Skelton Expedites Transfer
This action is the result of a series of reports investigates charges of frequent mishandling of nuclear weapons at Whiteman Air Force Base. It is based on interviews conducted by The Daily Star-Journal during the past three months in collaboration with WDAF-TV, Channel 4, in Kansas City.
By Kenneth Amos
Star-Journal News Editor
Working quietly behind the scenes, Fourth District Congressman Ike Skelton apparently has arranged for the transfer of Capt. Eugene R. Exxex from Whiteman Air Force Base to Grissom Air Force Base, Ind.
Skelton confirmed this morning that since there was a possible life-threatening consideration, he helped "expedite" the captain's transfer.
Capt. Exxex, 40, detailed in a series of articles last month in The Daily Star Journal what he alleged to be an attempt by officers at this western Missouri air base to silence him after he reported infractions regarding the day-to-day handling of nuclear weapons.
As a result of an investigation by Skelton, three allegations made by the captain were at least partially substantiated. They were in the areas of testing procedures, personnel evaluation procedures, technical violations and the possible mishandling of control (or code) pages.
At that time, Richard C. White, D-Texas, and chairman of the House Armed Services Investigation Subcommittee, asked for a written report from Maj. Gen. Guy L. Hecker, U.S. Air Force legislative liaison, about corrective measures on these matters to be taken at WAFB. Te report is due Monday.
An Upsetting Encounter
The wheels were set in motion for the transfer last Wednesday atfer Capt. Essex met with Col. Frank Horton.
Capt. Essex was allowed to tape record his session with the colonel, who spoke with him in the presence of the senior Air Force lawyer at WAFB. Capt. Essex said he was told it was not necessary for him to have his own lawyer present. Request to have the base lawyer leave the room proved futile.
The colonel gave an endorsement of Essex on an Officers' Efficiency Rating (OER) — a 4 on a scale of 1 to 6, in which 1 is the best. The ranking Exxex received, he claims, virtually always means death to an officer's career. Most officers never receive higher than a 2 OER.
"He said (at first) he was not going to endorse (the OER)," Capt. Essex said, "based upon his interview of the people who worked for me and technicians who inspected my unit. Based on discussions with those people, he said he was not going to concur with Col. Edmund Kane (Essex' former supervisor who recommended a more favorable rating)."
Capt. Essex contends that Col. Horton changed his mind after speaking with three commanders who work for Col. Kane and whose OERs are written by Col. Kane.
"He said after talking to them that he had decided he would concur with Col. Kane," Capt. Essex said.
A request was submitted to the base's public information office to speak with Col. Horton about his endorsement and the transfer of Capt. Essex.
The base's ranking public information officers, responding on behalf of Col. Horton, said this afternoon that Essex' reassignment is a 'routine administrative action of the Air Force."
Of the OER, the response was "they are internal administrative actions and are not releasable to the public under any circumstances. Therefore, it is not appropriate to comment on them."
Capt. Essex, an executive support officer, had the section he supervised rated "best on base" by the Strategic Air Command's Inspector General during Operation Readiness Inspection in April.
The Captain's Complaints
After meeting with Col. Horton, Capt. Essex placed a telephone call to Congressman Skelton's office in Independence, Mo. He reached aide Dan Slickman.
"It was a rather angry speech on my part," Capt. Essex admitted. He said he complained about the action just taken by Col. Horton, as well as indirect threats made to him by ranking officers because of his claims to about such items as the alleged repeat offenses of sexual misconduct on the part of a colonel who still has access to top secret information. Capt. Essex believes this has left the colonel open to possible blackmail. In addition, He also claims to have knowledge of complicity by a colonel and a major in the death of a master sergeant, which Capt. Essex says, "in context amounts to murder."
"They made a wrong decision, and it resulted in the death of the master sergeant," Capt. Essex said.
In another matter, Capt. Essex said a lieutenant, under WAFB control in regard to the Personnel Reliability Program (PRP), was arrested early last year in Texas for drunk and disorderly conduct.
Capt. Essex, at the time was an assistant PRP monitor and was waiting to supervise the anticipated PRP temporary decertification of the lieutenant, who was responsible for guarding nuclear weapons on a daily basis.
Under Article 134 of the Universal Code of Military Justice, any officer being arrested for drunk or disorderly conduct is immediately subject to career counseling. Under Air Force Regulation 35-99, PRP, the lieutenant's commander was required to temporarily decertify the lieutenant and evaluate the extent of his alcohol abuse.
"They thought about it and they discussed it, and they decided to do nothing about it, "Capt. Essex said.
According to Capt. Essex, several times the lieutenant's name had come up in the context of problems encountered while drinking with enlisted personnel.
