Top Army Colonel Relieved of Command of Key Medical Facility After Allegations of Dereliction of Duty and Sexual Misconduct.
Two weeks ago Army Colonel Robert Saum was ordered to relinquish his command as Interim Director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) amid allegations ranging from dereliction of duty to sexual misconduct to abuse of command. This decision comes less than three months after the former director, Army Brigadier General, Dr. Loree K. Sutton, had stepped down unexpectedly and without notice. DCoE is responsible for treating and researching the “unseen wounds” of war such as PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries with additional active roles in suicide prevention which has reached its highest levels inside the Armed Services in since the Vietnam War. Both commanders have served long careers in the Army Medical Corps, often serving alongside one another. Col. Saum served as a Green Beret and Army Psychologist, and BGen. Sutton as a doctor and Army Psychiatrist.
Col. Saum was originally the ranking officer and had served as BGen. Sutton’s teacher and mentor in the past. Over the years BGen. Sutton’s career took off and she was promoted over Col. Saum, taking away his chance at a star and being forced to retire. Newly promoted, BGen. Sutton was given the arduous task of creating and standing up DCoE from scratch. To accomplish this, BGen. Sutton requested that Col. Saum be recalled from his retirement to serve as her Chief of Staff and liaison to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen; the General had long trusted and listened to Col. Saum. According to sources inside DCoE whom wish to remain anonymous until the investigation has been completed, Col. Saum took the position only with the intention of elevating his own status, ever bitter from being passed over for promotion by one of his former students. BGen. Sutton was slated to be transferred to Europe in March of 2010, however with her husband being deployed to Afghanistan she elected to stay at DCoE and retire in mid 2011. This took away Col. Saum’s chance at director and foreseeable his last possibility to pick up a star.
Col. Saum withheld crucial information about the on goings inside DCoE, controlled which personnel had contact with the General, arranged meetings, and falsified documents misleading BGen. Sutton’s perception of the situation within DCoE. It has been speculated that DCoE’s Communications Director Catherine Haight, a long time friend of Col. Saum and former Army Colonel herself also passed over for a star, has also had a hand in misleading BGen. Sutton.
When this caused the situation to worsen, Col. Saum used his connections in the Pentagon and Congress, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen and Vice Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, to paint BGen. Sutton as incompetent and maneuver himself into a position to take over as Director of DCoE. A few months later BGen. Sutton was asked to quietly step down and Col. Saum was placed as Interim Director of DCoE. BGen. Sutton is now serving in an undisclosed capacity with the Surgeon General of the Army Lt.Gen. Eric Schoomaker, presumably in a consultant role until she makes a decision on her future in the U.S. Army.
Less than a week after assuming command, Col. Saum took a weeklong trip to Jamaica with a female Air Force Captain he had handpicked as his new executive assistant, ignoring pressing matters that needed his attention at DCoE. A few weeks after their return from Jamaica, the Captain was recalled by her unit for inappropriate behavior and lack of official transfer orders. She was subsequently removed from DCoE and the Pentagon sent over a suitable replacement. During Col. Saum’s tenure at DCoE he has been accused of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior by several female employees.
Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith has stated that senior leadership is underway in a search for a new Director for DCoE; however there has been some speculation of dismantling the multi-billion dollar directorate entirely after repeated failures and much scrutiny by Congress. DCoE remains in shambles for the time being. Col. Saum has been barred from returning to the facility, a deputy director had never been chosen, and the current Chief of Staff, Dr. Greenwood, is recovering from heart surgery; the leadership of DCoE has become virtually nonexistent in a time when it is needed most.
Brigadier General Sutton, a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, remains on active duty and is reported to be retiring honorably by mid next year after more than 28 years of faithful service as an highly decorated officer and doctor in the U.S. Army. She is a recipient of the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal amongst many other awards. She remains beloved by the personnel at DCoE and by the troops whom she has served in the past. Despite the controversy surrounding her departure from DCoE, she remains perhaps one of the most influential and beloved Generals to serve in the Armed Forces since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Col. Saum remains on active duty but faces a series of criminal charges to include:
· Conduct Unbecoming an Officer
· Conduct Unbecoming a Soldier
· Dereliction of Duty
· Insubordination
· False Official Statements
· Falsification of Official Documents
· Abuse of Office
· Abuse of Command
· Sexual Harassment
· Sexual Misconduct
· Adultery (Punishable under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice)
· Undermining a Government Agency
· Unethical Conduct
· Unethical Medical Practices
· Fraud
· Misappropriation of Government Funds
· Slander
· Misleading Congress
· Treason