FIRST, A LITTLE BACKGROUND:
When Japan hit Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the federal government swung into action and revved up their printing presses. The American government printed money at an astounding rate.
It made sense. America was overnight, on a war footing and badly needed people, ships, planes, submarines and all manner of weaponry to go after Germany, Italy and Japan.
Nowadays, we just print money and send it to the Ukraine. They line their pockets and send a kickback to people who sent them the money. American weapons are sold all over the world on the black-market. Everybody gets rich except the American taxpayers.
In early 1942, money was being pumped into existing military bases, and the government sought out other locations to establish new military installations. They found one such opportunity in Colorado.
Camp Carson was established in 1942, literally weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack. The City of Colorado Springs, purchased land south of the city and donated it to what was then called, “The War Department.” We don’t call it that anymore. It’s not politically correct.
Construction began immediately after acquisition. The first building, which was the camp headquarters, was completed on January 31, 1942, fifty-four (54) days after President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan, Germany and Italy, AKA: the Axis.
It was also called, the Tripartite Pact also known as the Berlin Pact, which was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940.
Once the Pact was signed, if we could provoke Japan to attack us, then we were instantly at war with all three members of the Tripartite Pact. There’s a great book on the subject published in 1999, by author Robert B. Stinnett called “Day of Deceit,” but we digress.
Camp Carson was named in honor of the legendary Army scout, Christopher “Kit” Carson, who explored much of the West in the 1800s. Kit Carson was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and U.S. Army officer.
He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime through biographies and news articles; exaggerated versions of his exploits were the subject of dime novels. His understated nature belied confirmed reports of his fearlessness, combat skills, tenacity, as well as profound effect on the westward expansion of the United States.
Although he was famous for much of his life, historians in later years have written that Kit Carson did not like, want, or even fully understand the fame that he experienced during his life.
Camp Carson was ultimately designated as “Fort Carson” in 1954. In the 1960s, mechanized units were assigned to the fort. Fort Carson expanded to the present 137,000 acres or 214.06 square miles. (REF: Wikipedia)
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY IS
ETHICALLY CORROSIVE AND FINANCIALLY EXORBITANT
There once was a time when there were only a handful of civilians ever allowed on military installations. Now, there are hundreds of thousands of civilians who go to work each and every day on military installations all over the world.
While military personnel can be railroaded off the base and into prison at the whim of the convening authority, civilians can’t be fired no matter what they do… well, let’s say that it’s so difficult to fire a civilian employee that it seldom, if ever happens. They have a guaranteed job for life.
When employees cannot be fired for poor work performance, then accountability goes out the window. When no one can be held accountable, corruption metastasizes until the entire organization is infected with greed and a feeling of invincibility.
When there is no accountability, the seeds of corruption take root and sprout tentacle vines that become firmly intrenched. It becomes the way business is conducted, and anyone who attempts to alter that “business model,” is dealt with in a variety of ways.
Most of the time, the civilian/military mafia will target your paycheck. But, they will resort to virtually any and everything to neutralize the threat a whistleblower might pose to their sweet little river of money flowing from the U.S. Treasury into military installations all over the world.
Consider the Frank Serpico story. He exposed massive corruption within the NYPD was immortalized in the 1973 film “Serpico,” in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, based on the book of the same name by Peter Maas.
Fraud and thievery at military bases worldwide are now at levels which cannot be described. Billions of taxpayer dollars are lost due to fraud, waste and abuse every year. Audits find that millions are missing and no one does anything about it. No investigation. No charges. No convictions.
THE FRAUD, WASTE AND ABUSE HOTLINE,
WAS AND IS AN ABSOLUTE JOKE
Somebody can always call the “1-800 Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline” to report the massive thieveries going on, but we don’t recommend it. The hotline was established not to combat fraud, waste and abuse, but rather to locate and destroy the whistleblower who placed the call.
