Suspended Army 4-Star Asks for Command Back After Pressuring Panel to Prop Up Career of Unfit Subordinate

A top Army general suspended earlier this year following a Military.com investigation into his attempts to influence a subordinate officer's promotion is asking Army Secretary Christine Wormuth to be placed back into command.

Gen. Charles Hamilton, who as head of Army Materiel Command oversaw much of the service's logistics operations, wrote a letter to Wormuth on Friday asking to be reinstated. Hamilton, who is Black, claimed in the letter that he had to intervene in the Army's Command Assessment Program, or CAP, selection last fall because he felt the process is racist and would unfairly handle the selection of the Black subordinate officer.

The four-star general was swiftly suspended in March after reporting revealed he pulled strings for his subordinate, lobbying at least three generals on the assessment panel and successfully pushing to get the officer a second board just days after the first, despite the fact she had been found unfit for command.

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"I respectfully ask that you allow me to resume command and continue leading our soldiers and civilians in one of the Army's most important and impactful commands," Hamilton wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Military.com. "I have been brutally honest about my concerns with the Command Assessment Program's disparate impact on Black officers."

He also claimed that Military.com "distorted facts" in its investigation to make it appear he was engaging in unlawful interference. Hamilton declined to comment on the story published in March and did not refute the findings before publication.

Military.com is withholding the name of the subordinate officer because it found no evidence of wrongdoing on her part. The publication also confirmed the authenticity of the letter through multiple sources and Army officials with direct knowledge of the situation. Wormuth declined a request for comment.

Hamilton's future is now up in the air. After the Army's investigation is wrapped up, it heads to Wormuth's desk for her to make a determination. He could be placed back into command; reduced in rank and placed in another position; or separated from the service.

If separated, he may lose rank and revert back to the rank he was deemed to have last served honorably, which may be as a three-star general. While an enormous blow to Hamilton, he would still likely enjoy generous retirement and veteran benefits. He may also be granted an opportunity to voluntarily resign.

Whether Hamilton is outright fired and removed from service is a monumental decision for Wormuth, who would likely be on a short list for defense secretary in a future Democratic administration. Firing a four-star general, effectively the military's most senior rank, is a rare move for a service secretary, as terminations in that echelon have historically been reserved for presidents and defense secretaries.

Furthermore, given the paucity of Black general officers, there's little history of their firings.

In 2012, Gen. William "Kip" Ward was fired by then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta following a 17-month investigation finding that he inappropriately used Pentagon funds for personal gain and coordinated travel for his wife on the government's dime. Ward was stripped in rank to lieutenant general.

Black officers historically have been underrepresented in the Pentagon's most senior ranks. However, representation has seen progress in recent years. The Army has eight four-star positions, three of which were held by Black officers until Hamilton's suspension, when another officer, who is white, took on his role in an acting capacity.

Meanwhile, a Defense Department inspector general investigation into Hamilton's conduct has been ongoing for five months. The investigation is in its final stages, multiple sources explained. According to one source with direct knowledge of the investigation, it is expected to wrap up by year's end.

Investigations into an officer's conduct, especially on the general officer level, are typically slow-moving and involve interviewing many people and document gathering. Hamilton's investigation is par for the course.

Military.com's investigation found that Hamilton, who has been in service for 42 years, used what one general with direct knowledge of the situation called a "pressure campaign" targeting the Army's Command Assessment Program panel for a subordinate lieutenant colonel who was seeking a battalion command post. He was suspended almost immediately after the publication's reporting.

That subordinate officer failed her assessment in a 0-5 panel vote, with all on the panel agreeing she is a "counterproductive" leader, according to internal documents reviewed by Military.com. The officer got an immediate second panel, ordered by Col. Townley Hedrick, the program's deputy. There are conflicting reports, both from Hamilton and Army staff, over whether Hedrick volunteered this option or was pressured to do so.

"I did not ask for this, nor did I give him the impression I wanted her to be re-paneled," Hamilton wrote to Wormuth.

But at the heart of the investigation is Hamilton's contacting of panel members, which included Maj. Gens. Jeth Rey, Trevor Bredenkamp and Hope Rampy.

"It is true -- I contacted general officers whom I believed were on Command Assessment Program panels," Hamilton wrote. "However, I never pressured or even asked any of them to deem [the lieutenant colonel] ready for command."

Col. Robert O'Brien, who oversees the assessment program, wrote in a memo that Hamilton repeatedly inquired about the subordinate officer's panel, her performance and the status of the re-panel. O'Brien was careful not to characterize Hamilton's conduct, but outlined a string of events in which the four-star put his thumb on the scale with officers who were junior to him.

O'Brien invited key officers to see the assessment process last year, according to an internal email reviewed by Military.com. Candidates for command, including the one Hamilton lobbied for, were copied on that email. O'Brien did not respond to a request for comment.

Army officials agreed that there is value in senior officers reviewing the relatively new way senior commanders are selected.

But where Hamilton may have crossed the line was in urging that he be allowed to pick who he observed -- specifically to view the panel of someone he was mentoring. It's unclear why he was allowed to make such a move, though Hamilton, being among the most senior officials in the Army, wields enormous influence in an organization that seldom questions higher-ranking officials.

The Command Assessment Program was specifically designed to avoid outside influence. The panel members who interview officer candidates are behind a curtain and are not given photos or the names of the candidates. They're also purposefully not given key career information about candidates, such as their officer branch, to avoid situations in which panel members from different career tracks may have a bias against others.

The panel is also supposed to be anonymous to anyone outside of the process. Panel members are selected only hours before the assessment to circumvent the risk that they are lobbied.

The lieutenant colonel failed her second panel in a 2-3 vote, which concluded she was an "ineffective" and "counterproductive" leader. But even after she failed her second panel -- officers typically have to wait a year for a second shot -- she was placed on the selection list for command. She was removed from the list after Military.com's reporting.

Gen. Randy George, the Army's top officer, has ultimate oversight of the command selection list.

Hamilton says he met with George after that failed second panel, to explain that he felt the lieutenant colonel deserved an "override" of the panel’s decision. It’s unclear whether George was aware that Hamilton contacted panel members, or why he may have allowed an officer found unfit for command to appear on the selection list. George did not respond to a request for comment.

"To be clear, I was not the decision-maker who placed her on the command slate," Hamilton wrote.

Related: Army 4-Star Who Pressured Panel to Help Career of Unfit Officer Suspended, Facing Pentagon Investigation