The commander of Aberdeen Proving Ground has announced his retirement from the Army after the discovery of an affair he had with a civilian woman five years ago during a separation from his wife. Secretary of Defense William Cohen said Maj. Gen. John Longhouser was in a “compromising position” because it was he would decided when others should face military trials for sex-related offenses. The early retirement announced June 3 will cost Longhouser some $10,000 a year in retirement pay since he failed to serve the required three years in his current post as two-star brigadier general and will instead retire at the one-star rank.
Last week Air Force pilot Lt. Kelly Flinn was to face a court-martial on charges of adultery, lying and disobeying an order. Flinn avoided the court-martial by agreeing to accept a general discharge which makes her ineligible to fly for the Reserves or to receive most benefits. Flinn also has to reimburse the Air Force for $18,000 of the education.
Aberdeen’s Army Ordnance Center commander Maj. Gen. Robert D. Shadley is moving into a new job as director of logistics at Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Georgia. An Army spokesman said the lateral move is a standard reassignment after Shadley completed the normal two-year tour of duty as the commander of the base where allegations of sexual misconduct spurred a service-wide probe.
The Army is currently deciding whether or not to court-martial Gene McKinney, the Army’s top enlisted soldier who has been accused of adultery and assault involving four military women.
On June 4, an Air Force recruiter was sentenced to seven months in prison and given a bad-conduct discharge after pleading guilty to adultery and making sexual advances while he worked in Menasha, Wisconsin in 1996. Technical Sgt. Robert Dean Hayden, who is married, admitted that he had sex with an assistant, one of his recruits, in the recruiting office and that he made advances to another female recruit at a party. The court-martial took place at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
