By JESSICA JERREAT
The Army commander of a remote Alaskan base is under investigation for sexual misconduct, after allowing officers to have affairs and for permitting scantily clad women soldiers to pose for a calendar. Soldiers at the anti-ballistic missile base claimed Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Miley had created a 'toxic environment' by turning a blind eye to cases of sexual misconduct. It was claimed that women soldiers at Fort Greely were also being allowed to trade sexual favors for favorable treatment from officers. Even if sexual misconduct is consensual, the Army forbids commanders to have relationships with their subordinates.
Marco Morales, spokesman for the Space and Missile Defense Command, confirmed the commander was under investigation in an email obtained by Bloomberg. Incidents of inappropriate sexual relations between officers and soldiers had increased because no disciplinary action was being taken, according to three sources, who spoke to the news agency on the condition of anonymity. An anonymous complaint was made against Lieutenant Colonel Miley earlier in the year, after he promoted a racy calender featuring his wife Tracey as the August shot, alongside women from the base.
An alleged inappropriate relationship had formed between the soldier who took the photos and one of the soldiers who posed in it. The owner of a bar near the base, defended the $25 charity calender for the American Cancer Society as 'tasteful' and said it had been selling well. Patsy Ewing, co-owner of Clearwater Lodge, told Army Times she had received no complaints about the calendar, which features a shot taken in her establishment. She added however, that the bar did not attract conservative customers.
Lieutenant General Richard Formica, of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, said the allegation would be investigated, but that he did not believe there had been any 'wrongdoing', according to the Army Times. He added that any potential impact on the command and its family readiness group would be monitored. In an email to Lieutenant General Richard Formica, head of the Space and Missile Defense Command, soldiers at the base complained that Commander Miley’s condoning of sexual affairs left them fearing 'for our wives and even our children in this toxic environment'.
At least 16 women serve at Fort Greely, a launch site for anti-ballistic-missile missiles, such as the ones the U.S. fears are being developed in Iran and North Korea. It comes as the Department of Defense increases its efforts to prevent sexual assault, after reporting this month that the number of cases has increased in the past year.
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