Whistle Blower Punished

Feb. 6, 2009
Air Force suspends man who went public with his concerns about maintenance on U.S. reconnaissance aircraft.

The Air Force last week suspended the security clearance of a whistle-blower at its air base near Omaha, NE, two months after he went public with his concerns about maintenance on U.S. reconnaissance aircraft.

Officials at Offutt Air Force Base told George Sarris, a senior civilian aircraft mechanic, that they took the action because he failed to report a maintenance problem on one of the planes and because they had concerns about his mental state. The loss of security clearance means Sarris is still employed, but not allowed to perform his job.

Sarris and his attorney countered Thursday that Sarris had been trying to convince his supervisors to deal with the maintenance problem at issue — and many others — for years. Sarris’ attorney added that the Air Force relied on "rank gossip" to raise bogus concerns about his mental condition.

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