General Kip Ward AP file photo

Defense

Four-star general put in timeout over allegedly lavish expenses

General Kip Ward is under investigation for spending taxpayer money on lavish travel expenses.

August 16, 2012

By John Hudson

The Wire

You don't see this every day: Four-star Army Gen. William "Kip" Ward is under investigation for burning through hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on lavish travel and hotels, according to The Associated Press' Lolita C. Baldor, and as a result, Ward is just biding his time in what's basically a timeout. In this case, taking a mundane desk job in Northern Virginia as the investigation plays out. As Baldor describes it, the place sounds a lot like New York City's infamous "rubber rooms" for teaches accused of breaking the rules:

Ward stepped down early last year after serving as the first head of the Europe-based Africa Command, which was created in 2007, and he intended to retire. He did all the paperwork and was hosted at a retirement ceremony in April 2011 at Fort Myer in Virginia, but the Army halted his plans to leave because of the investigation.

Ever since then, he has been working in Northern Virginia, serving as a special assistant to the vice chief of the Army. That Army office long has been used as a holding area for general officers of varying ranks. For some it's a way station where senior officers under investigation go to await their fate.