I wiki'ed Gen. Ralston to read his bio and the claim was made that it was the firing of 1st Lt. Kelly Flinn that caused the blowback on Gen. Ralston. Do you know anything about that?
"In 1997, at the retirement of
John M. Shalikashvili, the then
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Ralston was the top candidate to succeed him to the highest position in the military. A scandal erupted when it became public that Ralston had an adulterous affair with a CIA employee during the 1980s. Ralston claimed this was while he and his wife Linda were separated.[SUP]
[4][/SUP]
Defense Secretary
William Cohen backed Ralston despite the controversy, declaring that Ralston's secret, adulterous relationship 13 years ago would not "automatically disqualify" him from becoming the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[SUP]
[5][/SUP] There were allegations of double standards, as 1st Lieutenant
Kelly Flinn was forced out of the Air Force after being charged with adultery a month prior.
Ralston withdrew his name from consideration[SUP]
[6][/SUP] and remained Vice Chairman until 2000, when he was appointed
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, in which function he served from 2000 to 2003, taking over from
United States Army general
Wesley Clark. In this capacity, he was the highest-ranking officer in NATO. He retired on March 1, 2003."