Details of Removal of STRATCOM’s Deputy Commander Released

This story is a perfect example of the dangers excessive gambling can cause.  If a foreign intelligence agent knew of his gambling problem they may have attempted to try and offer him money for secrets to feed his gambling problem.  It is just amazing that a three-star admiral would allow himself to have such a gambling addiction that would lead to criminal conduct and make himself such a security threat:

The admiral fired last year as No. 2 commander of U.S. nuclear forces may have made his own counterfeit $500 poker chips with paint and stickers to feed a gambling habit  that eventually saw him banned from an entire network of casinos, according to a criminal investigative report.

Although Rear Adm. Timothy M. Giardina’s removal as deputy head of U.S. Strategic Command was announced last year, evidence of his possible role in manufacturing the counterfeit chips has not previously been revealed. Investigators said they found his DNA on the underside of an adhesive sticker used to alter genuine $1 poker chips to make them look like $500 chips.

Nor had the Navy disclosed how extensively he gambled.

The case is among numerous embarrassing setbacks for the nuclear force. Disciplinary problems, security flaws, weak morale and leadership lapses documented by The Associated Press over the past two years prompted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Nov. 14 to announce top-to-bottom changes in how the nuclear force is managed that will cost up to $10 billion.

The records obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act show Giardina was a habitual poker player, spending a total of 1,096 hours — or an average of 15 hours per week — at the tables at the Horseshoe casino in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in the 18 months before being caught using three phony chips in June 2013. [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link.