transport or other costs
- $18,500 on producing and publishing 2,000 books about the Command's plush residence in Germany and its first three years of work
- One staffer stayed in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in McLean, Virginia for 49 consecutive nights in early 2010 - even though Ward was in the area for just 18 of the nights
- Use of government-rented vehicles to run errands including collecting flowers, books, football game tickets and snacks
- Dinner and a Broadway show - paid for by a government contractor - before meeting Denzel Washington and staying in the five-star Waldorf Astoria Hotel
- Wife joined him on 52 of his 79 trips even though she had no official capacity
- Ward also set officials meetings after being refused the use of military aircraft for personal travel
His staff traveled to Bermuda ahead of his arrival; in total, the cost of their rooms came to more than $10,000, without meals or transportation.
Ward, 63, defended the layover as a 'crew stop' and blamed his staff for the decision to stay, the report notes.
On another occasion in June 2010, Ward and his wife Joyce accepted dinner and Broadway show tickets from a 'prohibited source' with over $4 million in military contracts.
He attended Fences with his wife and the contractor and his family, before going backstage to meet actor Denzel Washington.
The couple and several staff members then spent the night at the five-star Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
When he was asked to explain the business conducted with the contractor, Ward said vaguely: 'We could have talked about being an effective leader, some of my lessons learned, some of my anecdotes, some of the things I have done as a leader.'
The report also detailed how Ward used five-vehicle motorcades when he traveled to Washington, and how he and his wife used government-rented cars to pick up flowers, books, snacks and football game tickets.
She also used the vehicles to visit a department store and a spa.
His wife's presence throughout the report is also noteworthy; Ward insisted on her traveling with him even though she did not perform any official duties and it was not authorized.
In fact, the reports notes she joined the general on a staggering 52 of the 79 trips investigated.
On one occasion, he asked to use military aircraft for a personal trip but it was denied, so he abruptly changed the trip to an official one by adding a quick meeting.
In another case, during an 11-day trip to Washington, his official duties were a visit to see wounded soldiers, a 90-minute meeting and a State Department meeting, yet he billed the government more than $129,000 to cover the hotel and other costs for him, his wife and 13 staff.
The report also notes how his wife asked a staffer to buy her a bag of 'dark chocolate Snickers' bars and that the general would give 'a couple of dollars' for it.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has demoted Ward for spending thousands of dollars on lavish travel and other unauthorized expenses
Luxury: As well as staying in the Waldorf, pictured, Ward and his staff totted up a staggering $129,000 bill on an 11-day trip to Washington where he only had three official engagements
'We conclude Gen. Ward engaged in multiple forms of misconduct related to official and unofficial travel,' the inspector general's report said.
It added that he misused military aircraft, his position and staff time, and he often received reimbursement far exceeding the approved military rate.
While his total amount of spending was not disclosed, it is comparable to the $823,000 allegedly spent by General Services Administration staff, accused of lavish spending at a 2010 Las Vegas conference.
Ward had the highest rank in the Army, but has now been forced to retire at a lower rank. The demotion could cost him as much as $1 million in retirement pay, but he has avoided criminal charges.
Excessive: On one occasion, Ward and his wife stayed in a $750 suite during a layover in Bermuda, pictured, where he claimed the plane needed refueling on its way to an official engagement in Germany
Mingling with the stars: He also accepted Broadway tickets from a government contractor and met actor Denzel Washington. He, his wife and staff then stayed in the five-star Waldorf Hotel
He had sought to retire last year and carried out the paperwork to make it possible, before attending his retirement ceremony in April 2011 at Fort Myer, Virginia. But the Army put his retirement on hold while the investigation was underway.
Ward was commissioned into the infantry in 1971 and served overseas in Korea, Egypt, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel and Germany.
In his role in the Africa Command, he was meet with African leaders and work to expand and strengthen U.S. military ties so that the nations there are better able to provide for their own defense.
VIDEO: US Military Tribute to Kip Ward:
Most watched News videos
- Shocking moment man hurls racist abuse at group of women in Romford
- Kevin Bacon returns to high school where 'Footloose' was filmed
- Shocking moment balaclava clad thief snatches phone in London
- Moment fire breaks out 'on Russian warship in Crimea'
- Russian soldiers catch 'Ukrainian spy' on motorbike near airbase
- Mother attempts to pay with savings account card which got declined
- Shocking moment passengers throw punches in Turkey airplane brawl
- Shocking footage shows men brawling with machetes on London road
- Trump lawyer Alina Habba goes off over $175m fraud bond
- Staff confused as lights randomly go off in the Lords
- Lords vote against Government's Rwanda Bill
- China hit by floods after violent storms battered the country
