Army general suspended after allegedly pressuring panel to sign off on "unfit" officer

A four-star Army general has been suspended and is under investigation for allegedly using his position to influence a panel to pick a lower-ranking officer for a command job. 

Gen. Charles Hamilton was suspended from his position as head of the Army Materiel Command and the matter was referred to the Defense Department’s inspector general for an investigation, according to ABC News.

Hamilton allegedly used his position to inappropriately convince an assessment board to give a command job to a lower-ranking female officer. Despite his attempts, the panel rejected this job for the officer, due to her “ineffective and counterproductive leadership," according to The Washington Examiner.

She can still compete for the position as a candidate next year.

“This week, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth became aware of credible allegations Gen. Charles Hamilton, commanding general of Army Materiel Command, interfered in the Army’s Command Assessment Program process last fall,” a spokesperson for Wormuth told Military.com.

The spokesperson also said that the suspension is currently pending and the Pentagon investigation is ongoing.