Whistleblowers in Defense Department deserve better, Sen. Claire McCaskill and others say

A former Missouri National Guard contractor’s claims of wrongful termination have generated new attention from the Department of Defense inspector general, whose office will reopen its investigation into his case amid questions from several U.S. lawmakers.

A bipartisan group, including Sens. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, is urging a government watchdog to tackle what it describes as “persistent, systemic” problems with the handling of defense and intelligence whistleblowers.

The letter sent last week by five lawmakers to the Pentagon inspector general’s office cited delays in investigations and allegations of “reprisal and misconduct” within the inspector general’s office itself.

Michael Sandknop, a videographer who retired in 2009 as a master sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, said in a lawsuit that he was hired in the fall of 2013 through the Missouri National Guard’s Public Affairs Office.

With two other employees, Sandknop was contracted to produce a 30-minute monthly video show. He performed similar duties while serving two years in Iraq, where he earned a Bronze Star.

Sandknop said he was not given the proper equipment to do his job and was publicly berated by his immediate supervisors, Maj. Tammy Spicer and Lt. John Quin. He claims that Spicer was combative and that she and Quin assigned additional tasks to the video team, which wasn’t able to complete a show.

In November 2013, the video team was moved to the supervision of Lt. Col. Larry Crowder. The team was able to produce a video, according to the lawsuit. When Sandknop returned to Spicer’s supervision, so did his problems, and Sandknop claims he had begun to fear for his job.

Sandknop said he sought assistance from the Missouri National Guard’s inspector general and also filed a complaint. He was fired by Spicer and Quin less than a week later. Sandknop provided The Kansas City Star with a copy of a letter he received that following June from Col. Bruce Sones of the inspector general’s office.

“We conducted a thorough inquiry into your request for assistance,” Sones wrote. “Our inquiry determined you were working within your contract, proper video equipment was not provided and you were not afforded opportunities to use your system of redress as outlined in” Sandknop’s contract. “It was also determined there was an unhealthy work environment in the Missouri National Guard PAO (Public Affairs Office). Appropriate action will be taken to address these issues.”

A year later, however, after receiving no assistance from the Guard, Sandknop filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court against Spicer, Quin and others, including Gov. Jay Nixon in his capacity as commander in chief of the Missouri National Guard. Claims in the lawsuit, filed in November, include that Quin and Spicer knowingly made false statements about Sandknop “to discredit, damage and smear” him and that he was wrongfully terminated.

Calls this week were not returned by Quin or Spicer, and Nixon’s office referred questions to the Missouri attorney general’s office, which declined to comment on pending litigation. Sones is retired and could not be reached for comment.

Quin is now a captain in the Missouri Guard’s Public Affairs Office; Spicer is a lieutenant colonel in the Florida National Guard.

Sandknop told The Kansas City Star on Sunday that he’s still confident in his ability as a videographer, but he said he has lost his fiancee and said getting fired “crushed my self-esteem. I’m no fun to be around.”

“I got fired, I got mad, and now I’m getting even,” Sandknop said.

The inspector general’s office has reopened Sandknop’s case and admitted that it made a mistake when it first declined to investigate.

The congressional members wrote Friday that they were encouraged by the inspector general’s response to Sandknop’s case but were still concerned with the broader issues.

Their letter outlines “ongoing challenges, including significant delays in investigations, the lack of a fully implemented, reliable and comprehensive case management system, ineffective oversight of service branch inspector general (Service IG) reprisal investigations, and allegations of reprisal and misconduct within the (Department of Defense Office of Inspector General) itself.

“We write to express our concerns regarding what appear to be persistent, systemic issues … and our hope that you will work diligently to help resolve them.”

The Pentagon inspector general’s office did not immediately comment.

The lawmakers cited several stories by McClatchy, which owns The Kansas City Star, that outlined allegations of problems and delays by the Pentagon inspector general’s office.

The office has also started an inquiry into other alleged cases of reprisal.

In May 2015, the Government Accountability Office said it also found long delays when it analyzed about 124 military whistleblower reprisal cases overseen by the Pentagon inspector general’s office.

The lawmakers noted improvements since acting inspector general Glenn Fine took over in January but asked Fine’s office to explain what reforms have been undertaken since then.

“Retaliation against whistleblowers is alive and well at the Defense Department,” said Grassley. “Whistleblowers deserve fair treatment, free from reprisal, as the law provides. They should be encouraged to come forward, not be treated like skunks at a picnic.”

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Whistleblowers in Defense Department deserve better, Sen. Claire McCaskill and others say."