The Pentagon’s inspector general said the admiral who heads
the U.S. European Command violated travel and gift rules, while the Navy said
there was no “personal misconduct.”
Admiral James Stavridis on one occasion used military
aircraft for unofficial travel without obtaining approval, accepted gifts from
foreign governments without reporting or disposing of them, and let family
members travel with him on military aircraft without reimbursing the government
at full coach fares, according to a report by the Defense Department’s inspector
general released today.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said most of the incidents cited
resulted from “shortcomings in administrative procedures” that have since been
corrected. Mabus disputed a finding that Stavridis used a military aircraft for
unofficial purposes on a 2010 trip from Belgium
to Burgundy, France, saying the
trip had “strategic value.”
“I have determined that Admiral Stavridis never attempted to
use his public office for private gain, nor did he commit personal misconduct,”
Mabus wrote in memo explaining his resolution of the case.
Mabus said he discussed with Stavridis “the several process
failures documented in this investigation” and stressed the importance of
following standard protocols for all gifts, travel by family members and the
use of government cellular phones.
Stavridis, a former head of U.S. Southern Command, took over
the European Command in 2009. He also serves as NATO’s supreme allied commander
for Europe.
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