Air Pressure Secretary Frank Kendall is permitting a former senior grasp sergeant to retire after being convicted of abusive sexual contact and dereliction of obligation, although the airman’s wing commander advisable he be fired, the service stated Tuesday night.
Grasp Sgt. Jeremy Zier, a supervisor on the Air Pressure Public Affairs Company at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, was discovered responsible in a particular court-martial in August 2020.
Tech. Sgt. Cambria Ferguson has publicly accused him of groping her in a sizzling tub whereas they had been stationed in Turkey in 2015. She was an airman top quality on the time. Zier denied the declare. He was additionally charged with dereliction of obligation for disrobing within the sizzling tub with lower-ranking airmen.
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The jury discovered him not responsible on two different expenses of comparable conduct in December 2019, together with one in Charleston, South Carolina, and one other in San Antonio.
“As a senior non-commissioned officer, Sergeant Zier had a particular duty and obligation to guard and take care of the airmen beneath his authority,” Kendall stated Tuesday. “Sergeant Zier’s misconduct towards a fellow airman violated that belief and his obligation as an Air Pressure chief. Such conduct is unacceptable, doesn’t meet Air Pressure requirements and received’t be tolerated.”
An administrative discharge board determined in December 2020 to maintain Zier within the Air Pressure. In April 2021, 502nd Air Base Wing commander Brig. Gen. Caroline Miller despatched the case on to Kendall to assessment and doubtlessly reverse that end result.
Zier then requested to retire as an alternative of being discharged, complaining that the Air Pressure was making an attempt to push him out and not using a pension. It was as much as Kendall to resolve the ultimate end result.
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Zier was slated to turn out to be a chief grasp sergeant however will end his profession as a technical sergeant, after being twice demoted over the course of his prosecution. The jury at his court-martial diminished him to grasp sergeant as an alternative of issuing jail time; Kendall will now demote him to technical sergeant as nicely.
“The results of Sergeant Zier’s conduct had been totally thought of in felony and administrative boards, and at last by the secretary, in accordance with the legislation and course of,” Air Pressure spokesperson Rose Riley stated Wednesday. “The secretary’s resolution to demote Sergeant Zier will carry a big lack of retirement earnings over the course of his lifetime.”
The Air Pressure hasn’t but set his retirement date.
Rachel Cohen joined Air Pressure Occasions as senior reporter in March 2021. Her work has appeared in Air Pressure Journal, Inside Protection, Inside Well being Coverage, the Frederick News-Submit (Md.), the Washington Submit, and others.
