National Guard scandals in these 13 states raise questions about culture and accountability
Dennis Wagner
USA TODAY
Corrections and clarifications: This story originally misreported when The Washington Post reported on cronyism in the New Jersey National Guard. That story was published in 2015.
The National Guard system – crucial to America's military defense and vital to state emergency operations – is reeling from corruption and misconduct that reflect overarching command failures, a USA TODAY investigation has found.
For more than two decades, state Guards from Alaska to California to Delaware have been shaken by scandals, often exposed by whistleblowers who are subjected to retaliation amid coverups.
In Maryland, a Black soldier was taunted and forced to wear chains as punishment.
In Vermont, an Air Guard commander allegedly flew a fighter jet to the nation's capital, where he had a tryst with a Pentagon official.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/11/25/national-guard-scandals-by-state/6093566001/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%2011.29.2021&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief
