Top Enlisted Leader of 173rd Airborne Brigade in Italy Fired After Sexual Assault Allegations

The top enlisted leader for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, was fired amid allegations he sexually assaulted a subordinate while intoxicated, internal records of the incident reviewed by Military.com show.

Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Carlson allegedly sexually assaulted a subordinate noncommissioned officer, according to a document summarizing the events. Army officials did not dispute the authenticity of the document. Carlson was also ordered to be evaluated for alcoholism, due to "a pattern of use."

Carlson's removal comes amid the firing this month of two other senior enlisted leaders in the Washington, D.C., area and criminal charges against another. Command Sgt. Maj. Jaime Rubio, the senior enlisted soldier of 5th Squadron, 15th Cavalry Regiment, at Fort Moore, Georgia, faces a court-martial on domestic violence charges, according to an Army docket.

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Carlson, formerly the enlisted leader of the 173rd, was relieved of his position July 16 by the brigade's commander, Col. Joshua Gaspard, and has been suspended since April. The service often temporarily suspends individuals while an investigation takes place and then outright fires them if an investigation concludes the allegations are substantiated.

From there, a case could progress to legal action. As of Friday, the Army's court docket did not indicate any criminal charges had been filed against Carlson in military court.

Military.com is withholding the name of the alleged victim because it's the publication's policy not to name victims without their consent. A spokesperson declined to comment on the details of the matter, citing privacy concerns.

"Due to privacy concerns, and consistent with the Privacy Act, we are unable to provide further comment at this time," Lt. Col. Alex Tignor, an Army spokesperson, said in a statement to Military.com, citing a federal law that stipulates how the government handles personal information.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade is one of the Army's key front-line ground combat formations, serving as the service's premier presence in Europe and set to respond to a crisis on that continent or in Africa, while also building relationships with allied nations through joint training exercises.

Carlson's firing is among a recent string of senior noncommissioned officers getting sacked or facing allegations of misconduct.

Rubio, the 5-15th squadron command sergeant major, was arraigned Wednesday as part of a court-martial at Fort Moore, the Army's public docket shows. He is charged with two counts of domestic violence under Article 128b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

He was removed from the unit's leadership page, and his spot on the page was filled by Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew Pitman, according to a review of previous and current versions of the squadron's website.

The public affairs office at Fort Moore said Friday it was unable to say whether Rubio had been fired.

Rubio enlisted in the Army in March 2004 and has deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and elsewhere, according to his official biography. He has earned the Bronze Star Medal, Distinguished Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal, among other awards.

Meanwhile, the Washington, D.C., area saw two command sergeants major relieved of their duties over the past week.

Command Sgt. Maj. Harold "Ed" Jarrell, the top enlisted leader for the Army's 1st Information Operations Command, was relieved Tuesday.

Command Sgt. Maj. Veronica Knapp, the top enlisted leader for the Army's Military District of Washington, which encompasses much of the service's force around the nation's capital, including its ceremonial forces, was fired Aug. 8. Knapp was among the highest-profile women to serve in recent years.

Before her time in the nation's capital region, she was the first woman to serve as the command sergeant major for the historic 101st Airborne Division.

It was still unclear Friday why Knapp and Jarrell were fired. Statements from the service said their respective commands lost "trust and confidence" in them -- a standard line from the service as it is historically reluctant to disclose the reasoning for firings of senior officials.

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