Since its creation in 1980, the Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline has received millions of phone calls, but has had zero investigations which means zero charges filed and zero convictions. That’s right, in forty-four (44) years, no one has ever been held accountable because a whistleblower reported criminal misconduct to the so-called, “1-800 Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline.”
If you try to report fraud or corruption to a Member of Congress amounting to, let’s say for a million dollars, they just laugh at you. They have that amount of money just laying around in drawers in Washington D.C. People stuff that much in their pockets every day in Washington.
While Members of Congress are wasting trillions, you are attempting to get their attention over a measly million bucks. A word to the wise, don’t waste your time trying to get Congress to stop fraud, waste and abuse. Not only is it a complete waste of time, it places your livelihood and possibly your life in danger.
Our only hope is to report criminal misconduct to the American people. If the American people do not care and continue to put the same idiots in office who add trillions to our national debt every year, then we and our grandchildren will pay the terrible price that will manifest itself in the future.
In the hope the American people actually do care and are getting fed up, MilitaryCorruption.com will continue to expose any fraud we are given evidence of.
We have reported on several examples in past articles and wish to bring our readers up-to-date about the fraudulent cesspool at the United States Army’s Fort Carson in Colorado.
The evidence of fraud in the military just keeps piling up, so here’s an update with more evidence specifically pertaining to the Fort Carson case…
APPROPRIATED FUNDS USED TO HELP CIVILIANS
WITH THEIR SMALL BUSINESS VENTURES
Fort Carson leadership is using appropriated funds to pay for its civilian base employees’ personal small business ventures. This is not debatable. Furthermore, Fort Carson leadership is hiring civilian employees on term-agreement-employment contracts to whom blamed can be assigned.
Unfortunately, the cover-up goes way up in the chain of supervision. How high you might ask? Do you really want to know? This depends. First, do you want the truth? Second, can you handle the truth?
Dr. Ronald Coyle was hired on a two-year term agreement to work in the Fort Carson MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) marketing department from September 2019, through July 2021.
Dr. Coyle discovered what some attorneys have told him was a ‘classic’ embezzlement scheme through which Fort Carson active duty and civilian leadership were funneling appropriated funds to dubious sources. It is graft and corruption which is woven into the very fabric of how business is conducted on virtually any military installation.
Dr. Coyle brought up an accounting issue officially circa 2021, after Fort Carson leadership began pressuring him to create a budget and saying he was the manager of an appropriated fund account where funds were being directed to inappropriate places. Dr. Coyle was selected as the fall guy.
Military Corruption previewed Dr. Coyle’s story initially August 2022, in its post titled ARMY’S FUZZY MATH IS TOO MUCH FOR FORMER ARMY VET WHO BEGAN ASKING QUESTIONS LIKE, WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?
REF: https://militarycorruption.com/ronald-coyle-case/
Dr. Coyle does not intimidate easily. He’s one whistleblower you do not want to tamper with. Since our last posting about Dr. Coyle and the shenanigans going on at Fort Carson, Dr. Coyle has been able to accumulate much more information about what really happened on Fort Carson during his tenure with MWR.
Since August 2022, Ronald has been able to:
- Re-open the Fort Carson MWR investigation into inappropriate use of funds from a top -brass lead concept called Mountain Post Living (MPL) through Army CID (Criminal Investigation Division).
- Get Colorado Congressman Doug Lamborn and Senator John Hickenlooper to address the matter briefly.
- Force a hearing with the United States Congressional Armed Services Committee.
Despite Dr. Coyle’s efforts to expose the truth, he has learned about a dark side of America that few people…
a) know about, or
b) simply do not care to talk about.
Which Fort Carson MWR employees are using appropriated funds for personal small business expenses? Why is Army CID in on the cover-up?
Dr. Coyle came up with a plan to get credible information to further expose how the United States Army is embezzling appropriated for base contractors’ questionable organizational and personal expenses.
