Forwarded email from TP

[mikeylikey]

I would be the last person to further the TP mess.  However, not only did a good friend of mine here forward an email to me from TP written on Friday, but I also received it from 2 different people at NHQ and my former Wing Commander. 

Here it is, if you want the proof that it is real, PM me, and I will send it to you with all the addresses that TP sent it to.  I think every WING Commander got this, this past weekend.  Someone else here should ahve it as well from looking at the addresses that it was sent to.  NOTE to MODS......every other TP thread was locked.  It also says in the email to forward it out to the membership!


HERE GOES (rather long)

Sent: Friday, October 5, 2007 9:22:01 AM
Subject: Please pass to other members.


 
Dear members.

The last two months was a horrible time not being able to communicate with all of you. For that I have to apologize but as you know it was beyond my control.

There is always two sides of a story.  Now in a short summary I want to share mine with you. Earlier you received the letter to congress that I sent, it describes some of the issues.

First I need for all of you to know that I will never compromised my integrity over anything and I will never place CAP in jeopardy.

The BOG not only took me off command but also terminated my membership and I have no right to appeal to anyone because there is no body and I was told that the BOG can do what ever they want without following any regulations. 

Up to this date the only thing that I was told it was because of the Hayden issue.  This issue was resolved and the BOG was told that it was not sustained by Col Linker our IG.  He told them this at the BOG meeting in June of 07 in Atlanta.

Col Linker also advised Gen Bowling in an email (below) that all of the complaints were not sustained.

Kuddes, et al.

Investigation is complete.  The write up is first on my agenda after finishing a few pending complaint  items and return from IG travel next week.   The report will show that 

(1)     There is nothing to suggest that the resignations of Starr, Glass and Moseley were not freely given by these officers at the time they offered them.   

(2)     Kuddes removal was within the scope and authority of the national commander.

There is more to it, but these are the facts it boils down to.

Hayden v. Pineda

This was held up by an effort to get course records from USAF-Air University re. the tests in question.  AUʼs registrar was understanding and forthcoming, but the reports were blocked by USAF-JAG, requiring a FOIA request, which was itself blocked. This became an extended issue.  In the end (late last week), nothing useful was received. 


Lacking any forensic information, this remains a case, on one hand, of the word of an apparently troubled former member who admitted committing widespread and repeated course testing improprieties as Testing Officer, and has demonstrated violent behavior at CAP, and the National Commander, on the other.  Investigation into the lie-detector test taken by the complainant raises many questions and concerns in its administration.   The transcript of the 3-hr recorded testimony of the complainant is strong and convincing testimony to his state of mind and motivation. The preponderance of evidence does not sustain the claim of cheating.   

Re: Col. Levitch and wife taking the ECI-13 course un-proctored.  Facts are that Hayden admits to allowing this routinely, Levitch claims he was newly rejoined in CAP, didnʼt know the testing rules, event happened a few years ago, USAF-AU did not give us the information necessary to discern how many and who may also have done this.   Iʼll report the facts and leave action to the judgment of the BoG, unless a recommendation is requested.

General Bowling indicated he wanted an executive summary of the cases.  I will provide these before the next BOG, even if fully assembling the considerable documentation into a proper package may take a little longer.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have a major problem that if it is not stop will continue to grow where no one will be able to stop it.  The BOG should only be an oversight board not a Governing Board.  Most of the BOG members are not CAP members and dont even know our regulations and Constitution and By Laws. CAP needs to be governed by the National Board as it use to be not by outsiders that have no regards for the needs of the membership and who don't have the pride that we all have in our organization. I may not be a member of CAP anymore but I still care very much for this organization and all of you.  I will send you another email over the weekend.  I don't want to over burn you guys and ladies with this.                                                                                                                                                                                                           
Thanks.  Tony       

[afgeo4]

My personal opinion of Pineda not withstanding, there is a real concern raised here.

I feel that the actions of the BoG are odd. Any body controlling CAP has to have clear and concise reasons for their actions. Substituting one poor authority for another is not a solution. If our superiors believed that the Major General overstepped his authority or was involved in activities unbecoming of the office they should have had formal hearings and at that point voiced their dissatisfactions. Such hearings should not have been voiced to the general membership aside from perhaps making the findings public, but... a due process HAS to exist. This is the United States and a body of its government. This organization and its members are subject to US law and not the USMJ and thus have all rights granted by the constitution and laws of the land. It would also be simply GOOD POLICY and would assure the members of CAP that yes, things do make sense and yes, the actions taken were proper.

