Air Force officials convene court martial for former command chief

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• Air Force officials announce court-martial sentence for former command chief - 1/30/2011

Air Force officials convene court martial for former command chief

Posted 1/25/2011

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1/25/2011 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- Air Force officials convened its court-martial trial Jan. 25 against Chief Master Sgt. William Gurney, the Air Force Materiel Command former command chief, who is charged with 19 violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Chief Gurney pled guilty to 13 violations of dereliction of duty and sexual misconduct. The judge, Col. Thomas Cumbie, dismissed an obstruction of justice charge.

For the remaining five violations that deal with sexual harassment and misuse of official position, the chief requested a trial by a jury of officers.

The remainder of court proceedings dealt with the questioning and selection of those jury members. By day's end, six officers, ranging in rank from captain to colonel, were selected for the trial.

The specifications that Chief Gurney pled guilty to are:

--Seven violations of Article 92 for dereliction in duty for failing to maintain a professional relationship with seven different female Airmen, all who were junior in rank to him;

--One violation of Article 92, for wrongful misuse of government property for other than official purposes;

--One violation of Article 120, indecent conduct with a female master sergeant; and

--Four violations of Article 134, for committing adultery with four separate female Airmen all who were junior in rank to him.

Chief Gurney pled not guilty to:

--Two violations of Article 93, maltreatment (sexual harassment);

--One violation of Article 120, unwanted sexual contact; and

--Two violations of Article 134, misuse of official position.

(Courtesy of 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs)

Comments

2/17/2011 7:31:13 AM ET
I believe I remember this fellow while stationed at Keesler AFB in the mid 1980's. My thoughts of him then were suspect although I only came in contact a few times. Probably the only good thing to come of this is he finally got caught. You do realize Gurney would probably have been considered at least a finalist if not the chief Master Sergeant of the AF.

david newberry, tn

1/31/2011 10:06:59 AM ET
Disgraced the AF Family

Phil, Daytona Beach Florida

1/29/2011 11:28:13 PM ET
He should have recieved more jail time. All too often the enlisted community attempts to draw parallels to the officer corps with regard to different spanks for different ranks. This should not be the case with E-9 Gurney. As a representative of 1 percent of the enlisted force, there is a different standard. As a Chief, I was told that the day I made E-9, and I led the remainder of my career trying to live out that code every single day. AB Gurney will thrive at Leavenworth, albeit for not as much time as he should have recieved.

Chief W retired, E. Tenn

1/27/2011 11:10:08 PM ET
The saddest part about all of this is the fact this E-9 not CMSGT took his rank and position to belittle disrespect and take advantage of both his family at home and at work. Behavior typical of someone who has been doing it for years

Fair and Consistent SNCO, Worldwide

1/26/2011 2:33:44 PM ET
Whether an Officer or Enlisted no one can deny he broke the law and he admitted he did. Let the legal system work out the rest.

James, Alabama

1/26/2011 2:17:52 PM ET
This is directed at those who apparently blame officers for the chiefs current predicament and those who refer to the general that committed similar acts but was not punished as severely. First the chief has not been officially punishednone of you know the outcome as yet. Furthermore the chief placed himself in this position by abusing his authority over the enlisted personnel he had control over. Officers are not to blame for the chiefs predicamentthe people he abused many of them enlisted are the ones who want him to pay for his alleged crimes. Like you I am ashamed that the lawyergeneral escaped further punishmenthe deserved much more scrutiny in my eyes. Bottom line those of you that feel like you need to blame someone else for the chiefs bad character take a deep breath and calm down. Whining about what did or didnt happen to someone else is meaninglessevery case is different.

GLR, New Mexico

1/26/2011 1:24:51 PM ET
Didn't a former commander-in-chief do basically the same thing? Wasn't he allowed to continue as commander-in-chief? Guess you have to have higher standards to be in the military than to be a president.

Tim, CAFB

1/26/2011 1:14:04 PM ET
They will not strip him of his retirement or benefits, just some of his pension money. At most he will lose some stripes and pay and be quietly let go. Not right in my opinion but that's how the cookie crumbles.

Steve, Tampa

1/26/2011 12:19:34 PM ET
This is not a black eye for the Chief's community. This is a black eye for all O-6 and above in the Air Force officers' community. Colonels and general officers get away with everything. The Air Force is showing the world what they think of their enlisted members. This is very disapointing for the CCM. I am sure his behavior has been going on for a long time, probably all the way back to when he was a Staff Sgt, and unfortuantely no one help him along the way to get his personal life on the right track. It's unfortuanate we are going to remember this case better then all the officers' cases where they got DUIs, sexual harrassment charges, stealing, or got fired as a wing commander, etc, and are still in the Air Force.

Bryan, Seattle

1/26/2011 11:31:55 AM ET
Twenty-six years of arrogance, deceit and lies How many people did this person counsel in his career to live our core values? How many ALS schools did he speak to and espouse to our future leaders about the dedication and sacrifice necessary in defense of our nation? How many times did Gurney trumpet the company line? How many of our future young leaders looked at this person as a shining example as one to emulate as a position or rank they might aspire to? There are probably a lot of confused and rather ticked off Airmen, NCOs and Sr NCOs right now who are seriously questioning their followership to this individual. He deserves nothing. NO benefits, NO retirement, NO nothing! Not only did he leave his career in shambles but he left quite a mess and confusion for those coming behind him. By the way, demotion for this person to Airman Basic is an insult to all those young Airmen who are excited, charged up, dedicated and ready to support and defend.

