Kevin P. Byrnes
General, U.S. Army

Kevin P. Byrnes was born on 12 March 1950 in New York City, NY. He was commissioned through the Officer Candidate School program in 1969. Byrnes was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Park College in 1975, and a Master of Arts in Management from Webster University in 1985.

Byrnes is a retired U.S. Army General who was officially relieved of his command on 8 August 2005, after 36 years of military service, for disobeying a lawful order from Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker. At the time he was relieved of command he was serving as Commander, Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC); a command he began on 7 November 2002.

Byrnes was already scheduled to retire from the Army in November 2005.

Prior to assuming those duties, he served as Director, Army Staff, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Programs and as the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff.

General Byrnes' other key assignments have included: Commanding General, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, TX; while deployed in that capacity, he simultaneously served as the Commanding General of the Multinational Division (North) in Tuzla, Bosnia, from October 1998 to August 1999; Director, Force Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Washington, DC; Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver), 1st Cavalry Division; Commanding General, Joint Task Force Six, Fort Bliss, TX; Commander, 1st Cavalry Division Artillery, and later Chief of Staff, 1st Cavalry Division; Director of Political and Economic Studies and Director of the Strategic Outreach Initiative for the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA; Commander, 4th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery in 2nd Armored Division (Forward) in Germany; and Commander, Battery C, 1st Battalion, 39th Field Artillery, Fort Bragg, NC. His overseas tours include Vietnam, Germany and Bosnia.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with 3 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Army Commendation Medal
Army Achievement Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Vietnam Service Medal with 2 Bronze Stars
Armed Forces Reserve Medal
Army Service Ribbon
Army Overseas Service Ribbon
NATO Medal (Yugoslavia)
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Parachutist Badge
Army Staff Identification Badge

Adultery Inquiry Costs General His Command

By DAVID S. CLOUD

New York Times
Published: August 11, 2005

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 - A four-star general who was relieved of command this week said Wednesday through his lawyer that the Army took the action after an investigation into accusations that he was involved in a consensual relationship with a female civilian.

The lawyer, Lt. Col. David H. Robertson, said the case "involves an adult relationship with a woman who is not in the military, nor is a civilian employee of the military or the federal government."

The general, Kevin P. Byrnes, was relieved Monday by the Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, just a few months before General Byrnes was scheduled to retire as head of the Army Training and Doctrine Command.

The findings of an Army inspector general investigation have not been made public; because of that, military personnel who discussed the case asked not to be identified.

The Army is reviewing the case to see if further disciplinary action should be taken, including a possible reduction in rank and loss of some benefits, Army officials said.

Adulterous affairs are prohibited under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Two Pentagon officials said that a reduction in rank in General Byrnes's case was unlikely, given his otherwise unblemished record.

General Byrnes contends that he should be allowed to retire at his current rank because an investigation found no evidence that he had used his position as head of the training command in connection with the case, an Army official said.

General Byrnes has told associates that the relationship began after his separation from his wife, Carol Byrnes, in May 2004. General Byrnes, 55, filed for divorce in March, according to documents filed with the Texas district court in Henderson County.

The divorce became final this week, according to the statement issued by his lawyer.

Relieving a four-star general of command is unusual, and several Army officers said they considered the punishment surprisingly harsh for a general who was nearing retirement anyway.

But dozens of members of the military are disciplined every year for adultery and related offenses, and the Pentagon may have wanted to avoid the appearance of a double standard that could have resulted if it let a senior general retire at full rank after the Army had been alerted to the accusations.

In 1999, the Army demoted a retired general who admitted to adulterous affairs with the wives of four subordinates.

The general, a native of New York City, was commissioned in 1969. He served as director of the Army staff in Washington. His posts included Vietnam, Germany and Bosnia, and he once commanded the First Cavalry Division.