At this point in time, I'm not sure what's going on or why. The only thing I know is that actions like this make it seem like it's ok to just fire whoever for whatever reasons. That due process doesn't matter. That making accusations is just fine as long as you have support of others. That this organization is built on kings and paupers.

I am very dissapointed. Not so much in the result, but in the process.

Having said that... I would like to extend my congratulations to BrigGen Courter for having been chosen the acting National Commander and hope that she is chosen to lead us in the future.

[BigMojo]

I'm too new to have an opinion on the subject but shouldn't our (ousted) National Commander at least be able to write cognitive sentences in the English language? The letter sounds like it was written by a fifth grader.

[Cadet Tillett]

I'm too new to have an opinion on the subject but shouldn't our (ousted) National Commander at least be able to write cognitive sentences in the English language? The letter sounds like it was written by a fifth grader.

Yah I was thinking the same thing.  I've seen better spelling/grammar in a text message.

[Walkman]

I'm too new to have an opinion on the subject but shouldn't our (ousted) National Commander at least be able to write cognitive sentences in the English language? The letter sounds like it was written by a fifth grader.

I'm new as well, but from what I understand, Pineda came to the US as a teen from somewhere south of the border (Cuba?) I don't remember the details, and I'm too lazy to search. I'm sure someone else knows and will post them.

[Nomex Maximus]

Let's get  past the spelling and grammar and deal with the issues.

[Chappy]

You are forgetting that an investigation has been going on for over a year on the testing issue.

When ever you have a problem with a member he or she is suspended until the investigation is conducted.  Pineda was NOT suspended but continued to act as the National Commander until the evidence was presented to the NEC during the national boards.

After there is a suspension and investigation, a decision is made concerning the person's membership.  If their membership is terminated, they then have a right to contest it, which Pineda can still do as well, if he chooses or he can file a law suit.

There have been many who have followed this process.  Even if criminal acts are found, very little is pursued through the criminal courts.

Our mission in Civil Air Patrol is not to conduct investigations and file charges but to do emergency services, cadet programs, and aerospace education.

[BlackKnight]

As I understand it, the Board of Governors (BOG) operates outside of CAP regulations.  The BOG is charged by Congress via Federal law with the responsibility of managing the CAP so that we can accomplish our Congressionally mandated missions.  Our internal regulations, constitution, and by-laws apply to the CAP membership, the CAP national board, and even the national commander much the same as the procedures in the company you work for apply to you as an employee.  Federal law trumps corporate procedures and internal regulations. Thus the BOG may follow CAP regulations if they wish (and they usually do), but they are not obligated to do so.

[JohnKachenmeister]

Relief of a commander, especially a commanding general, should never be undertaken for trivial reasons or taken lightly.  I have had to relieve one officer from command, and it was for very good reasons.  It should always be done in consultation with your own next higher commander.

That being said, there are two questions that need to be answered:

1.  Was the relief of General Pineda justified?  And...

2.  Was the process of his relief something we can live with in the future?

As to question #1.  There does not need to be solid criminal-type evidence to relieve a commander.  If you have evidence of misbehavior, that makes the decision much easier, but it is not required.  All that is needed to relieve a commander is the decision that his leadership of the unit is ineffective.  In that context, the fact (And I believe this to be the fact) that there was no proof of misconduct is immaterial.  Apparently the BoG, acting under its authority as the executive agent of the Secretary of the Air Force, decided that "Where there's smoke, there's fire." and decided that CAP would be better off with a new commander.

But, question #2 is not so easy.  We have a procedure for relief of the National Commander.  Unfortunately, it was written before the BoG existed.  I do not doubt that the Congressional authority of the BoG, considering the circumstances that brought it into being, includes the authority to relieve the National Commander.  it basically can do anything it wants in the name of the Secretary of the Air Force.  But to summarily relieve a commander, AND remove him from the organization without any appeal or recourse, is just a bit scary.  I don't think I have an answer for this question yet.

Let me think about this for a while.

[BillB]

Pineda was NOT suspended but continued to act as the National Commander until the evidence was presented to the NEC during the national boards.
Incorrect, he was suspended by the Board of Governors PRIOR to the National Board and NEC meeting.
Correct in that Pineda came from Cuba
Terminated members can only appeal to the National Membership Board. Which appears unable to overrule the BoG.
If the CAP IG found the charges to be unsustained, how does the BoG justify the removal from office and termination. The only charges were the "testinggate" and they could not be proved.

This brings up what politics were played by the BoG. It seems like the CAP members of the BoG hgad their own agenda and wouldn't let facts interfere with their decision to remove MGen Pineda. Does this mean that any action of the NEC or National Board can be overturned on a whim by the BoG??

