All Articles Tagged "U.S. Army"

Four-Star General William Ward Faces Demotion for “Lavish Spending”

August 17th, 2012 - By Tonya Garcia
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Image: AP, Caleb Jones, File

Gen. William “Kip” Ward, a four-star general who was the first head of the U.S. Africa Command, is facing charges that he misspent upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars on trips, perks for family members, and other items. The investigation has been going on for 17 months and a decision is expected at the end of August.

Four-star general is the top rank one can aspire to in the Army.

It’s not certain whether Gen. Ward will be charged in criminal proceedings, but he could be lowered to a three-star general rank, which could cost him $1 million in retirement earnings. Many four-star retirees get $100,000 per year. He had planned on retiring after stepping down as head of the Africa Command last year. However, he’s been working in Northern Virginia pending the investigation since then.

The U.S. Africa Command was created in 2007 and is based in Stuttgart, Germany.

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