Editor’s note: “The flying fraternity: Africa, alcohol and the Afterburner Club” is the third in a series of stories about allegations that male officials have mistreated women, have abused alcohol and have been given preferential treatment by superiors. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Five years ago, on Oct. 28, 2013, Lt. Col. Christopher Caputo appeared before a special session of the Burlington City Council to oppose two resolutions that could have prevented or delayed assignment of the F-35 fighter jet to the Vermont Air Guard base.
Dressed in his Air Force blues with a chest full of service ribbons, Caputo talked about his decades-long military career, from his time as a cadet at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs to his work at the Vermont National Guard as an F-16 pilot.
“[I’ve] deployed several times to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and East Africa, trying to do my part to protect the freedoms we all enjoy on a daily basis,” Caputo testified. As he spoke, boosters in the audience waved small, green flags in support.
Caputo was the official spokesman for the Guard’s F-35 Program Integration Office and his arguments were persuasive. While opponents of the fighter jets also spoke to the City Council, the Guard’s position prevailed, and the resolutions failed.
Yet just six months before his testimony in Burlington, Caputo faced discipline for visiting an unauthorized area during a deployment in Djibouti, a small strategically located country on the northeast coast of the Horn of Africa.
Djibouti is an impoverished country of fewer than one million people that sits at the mouth of the Red Sea. It is heavily militarized, with China, France, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Italy all boasting a tactical presence in the country.
The United States runs various special forces and drone-strike operations out of its Djibouti base, Camp Lemonnier. The Vermont Air National Guard was at Lemonnier for a deployment lasting several months in the spring of 2013, according to emails and interviews. For more than a decade now, U.S. troops have been fighting al-Qaeda-aligned insurgents on the continent. Those efforts greatly accelerated in 2013, when the U.S. Africa Command stepped up security activities.
Caputo, a square-jawed squadron leader whose fighter pilot call sign was “Pooter,” was the 134th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander at the time, and therefore responsible for the well-being of the more than 200 airmen in Africa. However, documents and interviews with five Guard members who were in Djibouti with him during that period say he broke military rules and was sent home in disgrace.
Caputo, 48, did not reply to repeated efforts to reach him for comment on this story. He did not respond to several phone messages, nor did he respond to written questions left at his Chittenden County home.
In Vermont, Caputo was respected by airmen on the base, but he also had a reputation for being brash, hard-partying and volatile.
According to a 2013 complaint filed with Burlington police, Caputo became aggressive after an anti-F-35 sticker was placed on his back after a City Council meeting focused on the new fighter jet. The person who filed the complaint alleged that he was approached by Caputo, who poked him in the chest and said he would become “angry” if he found out that the complainant had placed the sticker.
Longtime activist Lea Terhune filed a similar complaint regarding Caputo to Susan Slay, executive assistant to the Vermont Adjutant General. She alleges that Caputo was aggressive towards her on Election Day in 2016 at a Burlington polling place. Her complaint, obtained by VTDigger, maintains that Caputo ordered Terhune to move her car repeatedly, and became upset when she didn’t. (“I noted that it was legally parked, and he said to move it,” Terhune wrote.)
“His behavior was making me nervous,” Terhune wrote. “Suddenly [Caputo] leaned in toward me and started swearing in a low voice, ‘Fucking, fucking, fucking’ is all I heard as I backed away. I walked to where others were standing.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Toby Quick wrote Terhune in December 2016 that he would be “making the chain of command aware of this officer’s inappropriate behavior.”
Caputo was a longtime member of the Afterburner Club, a group of pilots with an exclusive bar at the South Burlington base.
Drinking was allowed while overseas in Djibouti, but severely restricted. Airmen were allowed two alcoholic beverages for every 24-hour period. Drinking was supposed to occur only inside a bar on the base called 11 Degrees North, which denotes the latitudinal coordinates of Lemonnier.
After arriving in Africa, Caputo and fellow pilots took over a lounge for deployed members and turned it into an exclusive drinking club, similar to the Afterburner Club back home, according to two members on the deployment who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation by Guard leadership.
The jet pilots changed the passcode on the locks to the building, and set up a bar available to pilots only. The dozen or so pilots in the club spent between $250 to nearly $500 on alcohol per week, according to purchase orders obtained by VTDigger. Over seven weeks, the group ordered more than 1,000 beers, records show.
One official on the deployment said he witnessed Caputo driving in his commander’s truck after consuming alcohol at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti after a social event with French officials. (One of the alcohol purchase orders obtained by VTDigger describes an April 2, 2013, event called “French Integration.”)
According to another member on the deployment, Caputo broke base rules while he was in charge. For instance, during the deployment he apparently violated Department of Defense regulations when he allowed the resale of taxpayer-funded embroidered commemorative patches to others around the camp, according to documents obtained by VTDigger. The money went to support social events at Lemonnier and to purchase gifts for Vermont Guard leaders. Caputo dismissed the allegation when confronted.
