Steven Calvery 'wrongfully' authorized administrative leave to attend a golf tournament. | REUTERS DOD security boss hit for golf, favors

The director of security at the Pentagon allowed his employees to use administrative leave to play golf and arranged for an individual who didn’t work for the Defense Department to use one of its firing ranges, according to the department’s inspector general.

Steven Calvery, who has been director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency since 2006, misused his position and his subordinates and gave “preferential treatment” to an employee seeking a promotion, the IG charges in an investigation released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from POLITICO.


At the Pentagon, spokesman Lt. Col. Tom Crosson said officials “took appropriate administrative action” in response to the IG investigation, but provided no details. “It would be inappropriate to comment about this administrative action, as such comments would be contrary to department policy and a violation of the Privacy Act,” he said.

The IG report substantiates four allegations made against Calvery in anonymous calls to the IG’s hotline:

Firing range

Nearly three years ago, the report says, Calvery arranged for an individual who wasn’t employed by the PFPA to use the agency’s firing range at the Pentagon.

The individual’s identity is redacted in the report, which implies that he or she is a relative of Calvery’s, noting that “other family members of PFPA employees were not offered the same benefit.” The individual received an hour of firearms instruction from two PFPA employees and got to use weapons and ammunition belonging to the agency.

( Also on POLITICO: Full defense policy coverage)

The report includes summarized responses from Calvery, who apologized for the incident — which the IG says represented a misuse of his position — and said he was willing to reimburse the agency for any costs associated with the individual’s use of the firing range.

Golf outings

Calvery “wrongfully” authorized four hours of administrative leave in 2009 and 2010 for employees to attend an annual PFPA golf tournament he had started several years ago as a team-building initiative, the report says.

“Mr. Calvery may have had the authority to grant four hours of administrative leave,” the report explains, “but could not do so for the purpose of playing golf.”

Calvery changed his policies in 2011, the report notes, after seeking legal advice. He then started requiring employees to use their annual leave time to attend the golf tournament, which was not sanctioned by the Defense Department.

( Sign up for POLITICO’s Morning Defense tip sheet)

“Preferential treatment”

The IG says Calvery provided “preferential treatment” to a subordinate who was seeking a promotion, helping the subordinate get a job that others in the agency felt was undeserved.

The report, which implies that the subordinate had worked in a job that put him or her in close contact with Calvery, says the subordinate scored below other candidates on a test administered by a selection board. The board recommended three other candidates for the promotion.

But Calvery intervened, the report says, directing the subordinate to be added to the list, resulting in one of the three other candidates being removed.

“We conclude Mr. Calvery engaged in a prohibited personnel practice by providing preferential treatment to a subordinate,” the report says.

In his response, Calvery denied having a personal interest in the subordinate’s promotion.

Lunch and “lattes”

The report also says Calvery had employees pick up lunch for him, along with “lattes,” as one witness told the IG. Calvery did not dispute this allegation, which the IG says represents a misuse of subordinates, but said he only had employees bring him food on occasion.

Calvery is the second person to serve as director of the PFPA, which was created in 2002 in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The agency is responsible for protecting Pentagon employees, guests and facilities.

A Vietnam veteran and former Army helicopter pilot, Calvery had been the Department of Interior’s director of law enforcement and security.

He’s also a former special agent in the Secret Service who protected former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

This article tagged under: Pentagon

Politics

Inspector General