Chapter 5
He was quiet for a moment.
"The specialist who left in February," he said. "Phillips."
"I read his file," I said.
"He shouldn't have had to leave."
"No," I said. "He shouldn't have."
Kowalski nodded once and went back to the motor pool.
The formal review convened forty-eight hours after the incident. I submitted the field report on the morning of the second day, which was twenty-nine pages documenting eleven months of observation including recorded instances of abuse of authority, pattern analysis cross-referenced against the three external IG reports, and a section specifically addressing the systemic failure of the internal command review process that had allowed Hayes to operate without consequence for four years.
Hayes's immediate superior, a lieutenant colonel named Marsh, was interviewed on day three. The interview was recorded and his counsel was present, which was standard procedure, and the interview produced information about the internal review process that was considerably more detailed than the IG's office had previously had access to, because the presence of a case number and a JAG liaison had clarified for Lieutenant Colonel Marsh the specific nature of the situation he was in and the specific value of his cooperation.
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Hayes was separated from service eight weeks after the motor pool incident. The formal documentation cited nineteen specific instances of conduct unbecoming, abuse of authority, and deliberate targeting of vulnerable personnel, drawn from my field report, the three external IG submissions, and the testimonies of six soldiers who had been on the base during the relevant period and who provided statements once it became clear that the review was proceeding with or without them.
Phillips was located through the Veterans Affairs office. He had been medically discharged four months earlier and was in an outpatient program in Tucson. The IG's office sent a letter confirming that his discharge record was under review and that documentation of the circumstances of his separation was being prepared for inclusion in his service record correction application. I do not know the outcome of that application because I was reassigned before it resolved, but I know the application was filed.