Caputo and other pilots committed more serious infractions, according to documents and interviews, when they repeatedly left the base to visit unauthorized locations without signing out or sharing information about their whereabouts. The military is strict about where uniformed personnel socialize in Djibouti because of potential security threats and the city’s active sex trade. A 2017 report that focused on sexual violence in Djibouti from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom reported that “at night, dozens of restaurants, clubs and pubs are packed with locals, U.S. and French troops and some prostitutes.”
After an official heard about Caputo leaving the base without proper authorization, he warned in an email that “no one checked out to go off camp, which not only poses an issue when it comes to accountability and safety, it is not a good practice to get into. I know this sounds like wining (sic), but it is a viable concern.”
“When this happens, all other members that have been told they cannot go ‘off’ unless it is [mission-related work] start to ask ‘why’ the pilots get to,” the officer added.
In response to that warning, Caputo wrote: “There is no fucking double standard. Stop the fucking drama or I will find someone else to do your job.”
However, just weeks later, near the end of the deployment, on April 19, 2013, Caputo and three other pilots were picked up off-base by patrolling officers from the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special Investigation, according to three former Guard members with knowledge of the incident. The pilots were observed at an establishment unauthorized by leadership, they said.
The four Vermont pilots, including Caputo, were subsequently held and questioned for a short time in Djibouti by investigating officers. They were then taken to Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates before being flown home to Vermont early.
The pilots’ behavior resulted in severe restrictions on off-base travel at Lemonnier for all of the stationed Guard members. Three former officials, who asked not to be named, said the Caputo incident complicated Vermont flight operations and degraded the Guard’s mission in Africa because other pilots had to cover their shifts.
After the incident, documents show Caputo was removed from his command, and was issued a non-judicial punishment for breaking the rules, called an Article 15. In addition, a National War College designation he had earned was revoked.
Emails show Caputo pleaded with Guard leadership to get the Article 15 removed, and two former officials who asked not to be named said leadership sought to have the blemish scrubbed from his record. It’s unclear whether it was removed, but officer performance reports during that period downplayed his actions in Djibouti. In one report, for example, Caputo’s infractions only appear in the last line at the end of a glowing evaluation. In another, they are not mentioned at all.
In a May 2013 email obtained by VTDigger, Caputo acknowledged his “transgression,” but characterized it as a “one-time lapse in judgement that did not result in any mission degradation or harm to anyone.”
Caputo argued against receiving a Letter of Evaluation (LOE), which would remain permanently on his record, writing “I realize that I must be punished and feel that I have been punished enough already.”
“I respectfully request that you do not disgrace my entire career with a referral LOE solely based on this one-time transgression in my otherwise outstanding behavior and leadership,” Caputo wrote. “I have dedicated my entire life to serving my country and would like to continue to serve in any capacity I can.”
He pointed to a handbook, “Military Commander and the Law,” which calls for the imposition of “the least severe punishment sufficient to correct and/or rehabilitate the member.”
“I think you know me well enough to understand this is not normal behavior and it truly was a one-time incident,” Caputo wrote to his superiors.
After returning home, some members aware of Caputo’s behavior in Djibouti felt leadership minimized the severity of his misconduct and that of the other pilots. They believed it would have been appropriate to expel him from the Guard.
Receiving an Article 15 can spur discharge proceedings. One former member described the punishment as a “kiss of death.” Yet months after Caputo was penalized, he [testified before the Burlington City Council] as the face of the F-35.
Back home, Caputo did not lose any flying time, and the two other pilots involved were later promoted. One of those pilots, Lt. Col. Tony “Scrappy” Marek, is currently training to fly the F-35, according to two current Guard members.
Another F-16 pilot who two former members said was picked up in Djibouti, Lt. Col. John Rahill, later deployed to Southwest Asia on a mission. In September 2016, Rahill crashed a small civilian plane on Savage Island, in the middle of Lake Champlain, and took more than six hours to notify authorities.
Following an investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board found the crash was caused by pilot error, and the Federal Aviation Administration made Rahill retake the flight exam, noting the incident called Rahill’s competence as a certified airman into question. But Rahill was still allowed to fly F-16s for the Guard, and was filmed flying an F-16 in an Air Guard video released in late June of this year.
According to current and former Guard members, pilots routinely disregarded the rules. Among the allegations were pilots evaluating each other during annual fitness exams, which was not the accepted procedure. One member recalled a colonel who “could maybe do three push-ups, but he passed with flying colors.” Leadership often looked to overturn medical decisions that would have disqualified pilots from flying, the Guard members said.
“It seems like pilots are above the law,” a former member said.
“Nobody is perfect, people make mistakes,” a current official said. “But there needs to be due process, and there is none if you are well-connected.”
