The Army is in a bad position regarding its public image, and General Officers constantly involved in scandal while covering up crimes for one another is putting the Chief of Staff of the Army, General McConville, in a tough position. General Funk is under investigation, MG Donahoe has been under investigation for quite some time now, and CSM Hendrex, along with Donahoe, has had numerous investigations covered up by his former boss, GEN Funk.
According to sources who are close to the CSA, he’s trying to keep Funk’s TDY fraud investigation as quiet as possible while making it disappear without any publicity. GEN McConville and his staff have been lobbing the idea around of having Funk simply repay the TDY funds he fraudulently spent and calling it a day.
Of course, if you or I committed TDY fraud, or even used a government credit card inappropriately, we would get crushed for it. If a General missuses a personal jet provided by the government and his personal staff, then exceptions can be made. McConville has weighed the options though, and apparently bad publicity regarding a four star general is worse than the crimes he allegedly committed, so he’s willing to cast aside those pesky things called Army Values and deal with this one under the table.
Then there’s General Brito, the new TRADOC Commanding General, who was given the task of cleaning house and dealing with the mess Funk left behind. He’s left in the unenviable position of having MG Donahoe as a special assistant but also not wanting him around TRADOC because he thinks he’s a slimeball. He has to weave through multiple investigations, potentially re-open investigations that Funk covered for and dismissed, and it robs him from being able to do the job which he was sent there to do; right the ship that is the Army’s training command and put the Army back on track in regards to recruiting and training new soldiers.
And who could forget about CSM Hendrex, a leftover from the Funk era of which Brito has to contend with until he can bring on his own CSM? Sources close to Hendrex have told me that he freaked out when we published that article on him earlier this week and has “toned it down” significantly in regards to his conduct. I’m told he’s booked out a bunch of TDY in an effort to take the spotlight off of himself.
All of this comes down to one, inevitable conclusion: when you foster a climate where criminal and unethical conduct is allowed to go unchecked, it will continue to get worse until it festers out of control. These General Officers and their staff have known for some time what was taking place behind the scenes, and in their attempts to ignore it and hide it in darkness, it blew up in their faces. The Chief of Staff isn’t dealing with a situation that was abruptly thrust onto him; he’s merely dealing with a situation he refused to contend with until it grew like a cancerous tumor and he was left with no other option. If GEN McConville refuses to hold Funk accountable for his alleged criminal conduct, then the issues with recruiting and retention the Army currently has will only continue to get worse. America’s youth have no interest in joining an organization run by criminals who prescribe a different set of rules based on one’s social hierarchy. Address the issue, apply justice, and carry on. Any other option will only breed more of the same.
