US sacks nuclear missiles General Michael Carey

[ricardian]

BBC reporting The general in charge of the US Air Force's long-range nuclear missiles has been sacked due to "loss of trust and confidence", officials have said.
It appears that he has a "gambling problem"

[500N]

I think a couple of the stories are getting mixed up.

The deputy commander of Strategic Command was removed due to gambling issues, specifically using counterfit chips at a Casino in a not insignificant amount.

And in the article it doesn't mention gambling in relation to Carey
but other things.

U.S. Air Force fires general overseeing nuclear missiles | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/11/us-usa-nuclear-idUSBRE99A0KG20131011)

[Robert Cooper]

I believe a Navy Admiral was relieved too?

Bob C

[LowObservable]

Voltaire is alive and well and running the Pentagon.

From observing some of the recent "command-pin explosive bolts" incidents, there seems to be a common factor.

First, stars are important. They are what officers (with their wives in tow) have worked for all their lives. My impression is that flag-rank officers in the US are people who chose that goa very early in their careers. Stars are also worth a lot in pay, retirement and post-retirement employment.

Result: halting advancement is (in itself) a major sanction.

But that sanction is handed down for a vast range of reasons, from misconduct that directly affects your command, through misconduct that is seen as a distraction or as a poor model (which seems to be the case here), all the way down to being simply selected-out because your particular skills are not in demand right now, or because the list of candidates for promotion happens to be strong this year.

So if you've got a problem, the temptation is to conceal it, because the big hit (loss of promotion) is the same whether you confess it or whether you are found out; and so far you have not been found out, and you may not be found out before your up-or-out time comes.

You get the behavior you incentivize.

[Heathrow Harry]

counterfeiting casino chips!!!

My God - sounds like something out of the Navy Lark.............. :p:p

[GreenKnight121]

From other sources Gen. Carey was a boozer on a trip.

Air Force general in charge of nuclear missiles fired over 'conduct' | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/10/11/air-force-general-in-charge-nuclear-missiles-to-be-fired-officials-say/)
The circumstances of Carey's firing were unclear. Two officials told the Associated Press it had to do with alcohol use.


Maj. Gen. Carey was a 2-star, so he could be relieved by his superior in the USAF... VAdm. Giardina was a 3-star, so only the President could relieve him.
Air Force Fires Two Star General in Charge of Nuke Missiles - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/10/air-force-fires-two-star-general-in-charge-of-nuke-missiles/)
Maj. Gen. Michael Carey has been removed from command of the 20th Air Force, according to an Air Force statement. Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, made the decision because of what the statement said was a ”loss of trust and confidence. The statement added that Kowalski made the decision to relieve Carey based on information from an Inspector General investigation into Carey’s behavior during a temporary duty assignment which is the military’s term for business travel.


Earlier this week President Obama relieved of command the number two officer at U.S. Strategic Command, which among other things oversees the military’s nuclear forces. Vice Admiral James Giardina had earlier been suspended from that command following a criminal probe into his potential use of counterfeit poker chips at an Iowa casino.

[hanoijane]

You get the behavior you incentivize.

A lovely phrase. I shall claim it as my own.