The undercover investigation into the California National Guard officer focused on matters large and small — the colonel’s Dalmatian and dog’s mess in a military building, but also his handling of a drunken-driving accident by another high-ranking officer and reports of declining morale among the firefighting pilots he supervised.
The California Guard’s inspectors general conducted more than three dozen confidential interviews and thoroughly examined financial records and other documents. They came to an unequivocal conclusion: Col. Lisa Nemeth, the target of the investigation, had committed conduct unbecoming of an officer.
That decision, issued behind closed doors in 2022, jeopardized Nemeth’s planned promotion to general, according to two sources familiar with the investigation who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
But then came an extraordinary telephone call from the Pentagon — one that ignited a cold war between both the California Military Department, the Guard’s parent organization, and the National Guard Bureau, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, and the Air Force, the Times investigation found.
The California side says that at stake is nothing less than the fairness and corruption-free nature of the military justice system and the broader imperative of independence of all guards in state affairs. And this comes as the California Guard struggles to clean up its house after a controversy. A long series of scams Which ended the careers of many generals and other high-ranking officers.
Left: Cal Guard Maj. Gen. Matthew P. Beavers. Right: Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, former director of the U.S. Air National Guard.
(Cal Guard / US Air Force)
The call was made in June 2022 to Major General David Baldwin, then the adjutant general who headed the California Military Department, by then-Lieutenant General Michael Loh, who was the director of the Air National Guard for the United States and its territories.
“Usually I stay away from all government business, but this has affected us too,” Loh said in a voice message, a copy of which was also seen by the Times.
Loh asked Baldwin to dismiss the findings against Nemeth and bring in an outsider to redo the investigation. Loh noted on the call that Nemeth was about to join his staff. He suggested to the guard that a woman be brought in to conduct the new investigation, even though the lead investigator on the original case was a woman.
“I am requesting you to reconsider the whole matter,” Loh said.
Baldwin did not grant Loh’s request. And that’s when tensions began to rise. They finally boiled over when the Air Force inspector general in Washington, D.C., overturned the California findings without further investigation and exonerated Nemeth, according to internal records reviewed by The Times.
The office has the authority to overturn decisions by state inspectors general, but California Guard officials say that rarely happens.
In a memo outlining the reasons for overturning the order, Inspector General Stephen Davis’ office said its review of the matter “found no actions, decisions or omissions that seriously damaged Col. Nemeth’s character or his reputation as an officer.”
Among those angered by the Pentagon’s move was Maj. Gen. Matthew Beavers, who will replace Baldwin as head of the California Guard in 2022.
“Frankly, it is puzzling to understand how the Air Force IG disagreed with all four substantiated allegations, especially given the lack of any new evidence,” Beavers wrote in a scathing memo to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Alvin, obtained by The Times under the California Public Records Act.
“The superficial dismissal of this substantiated allegation flouts good rules of discipline in military command, as well as sets a new, troubling precedent.”
Beavers, who wrote the memo in response to questions from the Times, said the “weak reasoning” used by the Air Force IG to set aside the findings of the California investigation undermined his efforts to reform an organization that has been plagued by scandals involving its senior leaders. A general was later fired for having his subordinates perform personal tasks that were similar to the allegations against Nemeth.
“When the Air Force IG neglects and/or willfully refuses to uphold an established ethical standard, as was clearly done in this case, my ability to effect positive, meaningful change in the interest of good order and discipline is diminished,” Beavers wrote.
Earlier this month, Loh retiredHe declined to comment, and Nemeth did not respond to The Times’ interview requests. The U.S. Senate in May confirmed Nemeth’s nomination to the rank of brigadier general, but the National Guard did not respond to questions about whether his promotion had been finalized.
At the time of her nomination, Nemeth was serving as an Air National Guard advisor to the commander of Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, according to the Defense Department.
Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Loh’s phone call had no impact on Davis’ decision to overturn his findings against Nemeth and that he only learned about it later.
“It just wasn’t part of their calculations,” he said.
Davis said in a letter to Beavers that evidence found in the California investigation does not support the allegations against Nemeth and that because the case has been open for more than two years, “concluding the investigation is the appropriate step.”
The 19,000-member California National Guard serves a dual state-and-federal mission that includes responding to earthquakes, wildfires and other emergencies in the state under the direction of the governor, as well as assisting U.S. armed forces in military operations overseas when activated by the Pentagon. The National Guard Bureau has an administrative role, overseeing staffing, training and equipment needs for the Guard.
In recent years, several Embarrassing episodes The involvement of Guard leaders has reinforced the perception that high-ranking officials who break the rules are protected from punishment.
