The Defense Department inspector general has recommended "corrective action" against the former director of DoD's Wounded Warrior Care and Transition Policy Office.

A harsh IG report concludes that Philip A. Burdette misused government resources by detailing a contractor to work as a golf caddy at a charity golf event; engaged in unsound leadership practices; attempted to influence a contract for the benefit of a subcontractor; and misused government resources, official time and a rental vehicle, among other findings.

He is accused of violating federal law and DoD regulations.

The report is dated Oct. 11, 2013, but was publicly released only Monday.

Burdette was appointed to the Senior Executive Service on March 17, 2010, and became principal director of the wounded warrior policy office on March 1, 2011. The office is now known as the Warrior Care Policy Office. Burdette is now a special assistant and senior adviser to the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

Information was not immediately available from defense officials about whether any corrective action has been taken against Burdette.

"The department can't comment on ongoing personnel issues," DoD spokesman Army Maj. James Brindle, said.

Burdette was not immediately available for comment.

He was hired during the tenure of Cliff Stanley, former undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Stanley resigned in October 2011 amid multiple complaints to the DoD IG related to dysfunction in the P&R directorate, including some filed by staffers in the wounded warrior policy office. The IG report cited six complaints between Dec. 20, 2011, and March 13, 2012, containing allegations against Burdette.

"The assessments are spot on. The IG did a very thorough job investigating all of the assertions," said one source familiar with the wounded warrior policy office.

As reported by Military Times in January 2012, Burdette was criticized, among other things, for cutting the staff of the wounded warrior policy office and contractors, affecting service to wounded warriors.

The source said that since Burdette departed, morale has improved because the office has been able to expand programs for wounded warriors in education, employment, internships and community outreach.

Among the IG's findings:

■ Morale among Burdette's subordinates was poor and witnesses interviewed were critical of his leadership ability, describing him as ":a 'bully' with an apparent objective of intimidating subordinates by means of punitive threats." Burdette would refer to subordinates who were not in his presence as a "liar" or "criminal," according to the report, citing witnesses who said Burdette had a reputation for yelling at subordinates.

Burdette testified to the IG that his leadership practice was in response to the lack of discipline he found upon his arrival in March 2011. In sworn testimony, he said he did not bully, yell or call anyone names. But the IG report stated investigators were "persuaded by the consistency of sworn testimony among a large cohort of witnesses with direct knowledge of Mr. Burdette's conduct." Complaints to the IG alleged that Burdette had created a hostile work environment, resulting in an erosion of staff morale, increased fear, and a degradation of mission effectiveness.

■ Burdette misused the services of an employee, directing his staff to find an employee to serve as a caddy to support a charitable event. That contract employee was not on leave, because the employee was directed by Burdette to be at the golf course. Burdette told the IG that it was his boss who detailed the employee to the golf event. But according to the IG, the evidence indicated the contractor reported to the golf event under Burdette's direction to his staff.

■ Burdette improperly accounted for his time and attendance. The IG's analysis found that Burdette did not complete an eight-hour work day on-site or off-site for 43 days — a total absence of 119 hours and 30 minutes. Yet he recorded working eight hours for pay purposes on those days.

■ Burdette attended a White House ceremony with a subcontractor on Nov. 11, 2011, and later invited the subcontractor to attend a holiday reception hosted by the Marine Corps commandant. Burdette later recused himself from the subcontract, but the IG found that Burdette had frequent interactions with the subcontractor after he recused himself and that he "frequently inserted himself in the ... subcontract in an attempt to benefit the subcontractor."

■ Burdette extended a business trip in Colorado primarily to go skiing on Jan. 28, 2012, and later requested and received government reimbursement for his rental car to go to the ski slopes that day.

Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.

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