A female infantry private and her company sergeant had a sexual relationship, the Army Times reports, and both have been punished.
The woman — unidentified in the report — was one of the first females to successfully complete combat training in the infantry and she was assigned to an integrated unit of male and female soldiers in 2017.
Sgt. First Class Chase Usher, the leading noncommissioned officer of his company within the storied 82nd Airborne Division, was the other member of the duo. The two were stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Usher has been moved from a command position to a desk job, according to a public affairs officer who commented on the story.
“Disciplinary action deemed appropriate by the chain of command was taken against both individuals and has been completed,” spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Osorio told the Times. “Both continue to serve within the division, however, the first sergeant was relieved of his position and currently serves on the staff of a different unit.”
Portions of an Army investigation report obtained by the Times through a Freedom of Information Act request suggest the affair did not compromise unit integrity but did prompt concerns of hypocrisy.
“He didn’t foster a hostile environment to females at work, but was a horny bastard when it came to his personal life,” one soldier testified under oath. “He often preached to us to look out for females in our ranks and not get into trouble with them and not have relationships with them. All the while, he was doing all of this.”