Trump firing 17 inspectors general ‘was long overdue,’ says former IG
In the aftermath of President Donald Trump announcing the removal of 17 inspectors general at various federal agencies, including the Defense Department, at least one former military IG is totally in favor.
WorldNetDaily spoke to Lt. Col. Ryan Sweazey, USAF-Ret., the founder of Walk the Talk Foundation, an organization that advocates for and protects military whistleblowers. Sweazey once served as an inspector general, or IG, in the Air Force where he not only witnessed, but also bravely called attention to, various deficiencies within the Department of Defense and IG system.
Sweazey likened Trump’s removal of the 17 IGs to “when a military commander is not happy with a subordinate commander’s performance, they are relieved for loss of confidence.”
“The system was long overdue for an overhaul,” added Sweazey.
While commenting that not much has come from the Trump administration regarding the president’s motivation for removing more than a dozen inspectors general, Sweazey suspects “the Department of Defense Inspector General warranted a removal for loss of confidence because his organization was not carrying out the mission it’s mandated to do, which is be an independent avenue of recourse for the individual service member.” Instead, he said, “that entity served as the protectorate of the institution and an insulating protective measure for its leadership.”
For Sweazey, “Removal of the head of the organization is an important first step for accountability.” But what happens next?
“This is where the rubber meets the road,” he said, explaining, “there has to be true reform within the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General,” or DODIG
Such reform can be accomplished through an organization staffed with “more professional investigators that are better trained,” Sweazey offered. “We also need to see timely, just and fair investigations accompanied by more transparency.” Ultimately, he said, “We need a truly independent investigative entity.”
With President Trump’s bold move to remove the total of 17 watchdogs, Sweazey admitted that “some people say the IG was already independent and the president is only paving the way for loyalists to fill positions.” But for the former IG, “this is ludicrous in the case of the Department of Defense, as it and its subordinate Service Inspectors General were never independent.”
Also, with his experience as a former IG in the Air Force, as well as through his work with Walk the Talk Foundation, Sweazey says he can provide many examples of DODIG allowing military leaders and managers to violate Title 5, Title 10, Title 32, Title 50, the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, and more.
One example he cited: “The system failed to properly investigate in a timely manner the concerns of service members with regard to the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility leak that poisoned 90,000 people in Hawaii.”
“Apart from this single example, people sitting at home need to realize that thousands of service members’ lives have been ruined because the IG failed them,” he lamented. “When they’re playing their violin for the 17 that were removed, they need to remember this.”
Sweazey and his organization hope President Trump will consider a proposed executive order to establish a truly independent inspector general for the Department of Defense.