The Navy is investigating the president of the U.S. Naval War College over allegations he abused his authority, mismanaged college funds and offered ‘free hugs.’
Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harley took over as president of the Newport, Rhode Island, college in July 2016. The college, which grooms senior officers, faces a budget deficit of about $5 million. Harley approved about $750,000 in raises in the same year, according to the Associated Press.
A career surface warfare officer who commanded the USS Milius, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, Harley is a former director of White House Situation Room. He allegedly behaved in ways staff found odd or inappropriate, including sending mass emails to students and teachers inviting them to his office for games of Twister or “free hugs.” He also kept a margarita machine in his office.
Harley asserted that the college’s financial struggles stem from the Navy under-funding the college while the college took on new responsibilities. He said the emails reflected his lighthearted approach to leadership and that the complaints lodged against him came from a small group of people.
“I do not believe there’s anything in those emails that are derogatory, unethical, immoral or illegal,” he said. Harley also said he did not own the game Twister.
Employees filed an anonymous complaint in April 2018 stating that Harvey’s “destructive and ethically challenged leadership style is destroying the college.”
