A four-star Army general who was suspended following allegations that he attempted to pressure an Army Selection Board to help his protege, has written to the Secretary of the Army demanding his reinstatement. Army Materiel Command commander, General Charles Hamilton, is suspended from his command until the investigation results are known, wrote Secretary Christine Wormuth. He said that he did not interfere and was fighting institutional racism to protect a female officer who had worked with him for many years.
Hamilton, a four-star General, wrote a letter last week asking to be reinstated at the Army Materiel Command. He also outlined his views on both the promotion to lieutenant colonel and the CAP.
Hamilton wrote to Wortmuth in a letter dated Aug. 16, “Removing photos from personnel files and providing training on unconscious bias for panelists are not enough.” By the time a minority officer is called to a Command Assessment Program Panel, the racism and bias that exist in the Army culture are already ingrained into evaluation reports, peer reviews, and the opinions of decision-makers.
Hamilton stated that he always acted transparently and openly when advocating for the lieutenant colonel. Task & Purpose does not identify her because there are no proofs of any violations by her. He denied that he used his position and rank to give the lieutenant colonel an unfair edge over other officers. He said that during his 43 years in the Army, he had advocated for many officers, including white officers. However, this was the first time that he was accused of being biased.
Hamilton’s tone in his letter indicates that he is expecting Wormuth to take action against him once the IG report has been finalized.
Hamilton wrote: “I accept that you might still take adverse action even though I have advocated for Minority leaders such as [the lieutenant colonel] transparently and honestly.” “Regardless of your decision regarding my fate, I implore that you investigate why so few Minority officers are deemed ready for command, and what barriers there may be that prevent qualified Black officers from submitting themselves to this process.”
An unnamed female lieutenant colonel, who served as General Hamilton’s military assistant and executive assistant, was selected to lead a battalion. The board rejected her during the selection process with a score of 0-5 because she had “counterproductive” traits.
Hamilton sprang into action.
Hamilton asked that the lieutenant colonel be re-paneled. This was a move unheard of, according to Army officials who are familiar with the procedure. Officers who do not pass the test must wait for a year before they can try again.
According to his memo, [Director, Army Command Assessment Program Col. Robert] O’Brien approved the panel based “solely” on Hamilton’s requests. Col. Townley HEDRICK, Chief of Staff of the Command Assessment Program told the lieutenant colonel that she would be repaneled because of “technical problems”, according to the memo.
Uncertainty surrounds the technical issues that would require a re-do of a panel assessment. Hamilton thanked Hedrick for “playing an important role” in the re-paneling of the lieutenant colonel.
Hamilton asked three different members of the panel — Maj. Gens. Multiple sources who have direct knowledge of this situation said that Hamilton called three different panel members — Maj. Gens. One Army official explained that panelists should be anonymous to prevent lobbying. They are usually finalized hours before the event to ensure this.
O’Brien wrote that Hamilton sent texts and phoned senior assessment staff including Hedrick and O’Brien repeatedly throughout the morning before the second panel to ask about the results of the interviews.
The second panel concluded at noon. According to a person with first-hand knowledge of the case, the lieutenant colonel’s unsuitability for command was once again determined by a vote of 2-3. The leadership qualities of the lieutenant colonel were deemed “ineffective” as well as “counterproductive”.
Hamilton asked about the results a few more times during the day, until well after 9 pm. The date, if any, that the results were shared with Hamilton is unclear.
Hamilton was able to lobby the panel by leaking their names and numbers.
Remarkably, the director of the program wrote a letter complaining about Hamilton’s conduct. It is more astonishing that he gave in to pressure and allowed this unqualified officer to have a second chance, while other generals were too afraid to speak up.
This was a campaign of pressure. This was a pressure campaign. [Hamilton] is a powerful man; it violated the integrity in how the best officers were selected to lead units.” A general who had direct knowledge of the incident told Military.com under the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. “This was not professional; it was abnormal.” “He should have known better.”
Things have changed, but it was once the case that the Army had commanders such as John Wickham and Carl Vuono who would have wiped out the career of any General suspected of interfering with a selection or promotion board. The centralized promotion system must be credible to succeed. The system will fail if generals use their influence to call up board members to promote favorites. Everyone understood this once upon a time.
She failed the selection board two times in 48 hours. Yet, somehow her name was on the list of command selections, denying a more qualified officer the chance to serve.
Military Times broke this story on Tuesday. On Friday, the Army Secretary suspended Hamilton and removed his favorite from the list of promotions.
A 4 star general uses his rank to unduly influence a command selection board on behalf of an unqualified LTC and subsequently loses his command.
How does he respond?
By saying that he was acting in defense of a black female, then goes on to chastise the SECARMY and accuse the… pic.twitter.com/LnQeSerJpF
— Shoe (@samosaur) August 22, 2024
Here are some observations about this whole fiasco.
I was an Army IG Investigator for three years. I have never met anyone who committed epic misconduct without taking baby steps to get there. Hamilton’s panache in calling members of the board to represent a specific officer was not displayed for the first time. It is especially true when meddling in a crucial selection board threatens the integrity of the system. Investigators should be looking into any other incidents where Hamilton tried to influence a selection board. A male general who breaks all rules for a female subordinate seems to be more than just fighting racism unless this is what the children are calling it.
Hamilton’s racism charge looks like something he made up to challenge Wormuth to dismiss him. The Army has fourteen four-star billets. Four (29%) of them are held by Black Officers. Blacks make up just under 12% of US officers and 13% in the US population.
Hamilton’s letter explains his opinion that beyond the case of the Lt. Colonel, the CAP program is unfair to Blacks and non-whites. Hamilton cited an average of close to 10% for Black officers in the program since its inception, with a high of 15% on one occasion. The pool of candidates at the time was 22% Black.
The universe of officers who are eligible to be considered for battalion-level command is approximately 11% Black. This selection rate is on par with that of the officer corps, which has a pool of candidates who are disproportionately Black.
The public information is not enough to prove that Hamilton intervened to stop an injustice against Black officers. There are many indications that Hamilton personally pushed for the candidacy of a particular officer, who also happened to work directly with him, and who was unqualified to lead.
I will be able to make a fortune from my popcorn futures if Wormuth removes Hamilton.
