General to Review Sex Case Against Retired Officer

The Army referred the sexual misconduct case against retired Maj. Gen. David Hale to a senior general Wednesday to decide whether Hale could be court-martialed after having retired.

Officials said a probe by the Army Criminal Investigative Command found sufficient evidence of wrongdoing to send the Hale case to four-star Gen. Thomas Schwartz, head of the U.S. Forces Command at Ft. McPherson, Ga.

Hale, 52, is accused of pressuring the wife of another officer to have a sexual relationship with him in Izmir, Turkey, last year and with maintaining improper relationships with the wives of three other officers who worked for him.

The allegations against Hale include conduct unbecoming an officer, adultery, dereliction of duty and making false official statements.

He was allowed to retire this year under honorable conditions even while the investigation was underway.

Schwartz would decide whether to bring formal charges against Hale, a step that could result in a court-martial. But Schwartz could also drop the charges or order administrative punishment without a trial.

The Army stressed that turning the case over to Schwartz did not imply Hale’s guilt or innocence. Army attorneys said Schwartz could pass the case along to a lower-ranking officer.

In January, Donnamaria Carpino accused Hale of forcing her into a sexual relationship in 1997 in Izmir, where her Army colonel husband served under the two-star general.

Hale’s retirement under honorable conditions a month after the investigation raised serious questions about an alleged double standard in the military in which commissioned officers are favored while lower-ranking troops are prosecuted and punished in sexual misconduct cases.

The service has since changed its rules so that the Army’s civilian secretary will be responsible for approving the retirement of one- and two-star generals.

Hale’s retirement occurred during the sexual misconduct court-martial of Gene C. McKinney, former sergeant major of the Army and the service’s highest-ranking enlisted man.

McKinney was acquitted on all of the sexual misconduct charges, but was found guilty of one count of obstruction of justice.