Jodi Diodati Administrative Officer | DeKalb County Republican Party
Jodi Diodati Administrative Officer | DeKalb County Republican Party
A four-star general who was suspended after allegedly influencing the promotion of a favored subordinate is now demanding his command be returned to him, claiming racism in military processes.
Gen. Charles Hamilton, formerly the head of U.S. Army Material Command before his March 22 suspension, is asking for reinstatement.
Hamilton was originally suspended for intervening in promotion boards to benefit a black female lieutenant colonel, an action he claims was necessary to ensure fairness in what he describes as racist military processes.
“I respectfully ask that you allow me to resume command and continue leading our soldiers and civilians in one of the Army’s most important and impactful commands,” Hamilton wrote to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth in a letter obtained by Military.com.
The letter added: “I have been brutally honest about my concerns with the Command Assessment Program’s disparate impact on Black officers.”
The situation came to light following an investigation by Military.com into Hamilton’s alleged abuse of authority. The report found that Hamilton attempted to influence the lieutenant colonel's promotion by lobbying other generals. When the first panel found her unfit for command, Hamilton convinced officials to convene a second panel.
“This was a pressure campaign,” a general told Military.com in March. “[Hamilton] has a lot of influence; this violated the integrity of how the best officers are selected to run units. This was abnormal; it was unprofessional. He should have known better.”
Despite Hamilton's efforts, the candidate officer failed her second panel with a 3-2 vote deeming her an “ineffective” leader.
In his letter to Wormuth, Hamilton does not deny contacting members of the promotion board but disputes that he pressured them for his favored candidate’s benefit.
“It is true,” Hamilton wrote, “I contacted general officers whom I believed were on Command Assessment Program panels. However, I never pressured or even asked any of them to deem [the lieutenant colonel] ready for command.”
The Command Assessment Program aims to prevent outside influence by having panel members interview candidates from behind a curtain and without names or photographs.
To support his claim that he acted appropriately, Hamilton emphasized that he did not have final say on the subordinate officer’s candidacy or on the panels’ decisions regarding her.
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