R. Reese Fuller

Retired generals "insulted" by Jindal

by R. Reese Fuller

Recently a group of retired generals appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal assessed the Louisiana National Guard and produced a report. The Jindal administration dismissed portions of it and has refused to release the panel's findings. The Times-Picayune reports that the rift began last week "when Jindal reappointed Maj. Gen. Bennett Landreneau as the state's adjutant general without reviewing the report by the governor's Recommendation Committee for the Adjunct General of the Army National Guard, a position that oversees the Louisiana National Guard."

WDSU reports:
Former Louisiana Adjutant General Ansel "Buddy" Stroud, the panel's chairman, expressed concern about statements from the governor's office saying no committee report existed. Stroud said the committee completed its report in January - but the governor's office repeatedly canceled meetings to deliver it.
In a letter to Jindal's Chief of Staff Timmy Teepell, Stroud wrote that the committee members were "flabbergasted and insulted" that their review had been ignored by the governor. On Monday, Teepell sent a letter to Stroud saying he thought Stroud was biased against Landreneau and might even have a conflict of interest. Retired Brig. Gen. Sam deGeneres, a member of the panel, told The Times-Picayune: "He has challenged Gen. Stroud's integrity, as well as ours, and that's not acceptable. Mr. Teepell owes Gen. Stroud a public apology and he owes the members of the committee a public apology."