They wanted a sensitive Brigade Commander for the deployment to Afghanistan
Army leaders suspended an Afghanistan-bound Fort Carson commander over allegations of insensitivity toward sexual assault victims and gender discrimination before an investigation cleared him last month.
The investigation into the conduct of Col. Brian Pearl is detailed in a 361-page report released to The Gazette on Monday under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
The report shows that three female officers in Pearl’s 4th Brigade Combat Team came forward with the accusations after a Feb. 18 focus group on sexual assault policies with a women-only audience.
The report offers a view of military struggles with the burgeoning issue of sexual assault, along with the complexity commanders face in addressing what is one of the most sensitive issues in the nation.
Top military leaders, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, have mandated increased training for troops on sexual assault prevention in the face of a hurricane of criticism after a report last year that estimated 23,000 incidents of unwanted sexual contact throughout the military.
The report released Monday is the first time the Army has revealed details of why the senior leader was suspended on the eve of a combat deployment and missed leaving with his soldiers March 6.
“I feel that I am being discriminated against on gender discrimination … by Col. Brian Pearl,” one of the accusers, a captain, wrote in an official complaint.
The captain, whose name was redacted from the report along with other witnesses, called for Pearl, a 25-year veteran, to be relieved and the allegations were taken seriously: The colonel was suspended and didn’t initially deploy with his unit.
That was an unprecedented step for the Army, which is reluctant to pull commanders as the soldiers they train head to war.