Commander of U.S. Base in Azores Relieved
The commander of a major U.S. air base on Portugal’s mid-Atlantic Azores Islands has been relieved of command and is being investigated, the Air Force said Saturday.
Spokeswoman Maj. Ginger Blazicko did not say what prompted the investigation of Col. Melvin M. Reeves, which began Nov. 7.
She said Reeves was removed last week because Lt. Gen. Phillip J. Ford, commander of the 8th Air Force in Barksvale, La., “lost confidence in Reeves’ ability and fitness to command.”
The investigation is expected to end Dec. 17, Blazicko said. Reeves’ deputy, Col. John Calvert, took command of the Azores base pending appointment of a replacement, she said.
The Air Force routinely does not release information during investigations, Blazicko said. But she noted that “this action was not taken as a result of improper activities directed at any Portuguese citizen.”
The Lisbon daily Diario de Noticias newspaper reported Saturday that Reeves was under investigation over allegations of sexual harassment, but the paper gave no details. It said Reeves was to leave for the United States during the weekend.
Reeves is the second ranking American officer whose tour of duty in Portugal was cut short. A year ago, Rear Adm. Ralph Tindal, the deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was placed under 30-day house arrest, demoted to one star and reassigned--then took early retirement--after he was found to have had a yearlong affair with a female junior officer.
A Navy review panel found Tindal guilty of adultery, fraternization, conduct unbecoming an officer and sexual harassment.
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