Tarnished Brass (Dan Lamothe's piece against the current Commandant of the Marine Corps)

[Recursion]

Pretty damning stuff.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/02/27/tarnished_brass_marine_corps_james_amos

But with less than a year left in Amos's tenure as commandant, it is his own ethics that have been called into question by everyone from rank-and-file troops to members of Congress. The accusations range from abuse of power, to illegally classifying evidence to cover up mistakes, to squashing Marines with the temerity to protest. The office of the commandant, typically revered by Marines across the world and many on Capitol Hill, remains under investigation by the Defense Department's inspector general and is being battered by the media at a time when Amos must make the Marine Corps' case to Congress on why it deserves money to buy new high-tech vehicles, preserve troop levels, and refurbish equipment that is battered after more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The scrutiny has led to growing concern at the Pentagon about whether the commandant's legacy can be salvaged, several Marine officers there told Foreign Policy. He also is seen as damaged by many on Capitol Hill, said one senior staff member for a Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee. Like many individuals for this story, the officers and staff member spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue and not wanting to be perceived as crossing the commandant. The staff member said that because Amos has less than a year until he retires, there is little appetite in Congress to debate whether he can still do his job well, but the questions have been raised.

...

Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fl.) told Foreign Policy that he is concerned about the case against Amos in two regards. A former judge advocate general lawyer with the Army, Rooney said the allegations brought against the commandant are "extremely troubling" and merit continued research by the Defense Department IG. He also raised concerns about Amos's recent comments to NPR, saying he hopes they do not "influence the outcome of the IG's decision of whether or not to investigate" unlawful command influence. Rooney also stuck up for Weirick, raising questions about the Marine Corps removing him from his job.

"I am concerned that the treatment of Maj. Weirick following his IG complaint has resulted in unfair attacks on his character and work ethic and has been damaging to his career," Rooney, a member of the House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, told Foreign Policy. "DOD whistle-blower protections exist, and were recently strengthened, to ensure than an independent outlet existed for members of the military to report unlawful practices without fear of reprisal. Undermining the criminal justice system in any way without consequence is not something anyone in uniform should tolerate."

As a former Marine ("once a Marine: once was enough&quot I'm most surprised that the reflexive wagon-circling that usually happens isn't in this case. If the commandant has lost that much of the Corps' confidence, that's a huge problem.