The U.S. Army fired a four-star general for abusing his authority by giving an under-qualified female subordinate promotions and special treatment, according to a report from the Army Inspector General obtained by Military.com Tuesday.
Gen. Charles Hamilton gave a subordinate officer, who had been found unfit for command, a leadership role with the help of Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and Lieutenant General Walter Piatt, according to the report. Hamilton is the first four-star general to be fired in 20 years.
“This was an abuse of authority, from Hamilton [to] the chief,” one general officer who was involved in the command selection process for the lieutenant colonel told Military.com. “It’s hard to imagine [Hamilton] didn’t know what he was doing. There was skepticism from some on this process, and now we’ve seen it’s open to cronyism. We had a renegade general … but I’m more disappointed that the highest levels of the chain of command let this happen without asking questions.”