Army General from Chicago Fired from Top Pentagon Post

Lt. Gen. Ronald Lewis, 49, grew up in the Beverly community.

The Department of Defense inspector general is conducting the investigation. Carter told Lewis Thursday evening he was removing him from a position as his senior military assistant, reports the Chicago Tribune.

“I have confidence in the Inspector General’s ability to determine the facts,” Carter said in a statement. “The Department of the Army will then take action as appropriate. I expect the highest possible standards of conduct from the men and women in this department, particularly from those serving in the most senior positions.”

Fox News, citing sources, reports an “improper relationship” led to the general’s dismissal and that Ash was shocked at the allegations:

The firing severs a long, close professional relationship between Lewis and Carter, and sent shock waves across the Pentagon. Lewis served as Carter’s military aide earlier in his career, including when Carter was the deputy secretary of defense. And when Carter was tapped to become defense secretary earlier this year, he chose Lewis, then an Army one-star brigadier general, to move into the three-star aide job.

Lewis graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan as a commander and attack helicopter pilot. He also received a masters degree in national security studies from the Naval War College. In Chicago, he graduated from Mendel Catholic Preparatory High School and attended Vanderpoel Elementary School.

In a Chicago Tribune profile published in January upon his promotion to major general, Lewis referred to himself as a “punk kid” and also acknowledged his parents, who still reside in Beverly, for raising him right.

He’s married and has two children.

photo credit: Department of Defense