"Disgraced" former U.S. general to receive pension of $80,000/year for life

So what do we learn from this? We  now live in a country in which the surest path to success is a job with the federal government (much like China under the Mandarins). Commission as an officer at age 22, retire at 52 with a fat pension.

USA Today

"WASHINGTON — The Army has stripped Maj. Gen. David Haight of three ranks, Army Secretary Eric Fanning said Friday, following revelations contained in documents and interviews of Haight's decade-long extramarital affair and “swinger lifestyle.

A board of his peers called for Haight to be busted to lieutenant colonel, a demotion that will cost him nearly $43,000 per year in pension pay. Fanning, in an interview, said he had accepted the recommendation after a panel of three officers reviewed Haight's conduct — and his secret second life — and determined that lieutenant colonel was the last rank in which he had served satisfactorily.

Fanning spent hours discussing the case with other general officers and read the investigative report twice before accepting the recommendation, he said.

"He’s going to be retired as a lieutenant colonel," Fanning said. "Pretty big drop."

...

Haight, a decorated infantry soldier and Army Ranger, had served as the director of operations for U.S. European Command until the spring. An Army investigation determined that he had had an 11-year long affair with Jennifer Armstrong, a government employee, and had misused his government cellphone to stay in contact with her.

The Army reprimanded Haight — effectively ending his career — and hauled him back to Washington. He was placed in a job with few responsibilities while the board determined his rank for retirement. Haight had been allowed to maintain his clearance to view classified material until the day after USA TODAY published the story about his secret life, and had raised questions about his susceptibility to espionage.

...

If Haight had been allowed to retire as a two-star general with 30 years of service, he would have been paid about $122,800. Retirement as a lieutenant colonel drops that pension to about $79,800."