US Air Force Major-General Michael Carey was sacked for conduct “unbecoming of a gentleman” during a business trip to Russia in July, a report says.
Before being sacked, General Michael Carey was in charge of 9,600 people at three operational wings, had served in operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and had received 13 major awards.
The newly-declassified document says General Michael Carey drank too much and met “suspect” foreign women.
He could not recall significant events or was “untruthful”, the report says.
Michael Carey’s removal came days after the Navy sacked an admiral overseeing nuclear forces over illegal gambling.
The two dismissals follow several other incidents affecting the US military’s nuclear establishment.
In August, a nuclear missile unit at Malstrom Air Force base in Montana failed a safety and security inspection, after which a senior security officer was relieved of duty.
In May, it was reported that 17 officers in charge of maintaining nuclear missiles were sidelined over safety violations at Minot Air Force base in North Dakota.
Michael Carey, a two-star general in the 20th Air Force, was responsible for maintaining intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) at three bases across the US – a total of 450 missiles.
He is now special assistant to the commander of Air Force Space Command.
No details were given when he was removed in October.
The internal report by the Inspector General of the Air Force is based on interviews with the general and members of the US delegation to a nuclear security training exercise.
“Maj-Gen. Carey consumed alcoholic beverages to the extent that it impacted his conduct,” the report says. It adds that this included briefings, banquets and other events.
It goes on: “Maj-Gen. Carey engaged in inappropriate or improper behavior when he chose to meet up with and continued to associate with the foreign national women… especially given his own acknowledgement that the women were suspect.”
He had met them at a restaurant and danced with one of them a day after, it says.
The investigators interviewed General Michael Carey, but he appeared to have forgotten substantial parts of what had happened in Russia.
Their conclusion was that the general “either had a poor recall of significant events, perhaps due to his alcohol consumption, or was untruthful during the interview”.
The general had been rude to the Russian hosts and to members of the delegation, they said.
And he had complained that his forces “suffered from low morale”.
General Michael Carey has made no comments following the release of the report – the result of a Freedom of Information request.
