|
Upon request
by this writer,
the Governor’s Legal Counsel
Sharon Taitano opined using
4 GCA 2103.4 as the basis for her
opinion that Col Jerry M. Rivera had until March 24th to
vacate the position as acting Adjutant General. Per the same request
through the Senator Tony Unpingco and Speaker Mark Forbes,
Legislative Council David Highsmith rendered his opinion, differed
in the determination of the expiration date using
Section 29 of 4 GCA
§2103.9(d)
as the basis for determining the expiration date of Rivera’s
appointment to be March 2, 2005.
In review, Col David Riano, staff judge advocate general of the Guam
National Guard agrees with the Legislative Counsel’s wisdom and
conclusions in the use of
Section 29 of 4 GCA
§2103.9(d)
which addresses time limits on acting capacity and describes the
90-day time frame and how to deal with actions taken after the
allowed time period.
The expiration
date of the appointment is crucial in determining the force of
Rivera’s actions as acting Adjutant General in the reassignment of
LtCol Montague, acted on eight days after the expiration
date of his appointment, on March 2nd.
When asked
about the effect of
Camacho’s appointment
of Brigadier General Goldhorn as TAG this morning and its
relationship to Rivera’s actions after the March 2 date,
Administration Officials deferred to the new TAG for research and
resolution of the matter.
However, according to Riano, the
effect of the Legislative Counsel’s opinion
renders Rivera’s removal of Montague as null and void.
Riano issued
an opinion for the reinstatement of Montague later this
afternoon .
LtCol
Montague resumed his position as Commander of the Air
National Guard, 5 pm this
evening.
According to LtCol Montague, he
was summoned to a meeting on
March
10, at Rivera's office in which his reassignment was discussed and
decided.
.jpg) |
| Guam
Air Guard Office at Andersen Air Force Base |
Through the
strong urgings of LtCol
Franklin Leon Guerrero, the Air Guard’s Assistant Adjutant General,
and tacit approval of Col Dennis Santo Tomas as Chief of Staff,
Rivera ordered an immediate reassignment of Montague from the
Andersen office, denied him access to his files, confiscated his
computer and ordered him not to communicate with Air Guard men and
women. Three days ago, Montague's cell phone and other
government paid items were called for.
Col Rivera reassigned Montague, Commander of
the Air National Guard to Special Projects Officer at 10 am on the
morning of March 10th. A National Guard press release
associated the move with an audit that was conducted of the Air
Guard in in what they characterize to be in "recent months" by the U.S. Air Force
Audit Agency, Pacific Area Audit Office out of Hickam Air Force
Base,
Hawaii.
 |
|
2002 Command
Line-Up |
|
Air National Guard Officers stand behind Major
General Benny M. Paulino at the start of Montague's promotion
ceremony. (Front-Back behind Paulino) Col Robert M. Cockey
Assistant Adjutant General, Col Dave Cruz Commander Air
National Guard and Montague. |
The audit
mentioned in the media report was performed on
August 2003 for the period covering FY 2002, and not in recent months
as stated by Capt. John Guerrero when queried by reporters regarding
Montague's removal. In Montague's absence, Rivera assigned Maj.
John S. N. Lizama as acting Commander of the Unit.
The Guard's release
contained little to no information regarding the audit or whether
Rivera's reassigning of Montague is a direct result of
the Audit Agency findings. What it did say was that the reassignment
was related to a natural rotation of officers in the
organization.
Note: In a phone
call to Capt. Guerrero recently, no press release was sent to media
outlets on Guam regarding Montague's removal from Command. Guerrero
characterized media inquiry as the result of a "leak" on the matter.
 |
|
Assistant
Adjutant General Col. Robert Cockey hands LtCol James Montague
the Command Guide-on at Montague's Promotion Ceremony on March 9,
2002.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Guam National Guard |
Montague was promoted to LtCol and Commander of the Air Guard -
within minutes of each other on
March 9, 2002 by former Adjutant General Major General Benny M.
Paulino. Robert M. Cockey at the time was a Colonel and Assistant
Adjutant General for the Air National Guard.
It is noteworthy to
mention that prior to Montague, officers served in excess of eight
years each as Commander of the Air Guard; now Ret. LtCol Nathan
Hawthorn and now Col David M. Cruz, currently the United States
Property Fiscal Officer for the Guam Guard, respectively.
However, as special projects manager Montague was assigned to the first floor of the
Joint Forces
Headquarters Readiness Center in Barrigada, and placed in a room
that measured 10x15 square feet with a metal desk and chair, but no
telephone or computer.
|