Army Maj. Gen. Ralph Baker, a two-star general, was fired late last month by his boss, Gen. Carter Ham, for alcohol and sexual misconduct charges. He was also docked a portion of his slated pay after an administrative hearing and review.
Allegations against Baker include sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct, Department of Defense officials, who were not named, told The Associated Press.
U.S. Africa Command spokesman Benjamin Benson said that Baker was fired on March 28 after Ham lost confidence in his ability to lead officers at the task force at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, located in eastern Africa, according to the Stars and Stripes website.
“The allegations remain under adjudication, so it would be inappropriate to comment at this time,” Benson was quoted as saying.
Baker took over the task force last May and was scheduled to leave the job in the near future.
He appealed the firing to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, but AP points out that Ham has sweeping powers to relive subordinate commanders. The nature of Hagel’s decision might mostly take into account how pay will be docked from Baker’s salary.
Baker has come back to Washington D.C. and is serving as a special assistant to the Army staff director while he waits for Hagel’s next move.
Army Gen. William “Kip” Ward, the predecessor of Ham, was demoted from four stars to three stars and retired as a lieutenant general after defense officials found that he misused government funds to spend on himself while he was in charge of U.S. Africa Command. He was allowed to retire but he had to reimburse the Army for $82,000.
Ward allegedly took an 11-day trip to Washington D.C. and Atlanta that cost taxpayers more than $100,000. Only three days of the trip involved Army business, according to reports at the time. The Army alleged that Ward took around a half-dozen extended trips that were for personal reasons. He allegedly took a week off in Bermuda and there, he and his wife rode around in a armored vehicle.
Ham is scheduled to retire soon, and he will turn over his command to Army Gen. David Rodriguez on Friday after a ceremony.
