Investigation clears 101st Combat Aviation Brigade leadership of misconduct
XVIII Airborne Corps
We talked about the investigation into this unit back in May here; I don’t know if I even recognize the Army anymore. Back then a senior officer was sent to investigate many complaints within the command of Colonel Travis Habhab. The complaints stemmed from a nine-month deployment to Poland in which a trip planned to visit World War II historical sights immediately spiraled into drunken debauchery, off-limits strip clubs, and at least one missing officer.
KoB sends in word that the brigade commander COL Habhab has been cleared in the investigation. Stars and Stripes reports;
The leadership of an Army aviation brigade has been cleared of wrongdoing following a lengthy investigation into misconduct complaints, the 18th Airborne Corps said this week.
The 101st Airborne Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade, which came under scrutiny in April after soldiers on an official trip visited a Polish strip club where a senior battalion officer went missing, was probed after various complaints were filed against the command.
“An exhaustive, months-long follow-on investigation led by a brigadier general identified no adverse findings against Colonel Travis Habhab or his subordinate leaders,” Capt. Javon Starnes, a spokesman for 18th Airborne Corps, said in a statement.
The officer who organized his battalion’s “historical” sites trip and his XO who went missing weren’t so lucky.
And in April, the brigade was embroiled in scandal after revelations emerged about a battalion trip approved as a tour of World War II sites.
On the first night of the trip, soldiers drank heavily and went to the off-limits Club Obsession in the seaside city of Gdansk, according to an Army investigation report obtained by Stars and Stripes.
The battalion’s executive officer went missing for a day after he was likely drugged and was charged thousands of dollars on his credit card, the investigation report said.
The battalion commander who organized the September staff ride was issued a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand and will retire, while the executive officer faces separation, Army officials said last month. Other members of the unit also were punished.
Category: Army, Army News, Guest Link
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I wonder how many in the future will pay for their stupidity, Troops being locked down in barracks and tents versus being allowed to go see things?
Man, there’s a lot to see in Poland too. Beautiful country and some of the most compelling historical sites from the war. I don’t get it. Strip clubs are everywhere. This is the army, not a frat party. Like someone else said, hopefully this doesn’t lead to soldiers being confined to barracks and not allowed to go see the sights.
Unfortunately it likely will, during my career I saw time and time again where EVERYONE had to pay for the actions of a few idiots!
We investigated our peers and found no evidence of wrongdoing, but our subordinates are all to blame…the subordinate of higher rank will retire, while the XO will eat the shit end of the stick….
Nothing to see here folks now move the fuck along.
Different spanks for different ranks. C’mon Man…you know the drill.
The only truly good news from this fiasco is that our troops are still dedicated to supporting Single Moms…Where ever they are. “It’s for the chill’ren!”
Indeed I do know that drill, and it still sucks balls…
But nice to see them donating to single moms as you suggest…after all someone should.
Helping to pay that college tuition, one visit to the VIP Lounge at a time. Ambassadors in green.
I’m shocked, SHOCKED!!! that an officer could have his head embedded up his Azz, or, as we say in the Airborne, his “4th point of contact”.
Early 80’s Battalion from 10th Mtn went to Honduras for training. Bn Cdr pointed out in staff meeting that due to heavy rain there were to be ZERO river crossings.
Next day a Platoon Leader decided troops needed a break from the heat by jumping off a low bridge. First 2 in were swept away and drowned. Lt was out of the service before the rest of the unit returned to Drum.
3d point of contact
Details behind this story to include the name and picture of the Battalion Commander who
received the General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand can be found at the 2nd link below. He will be or has retired.
Additionally, the Executive Officer (XO) is identified by name in the 1st and 2nd links. He could be separated from the Army. You can find his picture as well as the BN Commander’s picture at this link:
“Decorated US Army Officer Resigns After His Drunken Battalion Went ‘Off The Rails’ In Polish Strip Club Where Dancers ‘Bit One Officer’s Nipples To Keep Him Awake”
https://www.tech-gate.org/usa/2021/04/27/us-army-officer-resigns-after-his-battalion-went-off-the-rails-on-a-trip-to-a-polish-strip-club/
A SGM is also identified by name in the 2nd link. A Warrant Officer’s name as well as names of other Soldiers are not identified.
The investigation found that the XO was likely drugged at an off-limits strip club and the BN Commander did not seek medical attention for the XO.
“Booze, a Strip Club and a Major Gone Missing: How a 101st Airborne Unit Went Off the Rails in Poland”
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/04/26/booze-strip-club-and-major-gone-missing-how-101st-airborne-unit-went-off-rails-poland.html
The LTC is a 2001 West Point Graduate. Not sure about the XO’s commissioning source.
Wonder if the XO is or was married?
You Be The Judge.
Sounds like a cool party.
Let he who has not deployed to a foreign country, visited an off limits establishment, got blackout drive drunk, rolled by some Polish strippers and racked up tens of thousands of dollars on his government credit card cast the first stone. There but the grace of God goes Hack.
(rolls stone away behind his back, hangs head, looks sheepish, walks away………)
“I’VE NEVER *BEEN* TO POLAND!!!!!!!”
(Now, Okinawa, that’s a whole other story….)
I NEVER GOT ROLLED IN OKINAWA!!!!!!
(Nah, I willingly gave that money away to individuals of the opposite gender with soda bottles, handfuls of loose change, small, unpigmented, recreation spheres and of course, tropical and subtropical individually divided, portions of clusters of elongated produce…purely for entertainment purposes )
It’s always best to get the cash advance at a plausible place during daytime hours before going anywhere near the titty bar at night, or so I’ve heard. Just sayin’.
“visited an off limits establishment, got blackout drive drunk”…There was that one “lost” weekend in Itaewon, but I digress.
“An exhaustive, months-long follow-on investigation led by a brigadier general identified no adverse findings against Colonel Travis Habhab or his subordinate leaders.”
Welp, I’m satisfied.
You got to love it when O’s get caught acting like Joe’s.