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Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Continuing Wanat repercussions: Why General Schloesser chose to punch out

I heard through the Army grapevine that Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser chose to retire because the company, battalion and brigade commanders were given GOMRs (General Officer Memoranda of Reprimand) in the Wanat matter, but he wasn’t, and he considered that unfair. (He had been the overall commander of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan, which is ...

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ARNAUD ROINE/AFP/Getty Images
ARNAUD ROINE/AFP/Getty Images
ARNAUD ROINE/AFP/Getty Images

I heard through the Army grapevine that Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser chose to retire because the company, battalion and brigade commanders were given GOMRs (General Officer Memoranda of Reprimand) in the Wanat matter, but he wasn't, and he considered that unfair. (He had been the overall commander of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan, which is where Wanat is.) So I sent him a note to ask him if that was accurate.

I heard through the Army grapevine that Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser chose to retire because the company, battalion and brigade commanders were given GOMRs (General Officer Memoranda of Reprimand) in the Wanat matter, but he wasn’t, and he considered that unfair. (He had been the overall commander of U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan, which is where Wanat is.) So I sent him a note to ask him if that was accurate.

Yes, he responded, "That’s correct."

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1
Tags: Afghanistan, Military, South Asia

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