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By Mike Connolly Gannett News Service WASHINGTON An investigation by the Air Force inspector general has exonerated the officers of the 150th Tactical Fighter Group of the New Mexico Air National Guard from charges of cheating during military school ad vancement courses, Says a Pentagon spokesman. The original allegations were first made last November in an apparent attempt to block the promotion of Col. Robert Sands, the commander of the fighter group. Affidavits by retired Maj. John Kretz, a former member of the fighter group, and two members of the New Mexico G.I. Forum, president Pete Jimenez and legal counsel Jess C. Sandoval, had charged that Sands had backdated his orders to avoid combat duty in Vietnam and had also allowed members of the 150th to cheat on professional military education courses required for advancement within the Air Force. After a four-month in vestigation of the allegations, the Air Force concluded that both charges “were unfounded and could not be substantiated.’ Charges that Sands had avoided combat duty were “completely unfounded,” according to the report, while allegations that Sands allowed squadron members to submit ghost-written examination papers ‘could not be substantiated by any evidence.” But the statement released by the Pentagon Tuesday also indicated that the investigation was in complete because Kretz, who was the main accuser of Sands, had suddenly withdrawn his charges without offering any ex panation. According to the affidavits filed by Jimenez and Sandoval, Kretz had withdrawn the charges ‘under duress and threats.”’ Because Kretz stead fastly refused to talk with Air Force investigators, however, the inspector general concluded that further investigation of the allegations ‘‘was im possible.”’ As a result, the inspector general has closed the in vestigation ‘‘without any further actions con templated,”’ the Pentagon said
Newspaper Details
Santa Fe New Mexican
Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
Thu, Apr 06, 1978
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
Casandra S.
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