I can share what I have from a close friend who knows those involved. The first is the Stats and Stripes article
and the last is commentary from my friend
ARLINGTON, Va. A Marine Corps commander who led Marines and coalition forces during Operation Enduring Freedom was unlawfully frocked to brigadier general, a violation of U.S. military code, officials said.
Col. Craig Boddington, a reservist activated in 2001 and deployed to the Persian Gulf, had been instructed by his superior, Lt. Gen. Earl Hailston, to don the one star as he took command of the Combined Joint Task Force Consequence Management, Marine Forces, at Camp Doha, Kuwait.
Frocking is the term used when an officer is selected for promotion, assumes the responsibilities and wears the insignia, but is not being paid at the higher rank's salary. Frocking required Senate confirmation, which Boddington did not have.
的 felt I was acting under orders from my superior, Boddington said Friday during a telephone interview. 套 Gen. Hailston felt that the combined joint task force required a brigadier general to command it. I was a selectee at the time, and we all believed conformation and frocking authority was forthcoming.
Hailston frocked Boddington on April 3, 2001, just as Boddington took command of the CJTF-CM. He served until December 2002, when the Defense Department Inspector General's office began an investigation following an anonymous tip. The CJTF-CM's mission was to train forces to respond to chemical, biological, nuclear or radiological attacks against forces operating in Afghanistan.
Hailston, who since has submitted his retirement package, served as Commander of U.S. Marine Forces Pacific and U.S. Marine Forces Central Command. He could not be reached for comment Friday. Boddington's frocking also had the blessing of now-Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee, who was subordinate to Hailston when Hailston recommended Boddington for promotion and instructed him to pin on the one star.
At the time Boddington was frocked, Hagee was commanding officer of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
展e concluded that Generals Hagee and Hailston and Col. Boddington violated, or caused a violation of, the standards that govern frocking of officers and wearing of the insignia of a higher grade, reads a portion of IG report. 的n that regard, all three officers knew Col. Boddington was ineligible to be frocked or to wear the rank insignia of brigadier general without Senate confirmation and yet, engaged in conduct that facilitated Lt. Gen. Hailston's improper frocking of Col. Boddington.
Boddington, commander of the Reserve 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Augmentation Command Element at Camp Pendleton, Calif., recently was counseled by the acting Navy Secretary, Hansford Johnson, himself, over the issue.
çš„ understand that I should have gone outside the chain of command for resolution, but at the time, that didn't seem like the appropriate action, Boddington said he told Johnson.
Johnson issued Hailston a letter of censure, and sent a letter to Hagee, noting Hagee's æ–—imited involvement in the matter, but did not take any disciplinary action. çš„ have the utmost confidence in your ability as Commandant, and am certain that you will ensure the lessons of this incident do not go unlearned within the Marine Corps, reads a portion of Johnson's Aug. 25 letter.
Hagee, who is traveling in the Pacific, was not available to take questions. His public affairs staff released the following statement: çš„ fully admit to and accept responsibility for forwarding Lt. Gen. Hailston's directive to Col. Boddington that he be frocked. In hindsight, I should have further questioned Lt. Gen. Hailston's directive and pursued other alternatives.
The tipster complained that Boddington's wearing of the rank 努as creating a morale problem for the troops 僧ost of whom believe that he is not entitled to wear the star until he is actually confirmed,樗 the IG report states. Investigators found no similar complaints to the Defense Hotline and no other witness voiced concern or awareness, the report states
滴e's one of the better leaders I致e ever worked for, said Cpl. Daniel Diaz, 23, who served as Boddington's bodyguard while deployed to Kuwait. 溺orale went up from the time he stepped on deck to the time he left.
摘ven though he was a general, he would take care of Marines down to the lowest level. He's an all-around good guy, said Diaz, a reservist for more than 3 years.
Boddington, who has been I MACE commander for 2 years, said he knows who made the anonymous tip and why, æ¾±ut I will not discuss any of that, he said.
溺orale was somewhat better in November when temperatures were 80 degrees than in July, when it was 140 degrees, Boddington said. 釘ut in terms of morale being a problem within the unit because of improper frocking, I don't believe it existed, with the one exception.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marine general censured in incident over promotion
August 31, 2003|By Bradley Graham, The Washington Post.
WASHINGTON The general who commanded Marines in the Iraq war has received a letter of censure for "lack of judgment" in insisting last year that a colonel wear a brigadier general's star even though the Senate had not approved the colonel's promotion.
The incident involved a decision by Lt. Gen. Earl Hailston to have Col. Craig Boddington don a single star in April last year to take command of an important military unit in Kuwait. While Boddington had been nominated a year before to become a general, the nomination had yet to be confirmed--and ended up delayed indefinitely.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/images/pixel.gif
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/images/pixel.gif
Still, Boddington wore the star for nine months before the Pentagon's inspector general, acting on a tip, launched an investigation.
Hailston announced his retirement this summer and stepped down in July as commander of Marine forces in the Central Command region and the Pacific. In a letter reprimanding him, acting Navy Secretary Hansford Johnson emphasized the importance of abiding by military rules governing promotions.
Johnson took no disciplinary action against the Marine commandant, Gen. Michael Hagee, who was involved tangentially in the episode. Instead, in a separate letter, Johnson expressed confidence in Hagee and said he is counting on the commandant, who took over the top Marine job in January, to ensure "adherence to law and policy."
According to a timeline provided by Navy and Marine Corps officials, Boddington, a reservist, was selected to become a brigadier general in April 2001. He took charge in November 2001 of a key group at Camp Pendleton, Calif., under Hagee's command.
In March 2002, Boddington was ordered to active duty and assigned to command a joint task force in Kuwait coordinating the military's response to any potential Iraqi attack with weapons of mass destruction. Given the job's importance, Hailston directed Hagee to tell Boddington to arrive in Kuwait with his general's star on, even though the Senate had yet to confirm the nomination.
When Boddington arrived still wearing a colonel's rank, Hailston personally officiated at an impromptu "frocking ceremony" pinning on the general's insignia, according to Johnson's letter. At the time, Hailston expected Senate approval was "imminent," Johnson said, but he was subsequently informed that the Senate would not act for a year or more.
________________________________________________________________________
Cliff:
Am looking into this. I know Lt. Gen. Earl Hailston (call sign - Titan); he and I are contemporaries and I see him frequently.
I now remember hearing about this issue, but not the specifics...I was heads down as a VP at Navy Federal Credit Union at the time, preparing to retire all the legacy IT systems and pull NFCU into the 21st century. I seem to remember the consensus for the folks I spoke with at that time was that Boddington got a bad deal because Titan (and Titan's JAG) convinced Hagee (before he became Commandant) it was OK to frock Boddinton. It gets messy because the Senate had not yet approved the promotion list...will talk with the MCAA JAG about frocking as it applies to general officers. My limited experience with frocking actions: Marines who had been selected for promotion, the promotion had been approved by the Senate, and they were waiting for a vacancy to occur when they were "frocked" - authorized to assume the title and rank of the next higher grade.
The next MCAA Dinner is scheduled for 9 January and I'm checking now to determine if Titan will be there. He lives in Chantilly, is a VP at RR, and just recently stepped down as East Coast Commander for MCAA.
