Damaging report says general behaved inappropriately with women

The Pentagon inspector general on Thursday released a report finding that a senior military aide to Defense Secretary Ash Carter misused his government credit card, lied about the misuse and also had inappropriate interactions with women.

The report found that Army Maj. Gen. Ronald F. Lewis, who had already been dismissed from his position, had engaged in behavior unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. 

It outlined several trips he took while on official travel with the defense secretary where he patronized clubs, including one known for prostitution, drugs and underage drinking.  

{mosads}During an April 2015 trip to Seoul, the report said Lewis patronized the Candy Bar club, which was also commonly referred to as “Hooker Hill.”

Though designated an “off-limits” club by the Army garrison commander, Lewis charged $1,121.25 in personal expenses to his government card during a visit. 

After defense personnel found the charges while assisting him with expenses, Lewis denied he made them and filed a fraudulent claim with Citibank, which refunded the expense, according to the report. 

The report also detailed other occasions in which Lewis misused his business travel card or engaged in inappropriate behavior.

On another official trip to Rome in October 2015, Lewis spent $1,755.98 on his government card at the Cica Cica Boom club in Rome, the inspector general report said.

The report said that on another official trip to Hawaii in November 2015, Lewis spent time alone with an enlisted female service member in his hotel room drinking and later dining at a restaurant where they consumed more alcohol. They later met up with members of the defense secretary’s travel delegation and drank more. 

They went back to his hotel room, along with a member of the travel team. After drinking more, Lewis escorted the member of the travel team out of the room so he could be alone with the female enlisted service member, according to the member of the travel team. 

The female enlisted service member told investigators that Lewis tried to initiate physical contact and she blocked him with her hands. She said they did not have any further contact and that she left the room. Lewis said he had no recollection of physical contact and denied attempting or having physical contact with her.  

On another official trip in November 2015 to Malaysia, members of the travel delegation witnessed Lewis being “chummy” and “extremely intimate” with a female civilian subordinate, the report said. 

On a trip to California in August 2015, Lewis asked a female enlisted service member to see him, and when she arrived, he was shirtless and only dressed in gym shorts. The service member told an officer she felt uncomfortable and later made sure she had a “buddy” any time she had to report to Lewis’s room. 

Lewis, in an Aug. 19, 2016, response to the inspector general’s findings, stated, “I am aware of my mistakes, errors in judgement, and perceptions I may have created” but disagreed with the report’s conclusions. 

He denied he had visited the Candy Bar club and that he filed false paperwork to Citibank, and he said the investigation mischaracterized his relationship with the senior female enlisted service member in Hawaii.  

The Defense Department inspector general said after further investigation, “We stand by our report and the conclusions in it.” The report will be submitted to the secretary of the Army for review.

Carter said he has been briefed on the investigation. 

“I understand the IG has referred the matter to the Department of the Army for appropriate action, and I will defer any further comment on the report pending the Army’s review,” he said.  

“As I said when I first learned about allegations of misconduct against Maj. Gen. Lewis and removed him as my Senior Military Assistant, I expect the highest possible standards of conduct from the men and women in this department particularly from those serving in the most senior positions. There is no exception.”