These amount to drinking incidents. The first time when he was arrested for (being) drunk, he was supposed to have been temporarily decertified from the PRP. The immediate commander, the group commander, the wing commander had heard about it and decided to do nothing. They did nothing," Capt. Essex said.
Six months later, Capt. Essex said the lieutenant was highly intoxicated. He and a master sergeant were riding together in a car when an argument ensued.
"They stopped and the master sergeant took off walking, and somehow the master sergeant wound up dead — struck by a car," Capt. Essex said.
Not wishing to go into further detail because of pending litigations "Capt. Essex said, " All, I am saying is the lieutenant had a drinking problem by Air Force standards. We knew it, we didn't do anything about t, and now we've got a dead man."
Capt. Essex said he confronted the aforementioned colonel and major. "We are in trouble if they investigate this. Now we've got a dead man on our hands and it can be traced to the fact we knew about and did nothing about it."
Capt. Essex contends there was a second drinking incident, widely discussed within the security police group that involved the problematic lieutenant, which would have required us to permanently decertify him."
The lieutenant, now assigned to an air base in Texas, finally is being treated for a diagnosed problem related to alcohol.
Rabbit Season Open?
"Because of this an other information I have — plus information I have on individual officers who I know have committed nuclear safety violations — I have been warned three times by different individuals that the word is out that I am due for a one-car accident. Rabbit season is open, and I'm the rabbit.
"I personally don't fear for my life, but I do know that if it's not the many people who do their jobs who are going to be upset. It is the people who place career before integrity who may commit further irrational acts. I know too manny individuals who have committed errors, and I know their names, and I know the places, and I know the whereabouts of the documents that can point this out," Capt. Essex proclaimed.
Capt. Essex told Slickman, the Congressman's aide, that he wanted to speak directly with Rep. Skelton because, "There are things going on here that are still happening. These people (commanders) are still harming people. They're hurting people and they're trying to cover up their tracks. I want to talk to the Congressman. ... I want to talk to the House Armed Services Subcommittee, or who has the power to do something."
A Call From SAC
Within an hour, Capt. Essex received a telephone call from Brigadier Gen. Claude Teagarden, senior staff judge advocate from Strategic Air Command headquarters in Omaha, Neb.
"He told me that he got a call from the Congressional liaison to look into the matter here," Capt. Essex said.
The general queried Capt. Essex for the details of the complaints he had made moments earlier to Slickman.
Capt. Essex provided specifics and said, "I have witnessed nuclear safety violations. I've reported them and because I've reported them, I've been persecuted and I'm still being persecuted and harassed. Now, I've been informed my life is in danger and I'm concerned nothing is being done."
Regarding his allegations, Essex told the general, "I've gone to Congress once and they've gotten a non-answer from the Air Force, except the Air Force has admitted some of my allegations — and, by the way, they're all true. There are many more I haven't reported and many more I want to report."
Capt. Essex also told him, "I will send all the information I have to every member of Congress because our national security is at stake and nothing is being done about it."
Brig. Gen. Teagarden replied, "I understand you perfectly, Capt. Essex"
On The Move
Two days later, Capt. Essex received word that he would be moving to another SAC base.
"I'm no safer there than here. What it amounts to is I'll probably lose about $5,000. I don't really want to go there — I like this area. I like the people of Missouri. What I would rather see is that they take action to resolve the problems here at Whiteman, because it's not going to go away.
"As far as going there (Grissom AFB, Ind.), I don't mind. Part of military life is moving."
However, Capt. Essex maintains the move "is political. It is unnecessary. It will not resolve the problem. It will only compound the problem."
Capt. Essex's duties at his new location will be as an executive support officer. He contends the move "will cause the Air Force to spend $5,000-$10,000 or more moving me from here to there, when they have an open executive (support) officer slot on this base."
Capt. Essex believes Congressman Skelton asked for something to be done "because of the threat to my life."
Although the Congressman's intentions are good, "Capt. Essex contends, "They have the same access to me there as they do here."
His orders are effective July 31, but he will not have to report until Aug. 15.
When asked about his expectations at his new base, which is a tanking wing, Capt. Essex said he anticipates a very polite reception a desk, a telephone and no access at all to important information.
"They're babysitting me there, until something happens."
Capt. Essex said leaving Whiteman does not mean the end of his efforts to have what he considers the truth known.
"I haven't done anything wrong. They (certain senior officers) have. They are the ones who are going to gradually disappear unless they can discredit me and many other people like me. I don't think they can do it."
Postscripts
By Kenneth Amos
Star-Journal News Editor
Working quietly behind the scenes, Fourth District Congressman Ike Skelton apparently has arranged for the transfer of Capt. Eugene R. Exxex from Whiteman Air Force Base to Grissom Air Force Base, Ind.
