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Washington, D.C.: Army General Demoted For Criticizing War in Iraq

June 01, 2005

Story Continued...

Riggs had served in the Army for 39 years, and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross in Vietnam.  He used to be a three-star general, until senior Army officials told him he would lose one of his stars because of infractions.  He was then told to retire, and given 24 hours to leave the Army.

The infractions that lost Riggs the star, and his career, are so small they were not placed on his official record.  In fact, Riggs’ supporters believe the real motivation behind the demotion was not the reason the officials gave: that Riggs allowed outside contractors to perform work they were not supposed to do.  Instead, they believe Riggs is being punished and silenced, as he was often outspoken about the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan being overstretched. Riggs also publically contradicted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in saying the Army needed more troops.

Says retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay M. Gamer, to Tom Bowman of The Baltimore Sun, “The military… has been politicized. If officers disagree, they are ostracized and their reputations are ruined.”

Losing a star is an extreme punishment that is rarely used, and only for the most grievous of offenses: misuse of funds, command failures, adultery.  Generals and admirals involved in scandals like Abu Ghraib, have not suffered a loss of rank like Riggs has.

In a January 2004 interview with The Baltimore Sun, Riggs said the Army was too small to meet its global commitments, and said it must be increased.  This made him the first senior active-duty officer to publically urge a larger Army, and publically contradict Rumsfeld.

Pentagon sources have told The Baltimore Sun that after the story appeared in the paper, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz “stormed” into the office of the Army vice chief of staff, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., and demanded an explanation for Riggs’ views.  That same day, Riggs received a call from Casey ordering him to “stay in your line,” and asking him when he was going to retire.

Riggs told The Sun that after that event, he became a “persona non grata.”

The Army released a statement saying that the two contracting infractions “reflected negatively on Lt. Gen. Riggs’s overall leadership and revealed an adverse command climate. Based on the review of the investigation and Lt. Gen. Riggs’s comments, the Acting Secretary of the Army concluded that Lt. Gen. Riggs did not serve satisfactorily in the grade of lieutenant general.”

The officer who originally disciplined Riggs’ contracting infractions, has said demoting Riggs based on that penalty is a “tragic mistake.” Allowing a contractor to perform functions that should have been undertaken by government employees was improper, said Keane, but not an offense that would merit such a drastic action as a demotion.

“It is outrageous that John Riggs was reduced in rank for such a minor offense, which should never outweigh his 30-plus years of exemplary service to the Army and the nation,” Keane wrote in a letter to Army officials.

Riggs has other supporters who are trying to help him restore his rank.  Also, Riggs has legal representation and has filed paperwork to the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records, hoping to appeal his demotion and restore his three-star rank.  A final decision is expected this summer.

The demotion cost Riggs $10,000 to $15,000 a year in pension benefits, but he cares more about what else he’s lost: “my personal self-respect.”

Riggs speaks of the cold way he was retired from the Army after the demotion, signing forms in a basement at Fort Myer, Va. without ceremony or honor.  “That’s the coldest way in the world to leave,” he tells Tom Bowman at The Sun. “It’s like being buried and no one attends your funeral.”

PEN USA believes the minor contracting infraction is not the reason why John Riggs lost his star.  Rather, the Army is creating a precedent of silence: the first officer to speak out about the war and the needs of the Army is demoted and unceremoniously forced into retirement.  Others will think twice before speaking out, and John Riggs has been punished for exercising his right to free speech—one of the very freedoms the Army fights to defend.

(for more information, source: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/053005Y.shtml)

Recommended Action:

Write Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, asking for Lt. Gen. John Riggs to retain his third star.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301

SAMPLE LETTER OF APPEAL

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear Mr. Secretary,

I am writing to you on behalf of PEN USA, part of a worldwide writers organization with an 84-year history of defending freedom of expression through the written word.

PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is concerned about Lt. Gen. John Riggs, who had served in the Army for 39 years, and had formerly been a three-star general.  He has recently lost one of his stars supposedly for “infractions,” although the infractions that made him lose his star were so minor that they were not placed on his official record, and was forced to retire.

The official reason Riggs was demoted was for allowing outside contractors to perform work that they were not supposed to.  Losing one star, however, is a demotion that is usually reserved for extremely grievous offenses, such as misuse of funds, command failures, and adultery.  Even generals and admirals involved in scandals like Abu Ghraib have not suffered a loss of rank like Riggs has.

PEN USA is disturbed by the circumstances surrounding Riggs’ abrupt demotion and forced retirement.  Both occurred after the publication of an interview that Riggs gave to The Baltimore Sun, where he said that the Army was ”too small to meet its global commitments.”

PEN USA believes that the minor contracting infraction is not the reason why John Riggs lost his star.  Rather, Riggs was demoted and forced to retire for speaking out about the needs of the Army in an effort to silence him and discourage others from doing the same.  In this way John Riggs has been punished for exercising his right to free speech, one of the very freedoms the Army fights to defend.

PEN USA urges the military authorities to allow Lt. Gen. John Riggs to retain his third star.  The First Amendment grants each of us the right to a freedom of speech.  Allowing his unjust punishment to continue takes away the right to the freedom of speech that each of us possesses.

Sincerely yours,

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