SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL PUT ON
"ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE" FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION BY ARMY INSPECTOR GENERAL
Activists shed no tears over action taken against official whom they
have accused of trying to derail chemical disposal programs in KY & CO.
Yesterday Mr. Pat Wakefield, a Deputy
Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Chemical Demilitarization and Threat
Reduction was put on a 30-day "Administrative Leave" by his immediate boss,
Dr. Dale Klein, Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Chemical
and Biological Defense Programs. Dr. Klein's action came on the heels
of an Army Inspector General's (IG) investigation into accusations of a "personal
nature" brought against Mr. Wakefield, according to Defense spokesman Col.
Mickey Freeland.
Col. Freeland, Senior Military Assistant to Dr. Klein
and now in charge of fielding questions about the Wakefield situation, declined
to name the person or persons who brought the allegations against Mr. Wakefield,
but insisted emphatically that the accusations were "conduct related" and
had "nothing to do" with his performance within the programs he manages.
He went on to say that during the next 30 days Mr. Wakefield has the opportunity
to appeal the findings of the Inspector General and the allegations that were
lodged against him.
The final decision on Mr. Wakefield's fate within
DoD, now rests with Kenneth Krieg, newly appointed Under Secretary of Defense.
Mr Krieg will study the allegations, the IG's report and also take Mr. Wakefield's
rebuttal into consideration; and based on the evidence before him, he will
decide if Mr. Wakefield should be permanently relieved of his duties.
Chemical Weapons Working Group Director Craig Williams
commented on Mr. Wakefield's predicament, "I don't know who brought the accusations
or what the accusations are. I'm pleased that Wakefield is finally out of
the way, if only temporarily. Should he be removed permanently, I believe
many of the roadblocks faced by the disposal program will leave with him.
Many residents from both the Colorado and Kentucky
stockpile sites believe that Mr. Wakefield was the moving force behind DoD's
foiled attempt to freeze funds for these two neutralization programs and put
both programs on "caretaker status" which would have effectively stopped chemical
weapons disposal plans at the two sites for several years.
Williams concluded, "If Wakefield is permanently relieved
of his duties, we will, of course, keep a close watch on his replacement."
