- Michael J. Turley – The former general warrant officer of the Utah National Guard – was demoted from the Major -General to Lieutenant -Colonel after having pretended to have an “inappropriate relationship with a subordinate”.
- Turley commanded the UTAH National Guard for almost four years before being relieved of its mission in 2023.
- These demotions – which have an impact on the retirement services of an officer – are rare.
The former Warrant Officer of the Utah National Guard – who was put on administrative leave two years ago following allegations of “inappropriate relationship with a subordinate” – retires with a retrogram of rank.
Former major-general Michael J. Turley retired as a lieutenant-colonel-a rank of US army officer (O-5) three stages below his highest military rank (O-8), according to a Task & purpose ratio.
“An investigator of the army inspector supported the allegation that Major-General Michael J. Turley is engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate,” said army spokesperson Cynthia O. Smith. “He will retire as a lieutenant-colonel, who was determined in the last year in which he honorably served. We consider this closed affair. “
Turley is retiring to the lower rank as a result of an assessment of the army determination committee, Keith Garner, deputy director of public affairs of the UTAH National Guard, told Task & Purpose.
On August 17, 2023, the Governor of Utah Spencer Cox published a statement that Turley had been on administrative leave of his Utah National Guard’s command position because he was the subject of an investigation by the Ministry of the Inspector General of the Army.
In a press release provided to military times a few days later, Turley denied “any inappropriate relationship”.
In 2023, Cox was invited to know if he knew the investigation in progress before Turley was placed on leave. Cox said he had read the investigation in 2022, but the Inspector General of the Army would not share the details in progress, he was therefore left with insufficient evidence to support allegations, “said KSL-TV.
Turley became general adjutant of the Utah National Guard on November 7, 2019, assuming the command of 7,600 soldiers and employees.
Only a week before being placed on administrative leave – August 9, 2023 – Turley joined the local leaders to salute President Joe Biden when he arrived at the base of the National Air Guard Roland R. Wright in UTAH.
And earlier the same year, then-sen. Mitt Romney, Rutah, chose Turley as a star guest at the state of the Union of Biden. Romney’s office said he was not aware that Turley was under a long -standing investigation at the time, USA Today reported.
Cox named Brig. General Daniel Boyack as a new general warrant officer of the Utah National Guard – a position he still occupies under the general general.
Rare feedback – but not unknown –
When the officers are demoted, it is customary that defense officials announce that their ranks have been reduced to the last year that they have served honorably or satisfactorily, according to Task & Purpose.
This practice is generally used in cases where soldiers are trying to retire and facts and evidence of misconduct in their careers are revealing, the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Air Force Rachel Vanlandham, a former military lawyer, in Task & Purping.
“Their misconduct therefore surrounds everything they did later,” Vanlandingham, professor of law at the Southwestern Law School, told Los Angeles.
Such demotions are rare but not unknown, she said.
“This allows the Pentagon to say: Hey, look, you do not deserve to have this retirement perpetuity rank, and you do not deserve the salary,” said Vanlandingham. “This is a huge salary reduction for the rest of your life in your pension because you don’t serve honorably.”
