Top Admiral Presiding Over Naval Intelligence Barred from Classified Intel For Years

The investigation carried out by the Justice Department against Vice Adm. Ted Branch is no isolated case. Several other restrictions and demotions have been placed over other admirals in similar positions. One of Branch’s deputies, Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, the Navy’s director of intelligence operations meet the same fate as Branch. Federal corruption charges also are pending against a Navy commander and a senior Pentagon civilian.

The amount of Naval officers that have been removed from their positions is quite startling given the crises the Pentagon is dealing with in the Middle East, the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula and other hot spots.

Could it be that this is simply another one of President Obama’s plans to dispose of patriotic leaders standing in his way? Consider Obamas purge over the past five years, firing 200 military personell, in which there are claims that commanders were fired if they answered no when asked if they would fire upon Americans. Read more about Obamas purge here.

There is much confusion from the Navy towards the Justice Department given the lack of evidence towards these admirals. The Navy hadn’t expected the investigation to take this long by commenting that there is no evidence that the admiral had compromised military secrets, saying the move was “prudent given the sensitive nature of their current duties.“

The Washington Post reported that the ongoing investigation “has not impacted the Navy’s ability to manage operations.” Even though Branch can’t meet with other senior U.S. intelligence leaders to discuss sensitive operations, or hear updates from his staff about secret missions or projects.

What is the point of an intelligence officer if he is stuck performing managerial duties while his civilian and military deputies handle the classified aspects of his job? Simply, so that he does not get in the way.

With Loveless’s status in limbo, the Navy transferred him to another position in December 2014.

As the corporate director for information dominance, he still works for Navy intelligence. But he deals primarily with issues that don’t require a security clearance, such as personnel and training, officials said.

The Navy has twice taken steps to replace Branch as well, but for reasons that remain unclear, hasn’t gone through with it.

In November 2014, the Navy prepared a nomination package for Rear Adm. Elizabeth Train to become the service’s intelligence head. But her promotion was put on hold after someone filed a complaint against her with the Navy inspector general.

Rear Adm. Elizabeth L. Train. (U.S. Navy)
Details of the complaint couldn’t be learned, but Pentagon officials said Train was cleared of wrongdoing by the inspector general. Her nomination was finally sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee in September.

Nothing has happened since. Pentagon officials said that her nomination has been placed on the back burner and that she’s not scheduled for promotion until July, although they declined to explain why.

Such a delay could work in Branch’s favor.

If he remains in his current job until July, he will have enough service time to qualify to retire as a vice admiral. If forced to leave before then, it’s more likely that he would have to retire at a lower rank as a two-star admiral, with a smaller pension.

The senior Navy official disputed that Branch’s rank and retirement eligibility was influencing the timetable to replace him. “That has not been a factor whatsoever,” the official said.
Even if Branch were cleared of wrongdoing by the Justice Department and the Navy tomorrow, he would face a much longer wait to regain access to military secrets.

Pentagon officials said his security clearance would have to be restored by a separate arm of the bureaucracy — the Defense Department’s Central Adjudication Facility — in a process that usually takes months.

 

Source: Washington Post