A culture of hard-partying
Eleven current and former officials told VTDigger that the Vermont Air National Guard has tolerated a toxic culture of excessive drinking and pervasive partying, largely spearheaded by pilots. Alcohol abuse is also common during overseas deployments and domestic assignments. A retired chief master sergeant, Mark Parish, testified under oath in documents obtained by VTDigger that “it became an accepted behavior that individuals on [deployments] abuse alcohol.”
First Lt. Mikel R. Arcovitch, the Guard’s press representative, denied excessive partying and drinking occurred.
“There is no culture of hard partying and drinking that pervades the Vermont Air National Guard,” Arcovitch said. “As an organization we strive for the highest level of integrity and excellence across our formations.”
Guard members say the pilots have their own exclusive bar on the South Burlington base — the Afterburner Club — whose kegs were regularly restocked by local distributors. To others, the bar has earned a more sinister nickname: The Viper’s Nest.
Drinking could begin on company time, as early as 3 p.m., according to interviews with multiple Guard members, after pilots landed their planes following a training exercise, or on weekends during pilot debriefings. The beer flows freely inside the Afterburner Club, a place that is said to be off-limits to enlisted officials and women. Parties could become so raucous that revelers were known to pass out on the floor after too many drinks. Two former members said pilots would routinely drive off base under the influence of alcohol, and a number of pilots and airmen have been charged with DUIs over the years. (Officials said there is no clear-cut policy for punishing DUIs inside the Guard.)
A former pilot, Lt. Col. Robert Ammon, now retired, was issued a citation for driving under the influence in March 2012 in connection with a disturbance outside the home of an Essex woman. He registered 0.176 on a breath test, more than twice the legal limit. He pleaded no contest to the charge in August 2012 and was fined $500 and fees of $346, according to court records.
Another current Operations Group intel officer, Lt. Joe Moore, was charged with DUI in July 2013 after being stopped for driving 52 mph in a 35-mph zone in Colchester and producing a breath test result of .165. He later changed his plea to no contest and was fined $300 plus fees, according to records.
Court records did not indicate where Ammon and Moore had been drinking. Both stops occurred in early morning hours. Neither Ammon nor Moore could be reached for comment.
“It’s a good old boy’s club, and all the senior officers protect each other,” a former member said. “If you’re one of the beautiful pilots and are caught for drunk driving, it’s no big deal. But if you are enlisted folk and get the same citation, you are shown the fucking door.”
Guard members not only witnessed problematic drinking on the base, but at bars in Burlington.
“Some of the pilots thought they walked on water because they were pilots,” a female former Guard member said. “If you went to downtown Burlington to drink you’d often run into them, and if you declined their advances they’d take it out on you professionally.”
Some airmen have expressed concerns to Guard leadership over the drinking culture on the base, but contend that no meaningful reforms have been made.
The pilot’s bar is a fiercely protected perk on the Burlington base. Even as guard leadership sought to curtail drinking, they decided to keep the Afterburner Club open.
“The enlisted folks went through alcohol training, and saw availability to alcohol essentially cut off,” a former official said. “Meanwhile, pilots would retreat to the fighter bar and drink Jack Daniels and beer all night. It was a total double standard.”
“Problematic alcohol consumption is overlooked for pilots,” another former member said.
In recent months, as officials sought to redesign and expand the Burlington base operations center in preparation for the F-35, they ran into fierce opposition from pilots who were eager to not only keep the bar, but expand its square footage. Guard members said the pilots prevailed and the bar was roughly doubled in size.
Guard officials repeatedly declined to be interviewed for this story. In a statement 1st Lt. Mikel R. Arcovitch, the Guard’s press representative, denied the existence of an exclusive drinking club.
“There are locations and events that allow consumption of alcohol with the appropriate exception to policy on a case-by-case basis. There is no location that is exclusive to any particular service member,” he said.
While the drinking often resulted in nothing more than rowdy behavior, pilots under the influence have, at times, had serious problems, according to current and former Guard members. For example, during a domestic deployment, a pilot fell during horseplay in an elevator while inebriated. He suffered a serious head injury that grounded him from flying. It took him months to recover from the injuries.
In the spring of 2015, according to four members , an F-16 Vermont pilot was grounded after concerns were raised about alcohol use. The pilot was later relocated by the Air Force.
Shortly before a 2016 deployment to Kuwait, officials also raised concerns over alcohol use by another pilot. According to three people familiar with the alleged behavior, the pilot was temporarily grounded because of alcohol concerns. The same pilot had also been temporarily grounded because of a previous incident but remains assigned to the Fighter Squadron.
As for Caputo, while he had technically retired from the Guard in the fall of 2017, current and former Guard members say leadership has quietly brought him back and that he is preparing to become an F-35 pilot once the new planes arrive next September. According to LinkedIn, Caputo also works as a pilot for Delta Airlines.
Help us investigate: Do you know what’s going on at the Vermont Army or Air National Guard? Contact Jasper Craven at 802-274-0365 or jclarkcraven@gmail.com.
Read the story on VTDigger here: The flying fraternity: Africa, alcohol and the Afterburner Club.