The four-star admiral recently forced into retirement by the Pentagon for an impolitic comment about the rape of a Japanese girl by U.S. servicemen is under investigation for allegedly using a military jet to fly across the Pacific to visit girlfriends.
Adm. Richard C. Macke, 58, commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific, allegedly had his military air crew fly him twice from Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii to the Miramar Naval Air Station in California and once to the Washington, D.C., area on trips that were mainly personal rather than official in nature, according to military sources.The Defense Department's inspector general is also looking into allegations that on one of the trips to California, Macke left his air crew at Miramar for four days while he took a commercial flight to Las Vegas with a Marine lieutenant colonel based at Camp Pendleton whom he was dating, military sources said.
Macke, who is recently divorced, is also under investigation for dating a Navy lieutenant commander and using his military plane to visit her.
It is against military policy for service members of significantly different ranks to date one another, especially if they are in the same chain-of-command.
"The inspector general was asked to look into allegations concerning aircraft misuse," said Susan Hansen, a Defense Depart-ment spokeswoman. She said she could not elaborate.
Macke was "unavailable for comment" because his schedule is so heavy, Pacific Command spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Beci Brenton said.
Because of his position, Macke has a KC-135 jet at his disposal for official business, Brenton said. It is an 80-passenger plane similiar to a Boeing 707, and its crew averages about 10 members.
A naval aviator known for his brash manner, Macke was forced to accept early retirement on Nov. 17, hours after he told reporters that the servicemen accused of raping a 12-year-old Japanese school girl could have hired a prostitute for the amount they paid to rent the car they used to abduct her.
"I think it was absolutely stupid," he told reporters. "I've said several times, for the price they (the servicemen) paid to rent the car, they could have had a girl."
He made the comment at an especially sensitive moment in U.S.-Japanese relations. Many Jap-an-ese pointed to the rape as another example of why the American military presence on Okinawa should be scaled back, a move Washington successfully resisted.
At the time, Pentagon officials said Macke would leave his post almost immediately, but he is still there. One reason his departure has been delayed, said Pentagon sources, is that the Senate must confirm the retirement of the highest ranking military officers. It would be impossible for the Senate to pass judgment on whether Macke should retain his four stars and full retirement pay and benefits until the investigation is complete.
A team of investigators visited Hawaii in December. Sources familiar with the investigation said it would be at least several weeks before the inspector general's office concludes its report.
As commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, Macke leads the largest contingent of U.S. forces and is responsible for a 100 million-square-mile area.