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With permission from the author, the following email message
is made available as a supplement to the investigative report.
The contents LTC Mark Calvo's email make references to
his appearance on Travis Coffman's radio show on K57 Radio in which Calvo
brought to light reasons that he resigned from the Guam National Guard. Calvo
also included an email message to Col Jerry M. Rivera who at the time was the
acting Adjutant General in the interest of educating the reader to common
military acronyms used in Guard/Military speech.
Hafa Adai Travis!
Thanks for allowing me time on your radio show
yesterday evening. As you can imagine, there are many things going through my
mind, and trying to sort it all out without getting personal is very
difficult.
From the little information I gave you
yesterday, you were very perceptive and astute in interpreting the real
message I wanted to get out. My resignation from active duty is not the issue
here.
Our conversation ended with sound advice from
you to see the Governor about my concerns and I agreed that this was probably
a wise thing to do. The truth is, I
have often considered this course of action many times before and have talked
to other members of the Guard who have actually seen the Governor or his
staff about different issues with the same top leaders in the Guard. All have
been met with inaction and/or results that fall short of correcting most of
the problems. The end result appears
to be a more empowered atmosphere of continued wrong doing.
The word out there is that this
administration doesn't want to hear anything bad about our organization. I am
certain that this was not the intent of the Governor because he trusts the
leadership he put in place to do the right things. Also, I suspect that these
leaders have tainted my character and reputation with the administration, so
seeing the Governor may be mute. COL Jerry Rivera also has a standing order
that visits to the Governor's office will be met with official reprimand.
I stand on my record. In this profession of
arms, I have served honorably and do not take for granted the authority I
have over fellow service-members past and present. I lead and train by
example and would never subject subordinates to standards I could not meet
myself. Nor would I subject soldiers in my charge to unfair and
self-serving standards.
I'd like the people of Guam to know about the
senior leadership of their Guam National Guard.
My disagreements/challenges on specific issues
with the current chain of command were recently met with a challenge by COL
Dennis Santo Tomas, the Chief of Staff and second in charge of the GUARNG,
that "if you don't like what's going on, why are you still here?" I submitted
my resignation the next day...after all, he was right. My resignation was
also submitted with a request to be supported with an effort to obtain a
deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan to allow me the opportunity to complete the
remaining months required to qualify for an active duty retirement. I
understand from another officer in the Guard yesterday that the office in
charge of assisting me has been ordered to stop all efforts to deploy
me. Wanting to get rid of me is one thing, but wanting to put me out on the
street is another. What kind of message is being sent to those who may want
to speak up now? This is the kind of organization I have left. One that
is full of personal agenda and two leaders in key positions of
authority who reward those who let them have their way, sometimes at the
expense of doing what is right.
COL Jerry Rivera has been retired from the
GUARNG "on paper" twice since August 2003. His last "retirement" was
effective 30 September 2004. Governor Camacho re-installed him into the
GUARNG twice: first, to continue to serve as the Assistant Adjutant General
for Army in September 2003; and most recently, to serve as The Adjutant
General (TAG) on 13 November 2004. Within 3 days of assuming the duties as
TAG, documents were submitted to pay COL Rivera for Federal Drill days missed
in October and November 2004 while he was "retired." Original documents were
fraudulent and were corrected after I addressed it with the
Sergeant who "certified" it as being accurate. Subsequent documents certified
by COL SantoTomas were then submitted and reflect that the duty was performed
by COL Rivera in November after his re-instatement into the Guard. These
documents came in the form of a "Request for Re-scheduled Training" the
instrument used by commanders to allow drilling members opportunity to perform
drill outside the designated training date. This request should be
done in advance of the training, and requests are typically required 2 weeks
before the Drill weekend. COL Rivera with the assistance of his Chief of
Staff COL SantoTomas clearly took advantage of the system to pay the TAG with
Federal pay that would have been otherwise lost because of his "retirement"
status in October and November last year. This brings a new meaning to
"taking care of soldiers." I have documents substantiating this issue.
On another issue, a subordinate officer of
mine was selected by the Department of the Army for promotion to Major in July
2004. Her actual promotion was delayed for several months for reasons that I
am still unsure. Several queries by me on this issue to the Personnel Officer
and his boss, COL SantoTomas were met with "stand-by, be patient, we know what
we're doing" responses. The bottom-line: a delay in her promotion caused a
delay in her pay grade increase. I brought this issue to COL Rivera (TAG) and
he claimed he was not aware of this officer's status. She was promoted to
Major on 19 January 2005 with an effective date of promotion 11 January
2005. Although I tried to facilitate her promotion for over 4 months, the
delay was a disgrace for me as her supervisor and I did not feel worthy to
attend this officer's promotion ceremony. I explained that to her the day
before the promotion and she respected my thoughts on the matter and
accepted my advance apologies. COL SantoTomas reprimanded me the following
day for not attending the ceremony. I have documents that show that this
officer's promotion could have occurred at least 30 days earlier. The same
documents actually indicate it could have been worked 60-120 days earlier.
Related to this issue, in December 2004, the
Personnel Officer who had some involvement in the two situations above was
found to have forged documents to ensure his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.
This forgery, although it successfully fooled a Department of the Army
Promotion board in September 2004, was discovered after I did a formal
Inspector General (IG) inquiry on suspicion of his wrongdoing. I was made
aware of this impropriety by another subordinate officer who was afraid
to bring it to anyone else. In the last days of December 2004, about a month
after I made the inquiry, the IG informed me that it was substantiated.
