2 Marines Found Guilty of Misconduct in Osprey Case

A Marine lieutenant colonel who was secretly taped telling his squadron to “lie” on maintenance records to burnish the image of the troubled V-22 Osprey aircraft and his immediate boss have been found guilty of misconduct, Marine sources said Friday.

Six other Marines--including Maj. Gen. Dennis T. Krupp, who had been charged with dereliction of duty--were cleared of charges during administrative hearings that ended Thursday afternoon.

Sources said Lt. Col. Odin Fred Leberman was found guilty of dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer, but was cleared of making false statements. They said Col. James E. Schleining was found guilty of dereliction of duty for failing to ensure the records were kept accurately but cleared of violating a lawful order to report falsifications. Each will receive a letter of reprimand in his personnel file.

The administrative hearings conclude cases brought in the records scandal but leave the Corps free to conduct further review of any of the eight officers’ assignments and command positions and some retirement requests, the Marine sources said.

The Marines’ Ospreys, which can fly like a helicopter or airplane, have been grounded since December after two fatal accidents last year that killed 23 Marines and redesigns to make the innovative aircraft more reliable day-to-day.

The cases brought against the eight Marines were the culmination of an investigation launched in January after someone who claimed to be a mechanic in the Osprey squadron at New River, N.C., secretly taped Leberman telling the squadron to “lie” to improve maintenance records. At the time, the projected $40-billion Osprey program faced a crucial funding decision on whether to proceed to full production. The aircraft had been proving hard to maintain and repair.

The tape was sent to Marine Corps command, which launched an investigation. The Marines, and investigators in the two fatal accidents last year, said they found no connection between the records manipulation and the crashes. Lt. Gen. Raymond P. Ayres Jr. conducted the administrative hearings.