Army's
highest-ranking NCO
in Kosovo under investigation
By Kevin
Dougherty
Kosovo bureau
CAMP
BONDSTEEL, Kosovo — The U.S. Army has suspended its highest ranking noncommissioned
officer in Kosovo and sent him back to Germany pending an investigation, an
Army spokesman confirmed Friday.
Officials
would not comment on the investigation of Command Sgt. Maj. Sherman L. Fuller,
though rumors are circulating among the troops.
"We
are aware of allegations and an investigation into this issue is currently ongoing,"
Maj. Jim Marshall, an Army spokesman, said in a prepared statement. "In
keeping with Army policy, we will not discuss the nature of the investigation
in order to protect individual rights and privacy."
According
to the brief statement, Fuller was suspended from his duties Monday.
Officials
said Saturday that no one has been selected to take over his duties in Kosovo.
U.S.
Army Brig. Gen. Kenneth J. Quinlan, the commander of Task Force Falcon, asked
for the investigation once allegations of misconduct arose.
It
was not immediately clear how long the investigation would take.
In
the meantime, Fuller will handle duties as a special assistant to the command
sergeant major of the 1st Armored Division. The division is headquartered in
Bad Kreuznach, Germany.
Aside
from his duties as task force command sergeant major, Fuller is the command
sergeant major of the division’s 2nd Brigade, which is based in Baumholder,
Germany.
"Until
the completion of the investigation," Marshall said, "he’s back up
in Germany."
As
command sergeant major of Task Force Falcon, the main U.S. component to the
NATO-led Kosovo Force, Fuller outranked every enlisted American soldier in Kosovo
and Macedonia.
Fuller
joined the Army in 1978 and has served in a number of capacities in units stationed
in Germany, Panama and in the States. His combat tours include stints in Grenada
and Panama. He was a distinguished honor graduate of his Ranger school class.
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