After more than two weeks of watching and waiting for command action, I
challenged COL SantoTomas on status of it. I expressed to him that a prudent
leader/commander would have immediately isolated the fraudulent officer to
prevent any further potential wrongdoing. I was also concerned that the delay
of the promotion of my officer may have been linked to this fraud's efforts to
lock-in his own promotion and to the non-selection of a senior officer who is
not well-liked by this chain of command. I was also concerned that my records
could be in jeopardy under this fraudulent officer's watch especially if he
knew I initiated the investigation. The fraud was moved to another position
of authority (given command) and allowed to "transition" with the incoming
replacement. I made known all my concerns on this issue and provided
recommended actions to COL Jerry Rivera (TAG) in an email (copy attached) on
11 January 2005. On 12 January 2005, I was summoned and reprimanded by COL
Rivera for "getting into his business." On 20 January, I was summoned
and reprimanded by COL SantoTomas for "getting into his business" and told
that COL Rivera made all the final decisions. On 21 January, I submitted to
COL Rivera my resignation from active guard reserve duty. have not personally
heard from COL Rivera on my resignation but I understand that he announced it
publicly during a command and staff meeting held on 26 January. To date,
neither he nor COL SantoTomas have mentioned publicly the name of the officer
who was found to have illegally forged his military records for a promotion.
Lastly, COL Rivera was off-island about a week
ago visiting a handful of Iraq-bound GUARNG soldiers in Ft Polk, Louisiana.
Governor Camacho was also at Ft Polk during the same time period visiting an
Iraq-bound 100+man Army Reserve unit from Guam and several GUARNG soldiers. I
believe the intent of this visit by COL Rivera was more political (i.e. to
accompany the Governor) than to see the handful of soldiers in the
GUARNG. COL Rivera's last trip to Ft Polk, LA was in April 2004 to see
off 150 GUARNG troops bound for the Horn of Africa. During the April visit,
he coordinated a farewell BBQ for the troops that included troop monetary
"contributions" for food and cooking utensils and assistance in preparing for
the BBQ. the following day, while they were boarding the aircraft, COL
Rivera was at the air terminal, shaking the troops' hands wishing them "Good
Luck in IRAQ." This unit was under his "leadership" in the 6-8 months
preceding their departure to the Horn of Africa. Never were they bound for
Iraq. This information can be substantiated by soldiers and family members
who were present.
I bring all this to your and the people of
Guam's attention not because I want things my way or to dispute that The
Adjutant General has authority to do as he feels necessary. I do so because I
know the people of this community expect more from their military leaders and
that their sons and daughters who serve in uniform deserve genuine, honest and
non-self-serving leadership. My ability to ensure this effort has been met
with reprimand and sarcastic challenge from these superiors. I have nothing
to gain from submitting this information to the public and in fact have lost
most of what I've earned in this business.
Very Respectfully,
Mark G. Calvo
Lieutenant Colonel, Field Artillery
Guam Army National Guard
note: the email copy attached below has been
edited ONLY to spell out common military acronyms and to exclude names of
individuals concerned.
-----Original Message-----
From: Calvo, Mark G (LTC)
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 4:13 PM
To: Rivera, Jerry M. (COL)
Subject: MAJ*******
Sir:
I am very concerned about this command's apparent lack of timely
and appropriate administrative action taken against MAJ ******. As
I indicated to you yesterday during our meeting, I am aware of his abuse
of authority as the Military Personnel Officer, more specifically, his
successful doctoring of his Official Military records to deceive a Department
of the Army (DA) Board for his promotion. It is especially disturbing in
light of recent events like the mishandling of the promotions of CPT *******
and CPT ********, and the non-selection of LTC ******** by a DA Board. On the
latter, a special board request to accurately review this officer's records
may be substantiated. An immediate message to DA Boards Points of Contact
explaining the error and command actions would also be prudent. MAJ ******'s
actions not only discredits him, it potentially invalidates the entire board
unless you determine confidently that he did not influence or doctor records
of other Guam officers considered by this same board.
This command is already in jeopardy for the above impropriety because
it appears that it will not be able to adequately explain leadership decisions
to deal with him to date. Yet to be determined is the full extent of his
influence in any and all personnel actions under his watch. If you have
conducted an investigation already and determined the command's actions were
adequate, I would hope that the word of this officer was not the primary
reason to rest that decision on, as he has, without dispute, been proven to be
seriously lacking integrity.
These concerns were brought by me to your Chief of Staff on Sunday, 9 Jan 05
and he stated to me that he gave his recommendation on this issue to you and
that all decisions on this matter rests with you. My frustration and
concern with the seriousness of this issue and other potential damage from
lack of action was answered by the Chief of Staff with the statement "I gave
my recommendation to the TAG and it's up to him."
I am bound by my commitment as a commissioned officer to address this issue to
whomever can assist in protecting the interests and integrity of the Guam Army
National Guard, National Guard Bureau, the US Army, and the Government
(federal and local). Federal Recognition of the Guam National Guard, granted
to Guam by the Chief, National Guard
Bureau, is based on an understanding and commitment to ensuring that, in
the performance of their duties, all officials and personnel in the
Guard comply fully with all applicable Depts. of the Army and Air Force
policies, regulations, directives, publications and legal opinions. I am
certain that lack of required actions in accordance with established policies
and regulations potentially jeopardizes our Federal Recognition.
Recommend you re-look at the facts to date and determine the best way
to proceed with this issue. Highly recommend you don't proceed as you have
to date, i.e., appear to delay action and appear to reward this officer
with any position of authority.
LTC Calvo
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