LTC Pastore

If there was a small sliver of victory in my time at Menwith Hill, it was when 1SG Riley was finally removed from office and forced into retirement.  Now, no one ever gave a specific reason for his removal.  It would have been unprofessional for the Army to do so.  However, I was always one of those quiet listeners, with ears the size of doorknobs, who people always like to talk to.  I was able to piece together from various sources around base that he was indeed removed due to my IG complaints, combined with several others, and an overall poor performance rating.  CPT Riley was also replaced after his year in command was over.  This was CPT Riley’s second chance at being a commander – so he was now a two time failure.  His chances of promotion were very slim.  His replacement was CPT Jezercak, who I had worked with in operations and was even a member of my platoon for a short time.  SFC Wiggins took over for 1SG Riley. 

SFC Wiggins became my platoon sergeant after I had finally convinced the Inspector General to remove me from my previous position, for which I was overqualified and underused.  Unfortunately, the Menwith Hill command, instead of logically putting me back into the position I had trained in for the last six years, decided it would be a better idea to stick me into another position completely outside my MOS, where I would again be trained by and answering to junior enlisted soldiers. 

SFC Wiggins was my new platoon sergeant and at first there were small conflicts between us.  Most of this came from him judging me based on what 1SG Riley had told him, and me demanding that I be treated equally with other NCO’s.  Eventually, my work ethic proved to him that I was a good soldier, and when he realized that most of what he had heard from 1SG Riley was bullshit, designed to make me look bad after filing so many IG complaints, SFC Wiggins and I reached a mutual understanding of respect.  As long as I wasn’t a screw up, he didn’t treat me like one.  He was one of the few NCO’s at Menwith Hill who judged you on your worth as a human being, and not on what he had previously heard about you.

This was a period for big changes.  PFC Kelly would finally get her discharge paperwork, as she was expecting her first child with her husband, Don.  Petty Officer David also decided it was time for him to finally resign himself to his fate as a Naval Academy attendee.  He would leave shortly after I did.  Airman Juise would leave for a new assignment at another Air Force base down south.  All that was left of Delta shift dispersed to different corners of the world – something I had gotten used to after eight years. 

I qualified in record time on my new position.  I tried to contribute as much as I could to a job field I knew nothing about compared to what I did in my previous training.  I made tiny gestures – creating training programs and such, but mostly I laid low and tried not to create controversy, lest I give the Menwith Hill command more fuel to throw on the fire they were trying to torch my career with. 

I finally got the chance to meet with our Battalion Commander, LTC Pastore, about my illegal NCOER, and the unverified, unfair information it contained.  He basically stated that he made them change a few smaller items, but that he didn’t think anything in the NCOER was illegal.  I showed him the policy that stated all negative information in the document had to be verified and ADJUCATED, which it hadn’t been.  He remained speechless, and simply repeated the same statement over and over, that he did not believe there to be anything illegal in the document.

Finally, I asked him point blank, “Sir, if there’s nothing wrong with this document, why did 1SG Riley try to rush it out the door without me seeing or having a chance to appeal it?  Why did the PAC secretary have to stop him on my behalf?  Why did he try to shout down the specialist as she walked to your desk with the NCOER in her hand and gave you my appeal?  Why did he claim I was making a big mistake in crossing him and threaten the PAC room for stopping him?”

LTC Pastore again stammered angrily, “SGT – I – I don’t see anything wrong with this docu-this document.  I don’t think 1SG Riley was attempting to do anything unethical.”

I wouldn’t be so easily brushed aside. 

“Sir,” I looked at him directly in the eyes, so he knew I meant every word, “People don’t try to hide things that are ethical.”

LTC Pastore didn’t say anything else.  He just smiled weakly and slid the policy I handed him back across his desk in my direction.  It was obvious he didn’t care what happened.  He just wanted this whole situation to be done and over with for him.  I was obviously nothing more to him than paperwork with a big mouth. 

I gave up trying to talk to higher commands after that.  The next higher commander was the European theater general, and he was in a separate country.  He would have an even less interested reaction than LTC Pastore.  If I was to get anywhere, I would have to go an external third party – I would have to go to the INSCOM Inspector General – at the cost of my career and reputation at Menwith Hill.