[Skyray]

If you tell a lie big enough, often enough, and loud enough, sooner or later people are going to believe it.  Even if you have very poor command of the language you tell it in.

[Chappie]

<snip>
If the CAP IG found the charges to be unsustained, how does the BoG justify the removal from office and termination. The only charges were the "testinggate" and they could not be proved.

This brings up what politics were played by the BoG. It seems like the CAP members of the BoG hgad their own agenda and wouldn't let facts interfere with their decision to remove MGen Pineda. Does this mean that any action of the NEC or National Board can be overturned on a whim by the BoG??

Thought this was interesting....Lt Gen Nicholas Kehoe (USAF, Retired) is a member of the BOG.  Check out his last assignment with the USAF, according to his official USAF biography:

Lt. Gen. Nicholas B. Kehoe is the inspector general, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. He oversees Air Force inspection policy; criminal investigations; counterintelligence operations; the complaints and fraud, waste and abuse programs; intelligence oversight and two field operating agencies, the Air Force Inspection Agency and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

The general entered the Air Force in 1966 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has commanded an Air Force flying wing and numbered air force, and served in numerous staff and operational assignments in training and fighter commands. He is a command pilot with more than 3,600 flying hours in trainer and fighter aircraft.

Source: http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=6009

IMHO...if indeed there were reasons for the removal of the National Commander, I am sure that a man with these credentials and prior experience would be in a position to recognize them.

[Smokey]

TP claims the allegations were not proven, but that is his word.  It sounded to me like the BOG made the decision on a founded investiation.   Also supposedly there were other complaints.   The release did not say anything about those.  It's possible the BOG took that into consideration.  The announcement did not lay out specifics.

[Mustang]

If the CAP IG found the charges to be unsustained, how does the BoG justify the removal from office and termination. The only charges were the "testinggate" and they could not be proved.

Fact: the CAP IG is a Pineda appointee.

Fact: the AFOSI are not Pineda appointees.  Their independent investigation upheld the cheating allegation.

It was the AFOSI's report that the BoG based its decision on, not the CAP IG's.

[JohnKachenmeister]

Mustang:

Where did you learn facts 2 and 3?

[floridacyclist]

You know, all we've really heard here is Pineda's side of the story. At the same time, unless I've missed something, all we've heard from the BoG is a simple announcement of what shall be done, not an explanation of the process that was taken to get there.

At this point, it's not even Pineda's word vs the BoG because one is talking about apples and the other is talking about oranges, so there's really no grounds for an argument.

[CS]

All of that doesn't really matter anyway.  The NEC and NB had over two months to convene a meeting and decide the fate of the National Commander, after the initial suspension.  They had many months before this to demonstrate their leadership and vote, up or down, on what direction they would proceed.  The failure of the NB to do this, left it to the BoG to act.  In my opinion, there should be a general recall of all NEC and NB members with a review of qualifications for the positions held and their postions re-posted.  I noted that one of the Region Commander's just received his Garber Award!  Since he has been a Region Commander over two years and a previous Wing Commander, I for one am not impressed with the selection process that essentially has placed people 'off the street' in key leadership positions.

[Mustang]

Mustang:

Where did you learn facts 2 and 3?

You really think I'm gonna give up my source? I don't even know you....

Suffice to say, you can take the info to the bank.

[Psicorp]

Mustang:

Where did you learn facts 2 and 3?

You really think I'm gonna give up my source? I don't even know you....

Suffice to say, you can take the info to the bank.

See? That is exactly what I'm learning to expect from those who play the CAP politics game.    We, sir, don't know you either and the only thing that truly matters is what comes down the official pipeline.   The BoG felt justified enough to take action (otherwise they wouldn't have).  That's good enough for me.   

[Chappie]

Mustang:

Where did you learn facts 2 and 3?

You really think I'm gonna give up my source? I don't even know you....

Suffice to say, you can take the info to the bank.

See? That is exactly what I'm learning to expect from those who play the CAP politics game.    We, sir, don't know you either and the only thing that truly matters is what comes down the official pipeline.   The BoG felt justified enough to take action (otherwise they wouldn't have).  That's good enough for me.   

For those who don't know a person...take whatever they say with a grain of salt.  For those who do know a person ... that's another story.    I usually judge what they have posted in light of my previous experiences/observations of that person  -- and if they have been right on the money in previous posts,  I will take it to the bank  .

But like Psicorp, I am confident that the BoG -- with all the information they were provided with -- acted in the best interests of CAP.