The US Navy’s ‘Fat Leonard’ Case Implodes
With the close of the Navy’s first “Fat Leonard” court-martial trial, the defendant is going to the brig but he escaped the most serious charges and potentially jeopardized future federal fraud cases against a string of past and present sailors.
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2018/09/01/navys-fat-leonard-case-implodes/
Cmdr. David Morales was found guilty of only two of the five charges he faced — conduct unbecoming an officer and failing to report foreign contacts on his security clearance renewal.
“Someone stood up to Leonard Francis and he was found to be untruthful,” said Frank Spinner, a retired Air Force attorney who represented Morales during his court-martial trial. “There’s now a crack in the prosecution dike for the remaining defendants awaiting trial in San Diego.”
According to this article from November 2017, 60 admirals were being scrutinized for involvement with Francis. https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2017/11/06/more-than-60-admirals-being-looked-at-in-fat-leonard-probe-report-says/
The Navy has 60 admirals? That sounds like an overload of brass to me. Modern times, I guess.
So how much of what Fat Leonard said was simply to get out of being prosecuted further? Hmm…. Inquiring minds want to know. This is $35 million he overbilled the Navy. That’s your tax dollars and mine. That could pay the cost of a lot of recruits being trained properly.
And since the article indicates that the Thai SEAL team has prostitutes, were they on the Thai Navy’s payroll, or were they just TAD to Fat Leonard?
Category: "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves", Navy
Ex PH2: It seems you can’t swing a octopus by its tentacles without hitting an admiral.
The total number of active-duty flag officers is capped at 160 for the Navy per 10 USC 526: Authorized strength: general and flag officers on active duty. I’m not sure how many admirals are currently on AD but since they’re thicker than thieves its safe to bet they number 160.
160 and there’s no war at sea going on.
It almost looks like “just another corporate ladder run to climb”, in a way.
The last numbers I saw, which were a couple of years old, showed that we had more Flag Officers than ships (somewhere around 275 FO’s). Taking a quick look at the Naval Register shows that we have at least 177 AC FOs and 28 RC FO’s. I don’t have time right now to search every officer community so I know there are more (I only checked URL, IDC, JAG, NC, MC, MSC, and SC). I am confident we are well over 200 total FO’s in the Navy.
According these stats, there are well over 200 Flag Officers. Seems consistent with other numbers I’ve seen. Still, if you’re a Captain (0-6), chances of making admiral is very slim indeed – less than 4% pin on a star.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/239345/total-military-personnel-of-the-us-navy-by-grade/
That just means they have an even more obscene number of O-6s.
“So, this job used to be done by an Ensign, but it’s tooooooo important to be done by such a low rank. We should have an O-6 at every command to accomplish this job!”
There are 284 current flag officers counting active and reserve.
One of my favorite Medical Officers, a Captain and the Regimental Surgeon, was fearless when dealing with red tape and rear area types: He said that he knew he wouldn’t go any further, career-wise, but that he wasn’t going backward as long as he “pulled his weight” in the medical arena.
never before have so few been so poorly led, by so many.
The last I read about Fat Leonard himself was released from prison on medical reasons and is living under house arrest in a luxury townhouse at an undisclosed location with a security detail that he pays for out of his own pocket. Crime pays.
Not just the pending cases. If the previous prosecutions were based on Fat Leonard’s statements, watch for appeals to start falling like autumn leaves.
If a liar admits that he lied, then is he lying again?
Now you’re making my head hurt…
*grin*
Sixty admirals for 424,154 sailors, all ranks. That’s one flag for every 7,069 sailors. Makes sense to me…
They’re authorized 160 and have more than 160 (probably because many are in the Navy Reserve, which don’t count against the active end strength.)
So, that’s one flag officer for every 2,650 Sailors. But probably even less.
Help the boy out again folks. Is this the same kinda shitbaggery that would have gotten us a 20 + year gig making gravel out of boulders out in Kansas? Is it Fat Leonard and the flags using the Hitlery or Blow Job Willie defense? Since we are semi technically at war couldn’t we call some of this giving aid and comfort? Was The Bear and Mad Dog the last true leaders the military had? Back in the way back day I had a civilian contractor/procurement officer tell me in order to do business we had to pay to play. We refused, dropped a dime on his ass, he was reassigned (civil service), we were banned from bidding on parts contracts, ect. ect.ect. This was back during the $600 hammers and $2500 toilet seats. I don’t know, I guess since the majority of officers I served under were of the Hal Moore cloth, I expected better. Since I started lurking around here several years back, I’ve found out different. Pity.
The high number of flag officers is justified if only to ensure the remaining officers clubs are profitable.
Prostitutes for the Thai seal team? On their payroll? I’ll say it’s most likely true. I was at a 9th Infantry Division basecamp in Vietnam in October of 1968 when an entire division of Thai troops moved in. I was in charge of one of the last elements of the 9th Division to leave Bearcat. One of the first things the Thais did was take over a couple wooden two story barracks and install Vietnamese prostitutes for the troops. I don’t know about the financial arrangements but there were too many girls and not enough pay for the troops to keep them in food and clothes. Just my opinion.
Don’t wanna hijack the thread, but, Jim Hubbard, I’m wonderin’ if Capt. Bischoff (spelling) was still CO of Alpha Co/4th/47th when you were there? Just curious.
At least we were lucky enough to have the Donut Dollies there at Dong Tam in those days.
Active Flag Officers: 896 of 962 authorized.
Reserve Flag Officers: 422
As of 2015 counts – (Active)
Army: 319
Navy: 217
Marines: 83
Air Force: 277
“As of the first week of December, 2015, there were 896 active duty GFOs (not including 19 who
are exempt from the statutory caps). Distribution by grade and service is summarized in Table 2. This amount is lower than the maximum of 962 authorized in statute (see “Grade Limits
” later in this report).”
Report to Congress about flag officers. It also talks about things like how Flag officers are more expensive when they’re retired than when in uniform, for example.
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R44389.pdf