Dr. Ronald Coyle was able to get the investigation into Fort Carson’s misuse of appropriated funds re-opened through the U.S. Army CID office in September 2022. Dr. Coyle met with a Ms. Melanie Wells (melanie.j.wells5.mil@army.mil) at his local Fountain, Colorado police station.
Ms. Wells recorded the session via audio and video. Dr. Coyle also recorded an audio file of the discussion.
DR. COYLE CALLS OUT
MR. RYAN STIKELEATHER
Dr. Ronald Coyle followed-up with Ms. Wells via a secretly recorded call early October 2022. Dr. Coyle did not tell Ms. Wells that he since found out that some funds were going to pay for at least one MWR employees’ small business Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) expenses.
Ms. Wells said that her investigation findings matched those from when Dr. Coyle initially brought up the matter in March 2021. Unfortunately, Dr. Coyle brought up the matter around why appropriated funds were going to a MWR employees’, a Mr. Ryan Stikeleather, small business expenses.
Ms. Wells immediately switched gears on the call to acknowledge that Dr. Coyle was on a ‘Need-to-Know’ basis. This evidence certainly shows Fort Carson active-duty leadership knew that funds were going to inappropriate sources.
Neither MWR leadership or Mr. Ryan Stikeleather has never been prosecuted for misuse of Congressionally appropriated funds being funneled to pay for small business expenses. Military Corruption has a copy of the audio. A copy of the audio can be provided to anyone upon request who contacts Dr. Ronald Coyle at: rcoyle85@gmail.com.
Is this how the game is played? Government officials find deviant ways to channel taxpayers’ dollars to support their lavish lifestyles and wannabe businesses.
Furthermore, business owners like Mr. Ryan Stikeleather can potentially double-dip and deduct expenses (paid for by tax dollars) from their businesses when it comes time to file taxes.
Afterall, Mr. Ryan Stikeleather has receipts showing purchases toward his business made – – he just doesn’t need to inform the IRS of who actually made the purchase.
Using appropriated funds to pay for MWR employees’ small business expenses should concern everyone. Most alarming is Fort Carson leadership’s sloppy job of concealing the matter. It’s almost as if the base doesn’t care whether people know it is embezzling taxpayers’ dollars.
Consider that Mr. Ryan Stikeleather’s purchase receipts were given to Mr. Coyle through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request available for view at: https://militarycorruption.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/FOIA-Documents-Coyle-Case.pdf.
BREAK-TRAIL INVOICE
REF: Break Trail LLC, Invoice #000038
Dr. Coyle also has Invoice #000038 from an organization called Break-Trail, LLC, which was featured in the MPL FOIA dump. It was also featured on MilitaryCorruption.com in August 2022. Dr. Coyle merely had to ‘connect the dots’ using the unredacted information on the invoice.
Dr. Coyle quickly noticed the address and phone number in the top left corner of Invoice #000038 was unredacted. He then discovered an association with numerous business filings on the Colorado Secretary of State website for Break-Trail Photography LLC, which was filed under the name Ryan Stikeleather.
The business filing addresses matched the Invoice address which Dr. Coyle received as a result of his FOIA request.
REF: Screen Shot of Colorado’s SOS website
To no one’s surprise the business filings suddenly stopped in 2021, after Dr. Coyle brought up the matter. Dr. Coyle deduced that apparently all funding going to Mr. Stikeleather’s LLC may have come to a screeching halt as well.
Mr. Ryan Stikeleather owned Break-Trail, LLC. Furthermore, he was also an active MWR employee. Mr. Ryan Stikeleather was featured in the Fort Carson Mountaineer, a local on-post newspaper.
Under the photo below in very small print is the name of Mr. Ryan Stikeleather as the person who took photos on behalf of MWR for the local post MOUNTAINEER newspaper.
Military Corruption.com has been given additional context and evidence around who Mr. Ryan Stikeleather really is by viewing a short video Dr. Coyle put together.
