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Because of Keltz’s remark, the accused officer will have another Article 15 hearing with a different convening authority, Whaley said. The new hearing has not yet been scheduled. It will remain in the same command, but will be with someone outside of the 19th Air Force chain of command.
As the convening authority in the Article 15 hearing, which was to determine whether the accused officer’s nonjudicial punishment for an unspecified offense was too harsh, Keltz essentially served as both judge and jury.
Whaley said that if Keltz’s ruling in the case stood, it is possible that his remarks could later be used as grounds for overturning his decision. She did not know if the officer’s defense attorney objected to Keltz’s comments.
AETC announced the resignation of Keltz, who was commander of the 19th Air Force, on April 30 and attributed it to an “inappropriate comment” in a public forum. Whaley at that time confirmed to Air Force Times that Keltz’s comment had to do with excessive consumption of alcohol, but would not repeat what he said.
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