Kevin Byrnes

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Kevin P. Byrnes

General Kevin P. Byrnes
Allegiance	U.S. Army
Years of service	1969-2005
Rank	General
Commands	Training and Doctrine Command 1st Cavalry Division

Kevin P. Byrnes is a retired U.S. Army four-star general, (1 of only 11), who was relieved of command in August 2005, apparently for adultery (officially for disobeying a lawful order from Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker), after 36 years of military service. Prior to his retirement, General Byrnes was demoted to Lieutenant General, the rank of three-star.

"A four-star general who was relieved of command this week said Wednesday through his lawyer that the Army took the action after an investigation into accusations that he was involved in a consensual relationship with a female civilian. The lawyer, Lt. Col. David H. Robertson, said the case involves an adult relationship with a woman who is not in the military, nor is a civilian employee of the military or the federal government. The general, Kevin P. Byrnes, was relieved Monday by the Army chief of staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, just a few months before General Byrnes was scheduled to retire as head of the Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). [1]

General Byrnes assumed the duties of Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command, on November 7, 2002, after serving as the Director, Army Staff.

General Byrnes, a native of New York, New York, was commissioned through the Officer Candidate School program in 1969. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Park College in 1975, and a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University in 1985.

Prior to assuming his current duties, he served as Director, Army Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Programs and as the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff. General Byrnes’ other key assignments include: Commanding General, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; while deployed in that capacity, he simultaneously served as the Commanding General of the Multinational Division (North) in Tuzla, Bosnia, from October 1998 to August 1999; Director, Force Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Washington, D.C.; Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver), 1st Cavalry Division; Commanding General, Joint Task Force Six, Fort Bliss, Texas; Commander, 1st Cavalry Division Artillery, and later Chief of Staff, 1st Cavalry Division; Director of Political and Economic Studies and Director of the Strategic Outreach Initiative for the United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; Commander, 4th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery in 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in Germany; and Commander, Battery C, 1st Battalion, 39th Field Artillery, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His overseas tours include Vietnam, Germany and Bosnia.

[edit] Speculation on the Web

Various bloggers and pundits have made a variety of claims as to the "real" reason Byrnes was relieved of his post.

Blogger Donald Sensing speculated that the relationship for which the General was relieved of his position was actually a homosexual affair. [2]
Blogger Wayne Madsen speculated that the firing was the result of insubordination, in that Byrnes may have disagreed with higher-ups concerning military policy. [3]
Randi Rhodes, on her The Randi Rhodes Show, speculated that Byrnes was being used as a scapegoat for the United States Army's failure to meet its recruitment goals.

Others have compared this affair to the affair of Marine Corps General Smedley Butler.