Dr. Coyle shows screenshots of Mr. Stikeleather’s address and Mr. Stikeleather’s former LinkedIn page showing he is – or at least was a MWR employee when he was using funds inappropriately.
Mr. Stikeleather has since deleted his LinkedIn page and other evidence showing his association with MWR. Dr. Coyle attained screenshots of Mr. Stikeleather’s LinkedIn page prior them being deleted.
Both acknowledgement by an Army CID agent and information shown within this post detail a scenario that Fort Carson leadership knows of appropriated funds going to pay for some base employees’ small business expenses.
If using tax dollars to pay for a MWR employees’ small business expenses is not embezzlement, then what is? Ryan Stikeleather can still be verified as a MWR employee in 2020. See his feature in Installation Management Command News at:
https://campbell.armymwr.com/application/files/4716/0685/2490/FC-InsideIMCOM-Issue13-OctNovDec.pdf.
What does the DODIG and Government Officials Say about the Matter?
Dr. Coyle has pushed this matter to the Department of Defense Inspector General (DODIG), U.S. Congressman Doug Lamborn, Senator John Hickenlooper, the U.S. Congressional Armed Services Committee and the President of the United States of America.
The typical response from most politicians and their staff is to say that Dr. Coyle was not mentioned by name, but only by his former job title, in a report that blames him for ‘something’ (by his former job title) in an investigation around misuse of government funds.
Dr. Coyle is often advised to ‘go with what the DODIG findings say are accurate.’ Dr. Coyle took this as a subtle threat, to shut-the-hell-up and move on from the matter.
Dr. Coyle feels that he has all the evidence necessary. Unfortunately, attorneys decline to help over fear of retaliation. It is apparent to Dr. Coyle that many parties know what is going on, but simply cannot bring themselves to do the right thing and hold people accountable.
WHY IS DOD-IG IN ON THE COVER UP?
DOD IG Investigator Maj. Russell Tabolt was presented evidence in December 2022, of MWR being investigated in October 2020, for questionable use of MPL funds.
No findings came about from the investigation in October 2020. MWR continued to pressure and coerce Dr. Coyle to misuse funds when the FY 2021, budget opened in February 2021.
Dr. Coyle brought up the issue formally. He was clearly being pressured to misappropriate funds, thereby becoming part of the fraud. MWR conducted an informal investigation (that MWR initially agreed to as being formal). MWR admitted that funds were being used for dubious purchases.
Maj. Tabolt told Dr. Coyle not to contact him anymore. Dr. Coyle presented Maj. Tabolt with real evidence of a cover-up as to how the misuse of funds were not found in October 2020, but were subsequently found in March 2021.
Dr. Coyle has all the Email correspondence, but the fraud is so ingrained, that no one really wanted to hold anyone accountable for the wholesale theft of taxpayer dollars.
Dr. Coyle came to the realization that it’s okay for the U.S. Army (and potentially other government agencies) to purposely misuse funds – – especially for personal gain. Fort Carson leadership merely said that a specific appropriated fund was being managed by Dr. Coyle.
Keep in mind that this is a fund that Dr. Coyle had no direct access to. Dr. Coyle caught on to the scheme by paying attention and collecting evidence. The best way for the coverup to work was to find a way to accuse the whistleblower of some sort of skullduggery.
DOD LEVIES BLAME, BUT
DOESN’T HAVE THE GUTS TO FILE CHARGES
In their so-called investigation, DOD IG apparently blamed Dr. Coyle for something even though he was not called out by name. Dr. Coyle has never been charged with anything, because their attempts to make him the fall-guy failed.
Virtually every politician declines to further investigate the matter. Congressman Doug Lamborn’s office now hangs up on Dr. Coyle every time he calls. Neither of the Colorado state Senators, Senator Bennet or Senator Hickenlooper, follow-up.
Need we say it again? If you don’t help solve the problem, then YOU are the problem.