Ret Sr NCO , Colorado

1/26/2011 11:31:24 AM ET
The Air Force 0-6 JAG was convicted in a court-martial but he couldn't be punished by the court because the White House wouldn't release the records of his assignment there. So he retired at the rank he last held honorably--0-2. Apples and oranges here.

WV, San Antonio TX

1/26/2011 10:16:29 AM ET
If he were an officer they would give him a slap on the wrist and let him retire with pay and benefits. Anyone remember the lawyer who faked his credentials a few years back and practiced as an AF lawyer for 20 years? They let him retire as an 0-6; doesn't seem fair. Convict all of them and take all pay and allowances none of them deserve it.

Andy, Stafford VA

1/26/2011 10:00:39 AM ET
Different spanks for different ranks. What of the former AF JAG who was allowed to retire an O-6 under similar circumstances? The good old boy network indeed.

MSgt F V - retired, US

1/26/2011 8:37:39 AM ET
I bet he wishes he was an 0-6 now. Then it would be a simple little slap on the wrist and a nice retirement.

Retired, PA

1/26/2011 7:48:03 AM ET
Someone needs to go and research the case of MGen Fiscus and then tell us that we don't have double standards.

SB, Florida

1/26/2011 7:25:09 AM ET
Chief O Retired Texas had this been an officer maybe a demotion and forced retirement. Just look over the last decade at all the high-profile cases that have happened most of them got lesser punishment AND still got to retire. Not everyone is held to the same standards.

JLS, FL

1/26/2011 4:23:51 AM ET
I don't agree he should lose all his retirement benefits. Yes he screwed up MULTIPLE times and gave the AF a black eye. But he also worked his tail off to get to E9. The hammer really came down on this guy. I wish him all the best in the future. He probably isn't a bad guy that everyone is making him out to be. I'm sure he did a lot of positive things for his country that we don't know about.

Someone, Desert

1/26/2011 1:49:00 AM ET
I call shenanigans on him being stellar up until this point you don't become a Command Chief and just decide to start sexually harassing and making unwanted passes. I promise you it's happened before. He was just caught he should be made an example of.

Patt, Afghanistan

1/25/2011 8:24:33 PM ET
No this is not a blackeye on the entire Chief community. There are literally hundreds of Chiefs setting the standard day in and day out in line and staff organizations throughout the Air Force. They don't work for three or four buttons, don't have huge egos and have remained steadfastly gounded with reality. Pure and simple, this is a case of perceived invincibility and invisibility by one individual.

Chief T-Retired, Tucson AZ

1/25/2011 6:21:40 PM ET
Let me add a new wrinkle to this discussion. How did the CCM screening and boarding process not eliminate this chief from making the esteemed list? Is it possible that the peer selection process overseen by a one-star really adds little value to the selection of CCM candidates? When the AF took the selection of CCMs away from senior raters not too many years ago, many of us believed it was to prevent seating the 'wrong' Chiefs at the table. This Chief was not the first CCM to go down in flames and surely won't be the last. It's a sad day for his family far more than the AF they will never recover from his indiscretions the rest of us will forget this episode with the arrival of the next CCM or at least we should.

The Old Retired Guy, San Antonio

1/25/2011 4:53:00 PM ET
Sounds to me like this guy needs help. It is a shame he didn't get the help he needed before he ruined himself hurt those around him and tarnished the honor of the Air Force

Lt. Col USAR Ret, Sacramento CA

1/25/2011 4:31:28 PM ET
A black eye for the entire Chief community. Maybe time for our Chiefs to take a personal inventory and ensure they are meeting and exceeding the values and expectations of their rank.

Jeff, Wyoming

1/25/2011 4:14:36 PM ET
Another article indicated hes been reduced to AB Bad Conduct Discharge and loss of all benefit and retirement. As for the only time this E9 has been in trouble there have been people in all areas civ and mil who have been stellar to a point only to fail. He admitted to the initial set of charges and on those others he will be courts martialed. This is a case of someone not meeting the core values not good old boy or other networks. Yes its a bad day for the AF from a public relations stand point but the positive is leadership has chosen to hold this individual to the standards and not let them fade away.

Chief O Retired, Texas

1/25/2011 3:21:58 PM ET
If found guilty, I wonder if he will lose his retirement benefits. I believe he should.

Chuck, Luke AFB AZ

1/25/2011 3:04:49 PM ET
I am sure this was the only time in this E-9s career he ever did anything wrong. I bet if you look at his EPRs and APRs they are solid 5s and 9s. For this E-9, it's just his bad luck that his good ole boy network was unable to protect him this time. Although I am sure the network tried. I just wonder how many careers he ruined during his stellar career.

Retired SNCO, Ohio

1/25/2011 1:38:06 PM ET
This is disappointing. This E-9 was in a significant position within the USAF and to egressiously violate the USAF Core Values and commit these types of crimes is abhorrent.

Chief W--Retired, Tennessee Valley

1/25/2011 12:29:53 PM ET
Guess the Chief had too much time at AFMC...Another setback for our Air Force and perception within the Public Sector.

Shawn, Pentagon

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