Author’s Note: We previously stated that the counselings were read publicly in front of the command, however they were read privately while the companies were recalled so they could be told about the relief of leadership and personnel changes.
The 9th Mission Support Command (MSC), located in Honolulu, Hawaii, has relieved numerous key leaders over the last few months as allegations and rumors of missing equipment, racial discrimination, sexual exploitation of female soldiers and contracting kickbacks run rampant. The Command Sergeant Major of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, 9th MSC, CSM Jerry Walden, was relieved in August along with several of the Company First Sergeants in his command. The Commanding General of 9th MSC, Brigadier General Mark Siekman, and the Commanding Officer of 100th BN, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Perkins, held a formation in August where they informed the unit about the relief of leadership after reading CSM Walden and the 1SGs their counseling statements. The tangled web of accusations and opinions surrounding the situation has only gotten worse since then.
According to whistleblowers in the unit, the allegations levied against CSM Walden and the 1SGs range from racial discrimination against soldiers of certain Pacific-Islander ethnic backgrounds, sexually exploiting female soldiers, the loss of almost $700,000 of sensitive Army equipment, shipping equipment illegally, and suspicion of receiving kickbacks from Young Brothers Shipping for no bid shipping contracts. These allegations appear to only cover the surface of much deeper issues within the organization.
I spoke to multiple members within the organization, and the facts are not black and white in this case. There is a deep divide in the unit, and based on statements and evidence from both sides, I can conclusively state there are deep, racial divisions amongst its personnel.
The 100th BN has a storied legacy dating back to World War II. The unit has a large population of American Samoan soldiers, which is fitting since its stationed in Hawaii. I’m told that many of its personnel stay in the unit and grow up there. In fact, four of the five relieved SNCOs enlisted in the BN and served as privates. Their nationalities range from American Samoan, Hawaiian and local Japanese, and Korean.
LTC Alan Perkins took command of the “Go for Broke” BN in OCT 2021. Some members of the 100th BN contend that all of the issues began shortly after, whereas other members claim the issues have been festering for years, and they’re only now being addressed.
According to whistleblowers, the organization is run like a mafia. They allege that CSM Walden is one of the leaders of this racially distinct outfit. CSM Walden has served in the Army for approximately 30 years with much, if not all, of his time served in the 100th IN BN. Walden also works as a civilian at the U.S. Army Pacific G3-Training in Counter-IED. The racial composition of this outfit is made up of local Hawaiians and those of Japanese decent.
The “leader” of this mafia style enterprise is Mr. Jon D. Lee according to these same members. Mr. Lee recently served as the Command Executive Officer for the 9th MSC after having retired from the Army after 30 years of service as a Brigadier General. Lee was recently suspended of his CXO duties earlier this month due to the ongoing investigation.
While some members claim that a racially distinct mafia underworld has been in control of the 9th MSC for quite some time, while making accusations of everything from witness tampering to having connections within HRC to shuttle certain personnel in and out of the unit as they see fit, other members see the situation entirely different.
According to the other side, LTC Perkins made up allegations against specific leadership to eliminate the “old blood” within the battalion. These members allege that Perkins is white and was intimidated by the respect the unit had for CSM Walden and the 1SGs, and he rallied members of the unit together to make false accusations. Whatever the truth may be, it’s clear that members of the unit are afraid to speak up for fear of reprisal due to numerous soldiers being pushed out of the battalion, reprimanded, or barred from orders. Publicly witnessing their company 1SGs get relieved was the largest factor in obtaining their silence, however.
The facts we know in this story are that multiple senior leaders have been relieved and suspended, hundreds of thousands of dollars of sensitive Army equipment has gone missing, and there are multiple investigations across the 9th MSC into a wide range of illegal conduct. At least one command team has ordered their troop’s silence under threat of reprisal if anyone submits statements in the future. We’ll release updates as we’re able to substantiate and verify allegations within the 9th MSC.