Skelton confirmed this morning that since there was a possible life-threatening consideration, he helped "expedite" the captain's transfer.
Capt. Exxex, 40, detailed in a series of articles last month in The Daily Star Journal what he alleged to be an attempt by officers at this western Missouri air base to silence him after he reported infractions regarding the day-to-day handling of nuclear weapons.
As a result of an investigation by Skelton, three allegations made by the captain were at least partially substantiated. They were in the areas of testing procedures, personnel evaluation procedures, technical violations and the possible mishandling of control (or code) pages.
At that time, Richard C. White, D-Texas, and chairman of the House Armed Services Investigation Subcommittee, asked for a written report from Maj. Gen. Guy L. Hecker, U.S. Air Force legislative liaison, about corrective measures on these matters to be taken at WAFB. Te report is due Monday.
An Upsetting Encounter
The wheels were set in motion for the transfer last Wednesday atfer Capt. Essex met with Col. Frank Horton.
Capt. Essex was allowed to tape record his session with the colonel, who spoke with him in the presence of the senior Air Force lawyer at WAFB. Capt. Essex said he was told it was not necessary for him to have his own lawyer present. Request to have the base lawyer leave the room proved futile.
The colonel gave an endorsement of Essex on an Officers' Efficiency Rating (OER) — a 4 on a scale of 1 to 6, in which 1 is the best. The ranking Exxex received, he claims, virtually always means death to an officer's career. Most officers never receive higher than a 2 OER.
"He said (at first) he was not going to endorse (the OER)," Capt. Essex said, "based upon his interview of the people who worked for me and technicians who inspected my unit. Based on discussions with those people, he said he was not going to concur with Col. Edmund Kane (Essex' former supervisor who recommended a more favorable rating)."
Capt. Essex contends that Col. Horton changed his mind after speaking with three commanders who work for Col. Kane and whose OERs are written by Col. Kane.
"He said after talking to them that he had decided he would concur with Col. Kane," Capt. Essex said.
A request was submitted to the base's public information office to speak with Col. Horton about his endorsement and the transfer of Capt. Essex.
The base's ranking public information officers, responding on behalf of Col. Horton, said this afternoon that Essex' reassignment is a 'routine administrative action of the Air Force."
Of the OER, the response was "they are internal administrative actions and are not releasable to the public under any circumstances. Therefore, it is not appropriate to comment on them."
Capt. Essex, an executive support officer, had the section he supervised rated "best on base" by the Strategic Air Command's Inspector General during Operation Readiness Inspection in April.
The Captain's Complaints
After meeting with Col. Horton, Capt. Essex placed a telephone call to Congressman Skelton's office in Independence, Mo. He reached aide Dan Slickman.
"It was a rather angry speech on my part," Capt. Essex admitted. He said he complained about the action just taken by Col. Horton, as well as indirect threats made to him by ranking officers because of his claims to about such items as the alleged repeat offenses of sexual misconduct on the part of a colonel who still has access to top secret information. Capt. Essex believes this has left the colonel open to possible blackmail. In addition, He also claims to have knowledge of complicity by a colonel and a major in the death of a master sergeant, which Capt. Essex says, "in context amounts to murder."
"They made a wrong decision, and it resulted in the death of the master sergeant," Capt. Essex said.
In another matter, Capt. Essex said a lieutenant, under WAFB control in regard to the Personnel Reliability Program (PRP), was arrested early last year in Texas for drunk and disorderly conduct.
Capt. Essex, at the time was an assistant PRP monitor and was waiting to supervise the anticipated PRP temporary decertification of the lieutenant, who was responsible for guarding nuclear weapons on a daily basis.
Under Article 134 of the Universal Code of Military Justice, any officer being arrested for drunk or disorderly conduct is immediately subject to career counseling. Under Air Force Regulation 35-99, PRP, the lieutenant's commander was required to temporarily decertify the lieutenant and evaluate the extent of his alcohol abuse.
"They thought about it and they discussed it, and they decided to do nothing about it, "Capt. Essex said.
According to Capt. Essex, several times the lieutenant's name had come up in the context of problems encountered while drinking with enlisted personnel.
These amount to drinking incidents. The first time when he was arrested for (being) drunk, he was supposed to have been temporarily decertified from the PRP. The immediate commander, the group commander, the wing commander had heard about it and decided to do nothing. They did nothing," Capt. Essex said.
Six months later, Capt. Essex said the lieutenant was highly intoxicated. He and a master sergeant were riding together in a car when an argument ensued.
"They stopped and the master sergeant took off walking, and somehow the master sergeant wound up dead — struck by a car," Capt. Essex said.
