Senator Mark Begich on challenger "Dan Sullivan Did Nothing to Address National Guard Scandal"
Last edited Fri Oct 17, 2014, 02:07 PM - Edit history (1)
IN SHORT:
The day before Parnell met with National Guard chaplains who were sounding alarms about problems with sexual assault and fraud in the Alaska Guard, he and Sullivan talked by phone. As the state’s top law enforcement officer, Dan Sullivan did nothing to investigate the scandal. Why did Alaska women get nothing more than lip service and empty promises from Dan Sullivan? An independent federal investigation exposed years of assault, fraud and corruption. Sullivan has still said and done nothing since the scathing investigative report was made public. Its another example of Dan not standing up for Alaska women – just like his opposition to tough enforcement of equal pay, a woman’s right to choose and increasing the minimum wage.
THE FACTS:
2010: National Guard Victims & Advocates Reported Military Sexual Assaults, Fraud & Corruption to the Parnell-Sullivan Administration.
October 14, 2010: Lt. Col. Rick Koch Sent Outline To Parnell Asserting AK Guard Had A “Culture Of Fear And Corruption” That Had Smothered Guard Morale. “The record shows the first contact was Oct. 14, 2010, when Rick Koch, a lieutenant colonel and the state-command chaplain for the guard, asked a neighbor who knew Parnell for help in getting word to the governor. Koch gave the neighbor a written outline, including an assertion that the ‘culture of fear and corruption are smothering morale in our organization’ — a claim that would surface again in findings years later in the Sept. 4 National Guard Bureau report. ‘The outline was meant to spark discussion, which I was freely and willingly ready to enter,’ the document quotes Koch as saying. ‘Nothing came of the outline.’” [Alaska Dispatch News, 10/1/14]
November 18, 2010: Three Guard Chaplains Teleconferenced Parnell With Details On Sexual Assaults, Thefts, Lack Of Trust, & Misuse Of Government Resources. “On Nov. 18, 2010, Koch and two other chaplains, Ted McGovern and Matt Friese, got a 7:30 a.m. telephone appointment with the governor. They made the conference call from Friese’s office at Anchorage Grace Church, where one of Parnell’s children had attended classes. They spoke for 20 minutes about sexual assaults, thefts, lack of trust, misuse of government resources and money in the guard. In his notes from the meeting, Koch said he didn’t detect a lot of interest from the other end of the phone line. ‘It did not seem that he or his staff desired to drill very deeply into the problems of an organization that reaches into the entire landscape of the Alaska population,’ Koch said.” [Alaska Dispatch News, 10/1/14]
December 3, 2010: Three Guard Chaplains, Col. Robert Doehl, & Two Lt. Colonels Teleconferenced Parnell On Sexual Assaults, Cronyism, Cover-Ups, Unsafe Operations & Reprisals. “On Dec. 3, 2010, the three chaplains were back on the phone with Parnell from Anchorage Grace Church again, this time with three other officers: Col. Robert Doehl of the Air Guardand two lieutenant colonels who were unnamed in the documents. They talked about a range of problems, from sexual assaults to cronyism, cover-ups, unsafe operations and reprisals taken against officers who spoke out. Doehl followed up with a seven-page letter to Parnell filled with details and allegations about safety shortcuts that resulted in loss of aircraft, sexual violence and retaliation against whistleblowers. He told Parnell that Katkus not only failed to stop misconduct, he covered it up. (Doehl was eventually forced from the guard and went to work as an aide to U.S. Sen. Mark Begich.)” [Alaska Dispatch News, 10/1/14]
One Day Before Parnell Met With National Guard Chaplains, He Called His Then-Attorney General, Dan Sullivan
Dec. 2, 2010: Parnell Called Sullivan On His Cell Phone. According to Sullivan’s calendar from the Department of Law, Gov. Parnell called then-Attorney General Sullivan on December 2, 2010 at 12:45PM. The time slot noted “WILL CALL YOU ON YOUR CELL PHONE.” [Department of Law calendar, 12/2/10]
http://www.markbegich.com/dan-sullivan-nothing-address-national-guard-scandal/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Dan Sullivan's) primary focus as Attorney General was to end Alaska's epidemic levels of sexual assault and domestic violence.""