US Nuclear Commander Suspended Over Gambling 149
mdsolar writes "The No 2 officer at the military command in charge of all US nuclear war-fighting forces has been suspended and is under investigation by the naval criminal investigation command for issues related to gambling, officials said on Saturday. The highly unusual action against a high-ranking officer at US strategic command was made more than three weeks ago but not publicly announced. Air force general Robert Kehler, who heads Strategic Command, suspended the deputy commander, navy vice admiral Tim Giardina, from his duties on September 3, according to the command's top spokeswoman, navy captain Pamela Kunze. Giardina is still assigned to the command but is prohibited from performing duties related to nuclear weapons and other issues requiring a security clearance, she said."
Yeah... (Score:2, Insightful)
We really want a guy who owes the Mob 200K in gambling debts being leaned on to turn over top-secret information to erase his gambling debts. It's pretty easy for someone with an addiction like that to snowball from handing out a floor-plan to an office containing harmless stuff to handing over access codes or whatever. One of the things about being in a position where you're entrusted with the safety and lives of your countrymen is that no one should be able to have leverage over you. It's one thing if someone threatens to kill your family if you don't give them XYZ information - you can go to the appropriate agency for protection or whatever needs to be done and it will get handled, no matter how high and hard it needs to be escalated.
It's entirely different if it's over gambling debts. Especially if you've caved before. Your career is over and you might go to prison. Some people, especially the kind that are gambling addicts, simply cannot see the long-term ramifications or can justify damn near anything to themselves. That makes them extremely dangerous in any position that has the word "nuclear" and "commander" in it's title.
Highly unusual? Hardly. (Score:5, Insightful)
"The highly unusual action against a high-ranking officer at US strategic command was made more than three weeks ago but not publicly announced."
This is only "highly unusual" because it is being reported throughout the mainstream media. But anyone who has been through an FBI/CIA interview knows that gambling issues are something that they probe for quite a bit. I doubt he was the first person fired or reprimanded that week for gambling.
Want to work in the defense industry? Then don't gamble or bet on sports because it is a red flag that often disqualifies people from employment or association. The higher up you go the more they'll pry into your personal life. Asking friends from college or even high school if you ever gambled (or had a drinking problem, used drugs, etc.).
Re:Pay Scales (Score:5, Insightful)
Gambling, hookers, and blow all scale to however much money you have.
This is basic security clearance stuff. It you're doing anything that gives someone leverage over you (outside of your job), you don't get to know anything important. Seems reasonable to me.
Re:Highly unusual? Hardly. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Highly unusual? Hardly. (Score:5, Insightful)
You and your coworkers who regularly gamble have proven that you're willing to take stupid risks
A stupid risk is hopping into the cockpit of a helicopter without any flying lessons. Gambling, unless you are addicted to it or just careless, can be a claculated risk. Take for example sports betting: if you can pick the outcomes of 3 games at 6:1 odds or 4 games at 11:1, it is not very difficult to pick correctly, especially if you follow the stats. Now, if you are going for the big 20:1 odds or are betting large sums of money (especially sums you cannot afford), then yes, it's stupid. To modify a line that is said often in EVE Online, if you cant afford to lose it, don't bet it. But plenty of people find it enjoyable to gamble a little every now and then, myself included (craps is fun, and so is playing poker with your buddies). Dropping a couple hundred bucks gambling in a casino maybe once a year, or maybe $20-50 a week during football season does not mean you are taking stupid risks or are a security risk.
Re:Pay Scales (Score:4, Insightful)
Pretty much. The simple rule is this. If you have secrets than you can not be trusted to keep the nations secrets.
Re:Pay Scales (Score:5, Insightful)
What makes you think this is about his boss? This is about the favors he might have to do to pay off a six figure debt that he built up because he couldn't quit when he was down.