Sweetheart Comment Causes US Army General to Lose Promotion

A US Army general is in trouble for disrespecting a Congressional staffer:

The U.S. Army says “appropriate administrative action” has been taken against a two-star general faulted for mistreating a congressional staffer, but the service refused to specify the steps it took against Maj. Gen. Ryan Gonsalves.

“The matter is now closed,” Army spokeswoman April Cunningham said in a statement.

Gonsalves, who served as commander of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 4th Infantry Division until August, had been in line for a promotion. In July, he was nominated by the Army for a third star, but the White House rescinded the nomination on Nov. 27, after an inspector general’s probe.

The allegations against Gonsalves centered on complaints that he failed to treat a female congressional staffer with “dignity and respect” during an October 2016 meeting at his Fort Carson headquarters.  [Stars & Stripes]

So what was the horrible thing that MG Gonsalves did?  He called a Congressional staffer “sweetheart”:

The IG says it was able to substantiate an accusation that Gonsalves called the congressional staffer “sweetheart” during a meeting about the 4th Infantry Division’s mission, which amounted to a violation of Army command policy.

The IG complaint also said that Gonsalves took issue with the staffer’s youth and told her she should take detailed notes on why the military needed funding “since she was a Democrat and did not believe in funding the military,” the IG report said.

You can read more at the link.