THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609280224
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 65 lines
Several senior Navy and Marine Corps officers have reimbursed the Norfolk Navy Exchange about $5,000 for special treatment they ``unknowingly received,'' in the wake of an investigation by the Navy Inspector General's office.
The officers, among them admirals and at least one general, also received administrative discipline, ranging from counseling to letters of caution, reminding them to be alert to situations that could bring them undesired special treatment, a Navy spokesman said.
None of the officers was named. Nor was the exact number involved revealed, though one Navy officer familiar with the investigation said it was ``less than two dozen.''
``We are not going to say who, or how many,'' the spokesman said, ``because special treatment was received unknowingly. In many cases it was undesired.''
The investigation, which began in January, followed complaints from workers at the Norfolk store that senior officers were being given special treatment.
As a result, the commander of the Navy's exchange stores agreed to step down from his post while the investigation took place. That officer, Rear Adm. Jack T. Kavanaugh, commander of the Virginia Beach-based Navy Exchange Service Command, has since been granted retirement, effective Nov. 1.
Kavanaugh's command is responsible for 135 exchange stores, 41 Navy Lodges and more than 250 ship's stores. Exchanges sell everything from soap and baby diapers to electronics, computers and furniture.
Among the incidents in which officers accepted special benefits, the investigators found, were:
An admiral who accepted a ride to his office after leaving his automobile at the Norfolk exchange for servicing. He has since voluntarily reimbursed the exchange the cost of a taxi ride from the store to his home.
Senior officers who accepted the free delivery of Christmas trees to their government quarters, a service not normally provided other customers.
The officers, many of whom reside on what is known as ``Admirals' Row'' at the Norfolk Naval Station, were told by store employees the trees would be delivered for free.
``They didn't know the service wasn't provided to other customers,'' the spokesman said, adding that they also have repaid the exchange for the service.
Senior officers who accepted 10-percent discounts on exchange items simply because of their rank, and because their patronage was important to store management.
Officers who obtained liquor at cost from the base package store. That would have been no violation had they been buying liquor for certain government-sanctioned events, but in some cases the officers made the purchases for strictly social gatherings.
``In most cases,'' said the spokesman, ``customers were asked about a discrepancy and voluntarily agreed to fully reimburse the exchange system for any merchandise they received for less than regular cost, or services they received without payment, even though the special treatment was unknowingly received or undesired.''
The investigation, which looked at all senior naval officers who used the store, did not uncover any criminal wrongdoing, officials said.
Its findings were reviewed by Navy Secretary John Dalton, who took no action on the matter.
All administrative action was taken by each officer's chain of command.
KEYWORDS: NAVY EXCHANGE REIMBURSEMENT INVESTIGATION by CNB