Pentagon review finds generals need ethics training more often

An initial review by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff found that current ethics training is “appropriate,” but it needs to start earlier in a flag officer’s career and be reinforced more frequently.

The review also found that the level and type of support staff that flag officers are assigned should be examined to ensure they are necessary, sensible and efficient.

The Pentagon on Friday released the preliminary findings by Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs chairman. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta ordered the review of ethics training for generals after several senior officers were investigated this year for ethical misconduct, and he discussed the findings with President Obama during a regularly scheduled meeting earlier this week.

Last month, David H. Petraeus, a retired Army four-star general, resigned as CIA director after admitting he had had an extramarital affair.

Four other generals have been investigated for ethical violations this year.

• Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, is being investigated after thousands of emails between him and a Florida socialite were uncovered during the FBI probe that revealed Mr. Petraeus’ affair. Defense officials have deemed the emails between Gen. Allen and Jill Kelley, a married mother of three, to be “flirtatious” and “potentially inappropriate.”

• Army Gen. William “Kip” Ward was demoted last month and ordered to pay $84,000 in restitution for misusing government resources during his tenure as chief of U.S. Africa Command. He was stripped of a star and reduced to lieutenant general.

• Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair faces charges of forcible sodomy and wrongful sexual conduct at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan.

• Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O´Reilly is retiring after a Pentagon inspector general investigation found he bullied his staff. He was the chief of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

Pentagon press secretary George Little said Friday that the review findings are preliminary and that Gen. Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs chairman, will continue to look into reinforcing military values, standards and ethics in his “Profession of Arms” campaign.