U.S. troops punished for contact with foreign women during White House trip but not court-martialed

By Dan Lamothe January 18 at 4:49 PM

The Army and Air Force have punished U.S. service members who were sent home from Vice President Pence’s trip to Panama last year after bringing foreign women into a secure area without registering them, but they will not court-martial them, U.S. military officials said.

The Army elected to issue general officer memorandums of reprimand to the three soldiers involved, said Adrienne M. Combs, an Army spokeswoman. The reprimands will not have an immediate impact on the soldiers’ careers but can affect their chances of promotion, reenlistment or retirement, she said.

The Air Force also administratively punished at least one airman who was involved, said Ann Stefanek, a service spokeswoman. She did not say what the discipline included.

The services’ handling of the issue administratively effectively limits public information about the cases, including the service members’ names and additional specifics about what happened. The decision appears to bring to a close an embarrassing incident for the White House Communications Agency, a military unit that provides secure communications equipment for the president, the vice president, the Secret Service and other officials while they are traveling outside Washington.

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