Pentagon probe finds misconduct by 3 more Army generals

WASHINGTON -- After long investigations, the Pentagon has determined that three Army generals committed misconduct in separate incidents, adding to an unusually long list of senior military commanders who have been censured over the past year.

Defense officials confirmed Friday that Army Maj. Gen. Ralph Baker, the commander of a strategic counterterrorism force on the Horn of Africa, was fired March 28 on charges of sexual misconduct. Two officials familiar with the case said Baker was investigated for allegedly groping a female civilian employee after he had been drinking.

Documents obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act show that the Pentagon's inspector general upheld misconduct allegations against two Army lieutenant generals last year: David Huntoon, the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; and Joseph Fil, a former commander in South Korea and Iraq. Neither episode had been disclosed by the Pentagon.

The cases have increased concerns about the ethics and personal behavior of senior military officers. The problem has bedeviled the Pentagon in recent months despite repeated pledges to address it.

In November, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered a sweeping review of ethical training and standards for generals and admirals after several high-profile scandals tarnished the reputations of some of the military's most prominent commanders.

The Pentagon is grappling with a soaring number of reported sexual-assault cases amid criticism that it has papered over the problem.

"The military leadership still sees this more as a public relations problem than as a crisis," said Nancy Parrish, president of Protect our Defenders, a nonprofit group that represents victims of sex crimes in the military.

News of Baker's firing comes at a particularly awkward time for the Defense Department, which had been publicizing several events to commemorate April as national Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.