A top Army official lost track of highly classified maps that were left on a train and sustained a concussion after falling over due to an “overindulgence in alcohol,” a new report has found.
Former U.S. Army Major General Antonio Aguto, who oversaw the coordination and training of the Ukrainian military, was unable to find the documents for “more than 24 hours” after assigning control of them to his staff, according to the Pentagon’s Inspector General.
The investigation into alleged misconduct “found insufficient evidence to determine who had control of the classified maps once the travelers boarded the train for the return trip.
“On April 4, 2024, the travelers left the classified maps on the train when they arrived back in Poland. The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine recovered the unattended classified documents from the train when it returned to Ukraine 1 day later,” it stated.
The 56-page report, published on Friday, stated that “only diplomatic couriers or specially authorized nonprofessional diplomatic couriers can hand-carry classified material across international borders,” and that the staff members assigned to take the documents had not been either.
Aguto, who is now retired, later “took responsibility for this incident,” the report added.
The Germany-based Security Assistance Group-Ukraine was established in November 2022 and consisted of around 300 personnel to “ensure America is postured to continue supporting Ukraine over the long term. Aguto, a two-star general, led SAG-U until his retirement in August 2024.
As well as the incident on the train in Europe, the IG investigated allegations that Aguto was “intoxicated in meetings” and created a “toxic” work environment at the SAG-U headquarters during his tenure.
The accusations of being drunk in meetings were not substantiated, the IG said, though Aguto’s inability to perform his duties on May 14, 2024, “was a result of a concussion, which was diagnosed after... [he]... sustained injuries from a series of falls.”
“We determined by a preponderance of the evidence that the effects of MG Aguto’s intoxication from overindulgence in alcohol during a dinner on May 13, 2024, caused the first fall in his hotel room, resulting in the concussion,” the report stated.
It added that Aguto had been drinking from “two bottles of liquor” and had toasted multiple times throughout the six-hour dinner.
“A preponderance of the evidence established that MG Aguto suffered a moderate-to-severe concussion caused by head injuries from at least one, if not all three, falls in the late evening of May 13 and the morning of May 14,” the IG stated.
“MG Aguto’s medical exam on May 14, and a comprehensive evaluation by a neurologist and imaging tests on May 16, confirmed that MG Aguto had a concussion.”
Despite his condition and the smell of alcohol on his breath the day after, it was not established that Aguto had been intoxicated while on duty. The allegations that he created a toxic work environment were also not substantiated.
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