Not wishing to go into further detail because of pending litigations "Capt. Essex said, " All, I am saying is the lieutenant had a drinking problem by Air Force standards. We knew it, we didn't do anything about t, and now we've got a dead man."
Capt. Essex said he confronted the aforementioned colonel and major. "We are in trouble if they investigate this. Now we've got a dead man on our hands and it can be traced to the fact we knew about and did nothing about it."
Capt. Essex contends there was a second drinking incident, widely discussed within the security police group that involved the problematic lieutenant, which would have required us to permanently decertify him."
The lieutenant, now assigned to an air base in Texas, finally is being treated for a diagnosed problem related to alcohol.
Rabbit Season Open?
"Because of this an other information I have — plus information I have on individual officers who I know have committed nuclear safety violations — I have been warned three times by different individuals that the word is out that I am due for a one-car accident. Rabbit season is open, and I'm the rabbit.
"I personally don't fear for my life, but I do know that if it's not the many people who do their jobs who are going to be upset. It is the people who place career before integrity who may commit further irrational acts. I know too manny individuals who have committed errors, and I know their names, and I know the places, and I know the whereabouts of the documents that can point this out," Capt. Essex proclaimed.
Capt. Essex told Slickman, the Congressman's aide, that he wanted to speak directly with Rep. Skelton because, "There are things going on here that are still happening. These people (commanders) are still harming people. They're hurting people and they're trying to cover up their tracks. I want to talk to the Congressman. ... I want to talk to the House Armed Services Subcommittee, or who has the power to do something."
A Call From SAC
Within an hour, Capt. Essex received a telephone call from Brigadier Gen. Claude Teagarden, senior staff judge advocate from Strategic Air Command headquarters in Omaha, Neb.
"He told me that he got a call from the Congressional liaison to look into the matter here," Capt. Essex said.
The general queried Capt. Essex for the details of the complaints he had made moments earlier to Slickman.
Capt. Essex provided specifics and said, "I have witnessed nuclear safety violations. I've reported them and because I've reported them, I've been persecuted and I'm still being persecuted and harassed. Now, I've been informed my life is in danger and I'm concerned nothing is being done."
Regarding his allegations, Essex told the general, "I've gone to Congress once and they've gotten a non-answer from the Air Force, except the Air Force has admitted some of my allegations — and, by the way, they're all true. There are many more I haven't reported and many more I want to report."
Capt. Essex also told him, "I will send all the information I have to every member of Congress because our national security is at stake and nothing is being done about it."
Brig. Gen. Teagarden replied, "I understand you perfectly, Capt. Essex"
On The Move
Two days later, Capt. Essex received word that he would be moving to another SAC base.
"I'm no safer there than here. What it amounts to is I'll probably lose about $5,000. I don't really want to go there — I like this area. I like the people of Missouri. What I would rather see is that they take action to resolve the problems here at Whiteman, because it's not going to go away.
"As far as going there (Grissom AFB, Ind.), I don't mind. Part of military life is moving."
However, Capt. Essex maintains the move "is political. It is unnecessary. It will not resolve the problem. It will only compound the problem."
Capt. Essex's duties at his new location will be as an executive support officer. He contends the move "will cause the Air Force to spend $5,000-$10,000 or more moving me from here to there, when they have an open executive (support) officer slot on this base."
Capt. Essex believes Congressman Skelton asked for something to be done "because of the threat to my life."
Although the Congressman's intentions are good, "Capt. Essex contends, "They have the same access to me there as they do here."
His orders are effective July 31, but he will not have to report until Aug. 15.
When asked about his expectations at his new base, which is a tanking wing, Capt. Essex said he anticipates a very polite reception a desk, a telephone and no access at all to important information.
"They're babysitting me there, until something happens."
Capt. Essex said leaving Whiteman does not mean the end of his efforts to have what he considers the truth known.
"I haven't done anything wrong. They (certain senior officers) have. They are the ones who are going to gradually disappear unless they can discredit me and many other people like me. I don't think they can do it."
Postscripts
- Since the articles about his assertions appeared last month in this newspaper, Capt. Essex has received a call from the office of nationally syndicated columnist Jack Anderson. One of his aides said he would like to go with some more information to the Armed Services Subcommittee" and ask various Congressmen why Capt. Essex was not called to testify.
- Regarding members of Congress, Capt. Essex said, "Only from Ike Skelton have I gotten any real positive response. In that sense, Ike Skelton is doing more of a job than he's being pad to do; more than any other Congressman."
- A group of local citizens from Warrensburg has sent the articles to groups interested in nuclear safety and the control of nuclear weapons; groups as far away as Sweden and Japan.
- There is so much action going on at so many different levels," Capt. Essex said.