These included a top general who received only a warning letter after having his subordinates run personal errands, take his mother shopping and complete part of a cybersecurity training. After the Times reported the matter, and following a second investigation, Brigadier General Jeffrey Magram said the matter was an ‘unresolved’ one. he was fired from his job,
Magram, who was once director of the Guard’s Air Staff, was the fifth general to resign, retire or be fired. Times investigation from 2019,
In another case, Brigadier General David Hawkins received a written reprimand after an internal investigation found he had made anti-Semitic and homophobic slurs, including that Jews are unrepentant sinners and that gay marriage is a reason terrorists attack the United States. He resigned.
Former California Guard Judge Dwight Sterling said it was improper for Loh to disregard the chain of command in the Nemeth case and interfere with the state’s investigation.
“This is an attempt to disrupt the due process of the investigation. This is an attempt to cover up misconduct,” he said. “This senior federal official had handpicked this officer and he didn’t want his career ruined because of misconduct that he committed. Well, as a senior manager you shouldn’t do that. You should respect the investigation.”
The saga of the 146th Airlift Wing in the Channel Islands, a unit that was nicknamed the Hollywood Guard because Proximity to the film industry While it was previously based in Van Nuys, it began operating after Nemeth took command in June 2020. Nemeth, a pilot who was new to the Guard, Saluted by the organization California’s first female wing commander.
The celebration was short-lived.
Staffing for the firefighting program — which is made up of a team of highly skilled pilots who fly C-130J tankers over backcountry fires — dropped to critical levels. Most pilots work part-time at the wing and hold outside jobs with airlines, and firefighting missions are largely voluntary. According to the California IG report reviewed by the Times, some pilots felt Nemeth was not prioritizing training for the dangerous assignments.
The commander of the 115th Airlift Squadron, which is part of the 146th Wing, left his position in July 2021 and told investigators he was receiving daily complaints from pilots about wing leadership, the report said.
According to the transcript of his interview, he said, “People were coming to me angrily and saying they would not fly… they would not volunteer for any trips anymore, because unless the leadership cares about them, why should they care about the place.”
Another firefighting pilot, whose name was redacted from the report, expressed similar sentiments.
“It was very clear that (the program) wasn’t getting the attention it deserved, and it wasn’t because it’s a glamour mission, but because it … inherently has risks that need to be mitigated,” Pilot said.
The report said wing leaders at one point discussed forcing pilots to participate in grueling missions because there weren’t enough volunteers, leading to overall fatigue. Nemeth also did not tell higher-ups in the Guard that staffing shortages had become critical, according to the IG report.
“The perception that Col. Nemeth is more concerned about his ‘report card’ than the morale and well-being of his Airmen has repeatedly emerged, and this lapse in senior leadership reinforces that perception,” the report said.
According to the report, Nemeth said she felt she was at a disadvantage because pilots did not support female officers.
But the report also identified other alleged flaws in the decision.
When Nemeth’s second-in-command, Col. Bill Green, was arrested in March 2021 after crashing into a power pole on suspicion of drunken driving, Nemeth fought to keep him in his position and planned to put him in charge when he had to travel. He was grounded, but was allowed to fly firefighting missions again two months after his arrest. Investigators concluded that Nemeth’s decision further undermined morale.
Nemeth was also accused of having subordinates care for his Dalmatian at work, which investigators found disrupted work and distracted people from their duties.
In one incident, the dog urinated on the carpet during a meeting and a flight surgeon went to retrieve supplies to clean it up, according to Beavers’ memo and the investigation report.
In another case, government money was used to buy expensive pet cleaning supplies, including a carpet cleaner machine and two Dyson fans. Others on the base noticed this and brought their pets to work, the report said.
According to the report, dogs are not allowed on the property for any purpose other than official purposes, a rule which other senior officers had great difficulty enforcing.
One operations commander told investigators, “It’s hard to enforce when the boss brings his dog to work,” the report said. The commander’s name was redacted.
During the investigation, Nemeth said she was unaware of the rule and that her puppy served to make people “smile and laugh at a time when it was a very bad time,” the report said.
In her voicemail message, Loh suggested that the complaints against her could be seen as bias against female commanders.
“I think she went in there and did some cleanup work and now there are a bunch of IG complaints,” Loh said. “This is the third case at Guard Nation where there have been allegations of a toxic climate by women and it’s certainly getting the most scrutiny … call me back or if not, please look into the matter.”
The lead investigator, Inspector General Col. Shawna Pavey, declined to comment. The lawyer working on the investigation is also a woman, Charmaine Beatty-Singleton. She did not respond to interview requests.
Lt. Col. Brandon Hill, a spokesman for the California Guard, denied in an email to the Times that gender discrimination played a role in the case.
“In this case, the overwhelming amount of evidence to the contrary speaks for itself,” Hill wrote, adding that Povey has an “unblemished record” and never had a case overturned during her 10-year tenure as inspector general.
