Chief Master Sgt. Jose Barraza, who was removed from his position as command chief of the 12th Air Force last November, faces multiple charges stemming from an ongoing Office of Special Investigations inquiry.
Col. Scott Campbell, the 355th Fighter Wing commander, preferred charges against Barraza on Thursday, according to a statement from Air Combat Command. The charges include one specification of willfully disobeying an order, seven specifications of dereliction of duty, two specifications of making false official statements, and five specifications of obstruction of justice in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The statement did not say what may have led to the OSI investigation and the charges. ACC spokesman Maj. Andrew Schrag said the specifics of those charges will be presented at trial, and the command cannot publicly discuss them.
"An AFOSI investigation is ongoing, and, while there was adequate evidence to move forward with these charges and specifications at this [time], additional details remain under investigation," Schrag said.
Lt. Gen. Mark Kelly, the commander of the 12th Air Force, also known as Air Forces Southern, removed Barraza from his job due to a "loss of confidence in his ability to carry out his duties," a release said at the time.
Barraza joined the Air Force in 1989 and became AFSOUTH's top enlisted adviser in June 2015. AFSOUTH is located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.
A January 2014 Airman Magazine story,
told the story of how Barraza rose from a gang member in Los Angeles to a leader in the Air Force.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
