Brig. Gen. Joseph Harrington, former commander of the US Army in Africa, will be forced to retire with one star
A married two-star general has been stripped of one of his stars after he was found to have exchanged inappropriate messages with the wife of a soldier under his jurisdiction, the Army announced on Friday.
An internal investigation revealed Brig. Gen. Joseph Harrington exchanged more than 1,000 ‘flirtatious’ messages with the unidentified woman for at least four months.
Harringon, who led the U.S. Army in Africa from a base in Italy, will now be forced to retire from his 30-year military career with one star for what the Army called ‘dissolute and immoral’ behavior.
He was suspended back in September, when the relationship was first discovered after USA Today reported on the messages.
According to the Army inspector general’s report, the 1,158 reviewed messages showed Harrington commenting on the woman’s looks, referencing sexual activity and urging her to delete the messages and keep their relationship secret.
The woman, who was born in Europe and is married to an American soldier, said she did not feel sexually harassed during her text conversations with Harringon, the report said.
An internal investigation revealed Harrington exchanged more than 1,000 ‘flirtatious’ messages with the unidentified woman for at least four months
However, the investigation found the exchange ‘negatively impacted the command climate’.
The woman told USA today her relationship with the disgraced general began after they met at the gym, adding that the texts were friendly and related to business at first, but she became concerned when they turned ‘suggestive’.
‘You seem to have a great modeling resume! Truly! Though I hadn’t noticed! Where is your hubby tonight? Work?’ one of Harrington’s texts read.
After the woman replied saying she had a fight with her husband and he was asleep, Harrington wrote: ‘I’m sorry! Make up se…x is fun.’
‘This behavior reflects poorly on you as a senior officer and commander,’ read a letter by Army officials cited by USA Today.
The Army investigation found Harrington’s actions ‘negatively impacted the command climate’
The letter noted that Harrington has not been found guilty of a crime, but was expected to behave honorably at all times.
In a written statement, Harrington apologized to his family and said his exchanges with the unidentified woman were ‘friendship-based.’
‘I made a mistake by responding to and entering into a private discussion with a soldier’s spouse,’ he wrote.
‘While we both considered it a friendship-based conversation, it is clear that the discussion should not have occurred. I hope others can learn from and avoid my mistake.’