Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I am deeply concerned that early warning signs about this case were ignored and
Guard leadership mismanaged the entire incident. Furthermore, I am concerned
that according to the Monitor, the office of the Governor is now refusing to
answer relevant questions about other complaints that it has received about the
Guard.
Valas was convicted of the heinous crime, and is currently serving 15 years in
federal prison. Prior to his arrest, Valas had received at least one, and potentially
two other, letters of reprimands that instead of raising alarm bells, were allegedly
ignored by his superiors, including Major General William Reddel, New
Hamsphires Adjutant General.
Additionally, the Colonels also raised serious concerns about Guard members
facing retribution for whistle blowing involving potential misconduct by superior
officers. They highlighted the case of Col. Jeanne Jones, the first basic-branch
female officer to make Army Guard colonel in New Hampshires history. Col.
Jones was selected for mandatory retirement after reporting alleged infractions
by former chief of staff Col. Scott Manahan. Col. Jones lawyer has alleged that
Major General Reddel deliberately altered a retention boards selection criteria to
force her retirement three months after she reported Manahans alleged
infraction. According to the Monitor, Col. Manahan has been removed from that
post and is no longer an active member of the Guard.
Having served in the National Guard for 35 years, including several years at the
Pentagon re-writing the sexual assault regulations for the entire National Guard, I
am very troubled by these developments and the perceptions that they have
created. New Hampshire Army National Guard members should not fear the
possibility of career ending retribution if they report the misconduct of superior
officers. Furthermore, Guard leadership should hold senior officers with a proven
history of misconduct to the same standards as junior officers.
Sincerely,
Scott P. Brown, Colonel, JA, MD ARNG (Ret)
Rye, NH