Dr. Coyle has audio of U.S. Armed Service Committee members initially apologizing for him being blamed in the investigation around misuse of MPL funds. Now the U.S. Armed Services Committee merely tows the DOD line that Dr. Coyle may have been blamed, but wasn’t mentioned by name in the investigation.
It’s a sneaky way of subtly accusing someone, without actually filing the charges or even naming his name. This gives everyone a way to do the old Potomac twostep in order to protect themselves and protect the actual criminals perpetrating the crimes.
The (un)official position of the Department of Defense is, ‘we can steal tax dollars if we want to, and you can’t do a damn thing about it.’ If the DOD can successfully frame you, then you go to jail. If you expose DOD malfeasance, then you will be blamed (without due process), but not necessarily charged with anything.
Furthermore, the DOD is saying that it is okay to steal appropriated funds if the individual assigned blame is not mentioned by name. The DOD does not actually say stealing is not wrong. DOD secret policy is to allow culpable parties to get off scot-free, and try to frame the whistleblower who brought up the whole matter.
Dr. Ronald Coyle’s experience details a very corrupt DOD with poor ethics and values aligned with politicians and law enforcement failing to do the right thing in lieu of what the evidence shows. Specifically, Maj. Talbot’s involvement is most concerning. It doesn’t help that Members of Congress have his back.
Mr. Ryan Stikeleather was still a MWR employee in 2020. This is the same year MPL funds were being directed to highly dubious purchases, including purchases by Mr. Ryan Stikeleather’s company, Break-Trail Photography LLC.
Mr. Stikeleather’s business filings through 2022, are still available for view on the Colorado Secretary of State government website. It’s all there for any law enforcement agency to pursue. In order to effectively fight crime, you first have to WANT TO fight crime.
IMPORTANT:
Our attempts to contact MR. RYAN STIKELEATHER have failed, but he is welcomed to provide his rebuttal to the article above. If anyone out there knows how we can contact Mr. Stikeleather, please contact us ASAP.
If Mr. Strikeleather denies any or all of the assertions made by Dr. Coyle, then we will ask both parties to provide sworn statements which will be published for our readers to make up their own minds as to who is telling the truth.
Sadly, we cannot expect the military to investigate itself with even a modicum of integrity. Our previous nine articles about Jane Doe in certainly proof of that!
Unfortunately, MilitaryCorruption.com does not have the badges, guns and subpoenas to conduct a detailed creditable investigation in order to ferret out the truth. We have to rely on witnesses who voluntarily come forward.
If you have any information regarding this article you feel our readers should know, we will keep you anonymous. Furthermore, please don’t provide information that can lead back to you. You know how vindictive the military can be with whistleblowers who attempt to expose criminal activity.
This is what we do. We fight for the truth, expose the corrupt and through that exposure attempt to fix what is broken. Admittedly, we do not have a very good track record fixing what is broken because fewer and fewer Americans that actually believe in the rule-of-law anymore.
This includes the admirals and generals!
Law enforcement agencies in our government have proven themselves to be ethically challenged and cannot be relied on anymore to do the job they are supposed to be doing. Even so, we will continue to expose corruption whenever and wherever we find it, but we cannot do it without you.
TEASER ALERT:
With regards to the case of Jane Doe vs. Army Captain Jose Moreno and numerous other individuals and agencies who conspired to coverup Moreno’s heinous malfeasance…
…we could never figure out how a civilian female judge who saw the video of CPT Moreno slapping his 1-year-old baby off his feet ignored the evidence and ruled in favor of the Army and their rogue captain. We now know! Article #10 will be a Duesey. Stay tuned.
Keep those cards and letters rolling in! Let’s work together to expose the evil conduct of America’s admirals and generals and the agencies whose loyalty is to them and not the Constitution and American taxpayers. Let’s make 2024, the year of atonement for those who abuse their power and position.
We Sincerely Thank You,
Editors and Staff at MilitaryCorruption.com
