Okinawa Patriot battalion commander relieved of duty
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — An Army lieutenant colonel in charge of a Patriot missile battalion was relieved of duty earlier this month for violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice, officials said Friday.
Claiming privacy issues, the Army declined to give specifics about why Lt. Col. Matthew T. Michaelson was relieved of his duties with 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment.
Maj. Richard Stebbins, public affairs officer for the 94th Air Missile Defense Command, the 1-1 ADA’s parent command, said Michaelson’s removal from command was technically due to a violation of the UCMJ but was an administrative matter.
“He was taken out of command because of a situation that was technically a violation of the UCMJ, but this was not a court-martial and his actions were not anything illegal. I can’t go into the specifics because of privacy issues, but this was really nothing real serious. His behavior was just not in keeping with what we expect from our commanders,” Stebbins said.
An official change-of-command ceremony took place at Kadena Air Base on Aug. 7. Lt. Col. Edward O’Neill assumed command of the 600-man battalion.
No information was available as to what Michaelson’s new posting is.
