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So Who Is Gen. John Allen? Here’s What You Need to Know

Nov. 14, 2012 8:00am Erica Ritz

Overview of General John Allen and Details on Jill Kelley Relationship

U.S. General John Allen stands during a media conference after a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012. (Photo: AP)

General John Allen is the most recent figure to be involved in what Rush Limbaugh is calling “The Real Housewives of Westpoint,” a sarcastic title describing the convoluted circle of affairs and indiscretions that are currently rocking the U.S. government.

Though it all began when General Petraeus admitted to having an affair last Friday, General Allen became entangled in the situation after it was discovered he was sending “inappropriate” emails to Jill Kelley, the same woman who had been receiving “threatening” emails by Petraeus’ reported mistress.

So who is Gen. John Allen? What is his background, and what are his accomplishments?

Early Life and Military Career:

Via the BBC:

Born in 1953 in the southern state of Virginia, Gen Allen graduated with military [honors] from the US Naval Academy in 1976, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Analysis.

After his Marine training at Camp Baret, Gen Allen transferred to Washington DC in the early 1980s where he successfully completed the Postgraduate Program of the Defense Intelligence Center.

During this time, he also became the first Marine Corps officer to be inducted as a term member into the Council of Foreign Relations, considered one of America’s most influential foreign-policy think tanks.

The following decade, Gen Allen started to lead major Marine Corps deployments overseas, including the 1995-6 Operation Joint Endeavor in the Balkans.

His unit was part of the landing force of the sixth fleet sent to Bosnia and Herzegovina to support Nato-led peace-keeping efforts.

In 2002, Gen Allen was promoted to Commandant of Midshipmen, the first Marine Corps officer to serve in this position at the Naval Academy.

He subsequently joined the Pentagon as director for Asian and Pacific affairs, in charge of devising foreign policy for the region.

Recent Military Accomplishments:

In July of 2011 General Allen, by then a four-star Marine general, succeeded General Petraeus as the top commander in Afghanistan.

Appointed by President Obama to oversee the drawdown of U.S. and international forces ahead of the planned transfer of security responsibility to the Afghan government in 2014, Allen’s work has been widely praised.

He was due to give troop recommendations in the near future, but his nomination to become the next commander of U.S. European Command and the commander of NATO forces in Europe has been put on hold pending an investigation into his relationship with Jill Kelley

What Do We Know About Allen’s Relationship With Jill Kelley?

General John Allen had remained largely out of the public eye until the wee hours of Tuesday morning, when it was revealed that there are 20,000-30,000 pages worth of “inappropriate” correspondence between him and the State Department’s liaison to the military’s Joint Special Operations Command, Jill Kelley.

Kelley is now being described by sites like the Associated Press as more of a “Florida socialite” and “social ambassador” who has been known to host parties for her close friend General Petraeus, but it seems as though General Allen also spent a significant amount of time with the woman at “command social functions.”

So much time, in fact, that he intervened in the custody battle of Kelley’s “unstable” twin sister, who had lost custody of her child a year before due to “outrageous conduct” and “illogical thinking,” based on his secondhand observation at these functions.

Fox News reported Tuesday that one senior U.S. official said Allen’s emails were “flirtatious in nature,” but that General Allen steadfastly maintains his relationship with Kelley is not sexual. However, now its sources are saying the communications were the email equivalent of “phone sex.”

Other officials say that, even if the relationship was not sexual, some other form of “inappropriate relationship” is being investigated. Details on what exactly that would entail remain scarce.

What Obama Thinks:

Via Politico:

President Barack Obama was “surprised” to learn of Gen. David Petraeus’ extramarital affair and still has faith in Gen. John Allen, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday as lawmakers in both parties expressed bewilderment at the conduct of the country’s top four-star commanders and are demanding answers.

Carney said Obama continues to back Allen for the position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe, following a statement from the National Security Council earlier in the day that the general’s nomination was being placed on hold, “pending an investigation.”

“He has faith in Gen. Allen,” Carney told reporters. He added that the president “thinks very highly of Gen. Allen.”

In his first comments about the ongoing revelations that led to the resignation of Petraeus as CIA director, Carney said: “The president was certainly surprised when he was informed about the situation regarding Gen. Petraeus. … His thoughts and prayers go out to both Gen. Petraeus and Holly Petraeus.”

There you have it. Certainly these developments will add a chapter to his bio — it remains to be seen, though, how that chapter will read.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Comments (19)

barber2
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:47am
All you need to know is that ” President Obama put on hold General Allen’s nomination to head U.S. forces in Europe , while keeping him in charge of the Afghan war ” BUT….insisting that one should remember, as Panetta and Obama have said, he ” is entitled to due process” and there has been no evidence…BLAH…BLAH…BLAH…the man’s reputation has been smeared but those who smeared him insist that he is entitled to due process ??? This is just another example of the Democrat Character Assassination Squad tactics that we have witnessed since 2008. The Zimmerman Orlando area two month long media witch hunt, the phony video two week world-wide charade, and now this Tampa Media circus …such tangled webs …..Don’t you wonder how long the Obama White House will drag out THIS distraction ?? As more reputations get ruined to amuse and distract their angry base ??

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JP4JOY
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:42am
Obama isn’t wasting any more time, he’s moving full speed ahead. I’ll bet we see Islamist friendly or even Muslim officers put in charge of these important positions soon. Allen is quite Islamist friendly, that’s why Obama hasn’t thrown him under the bus quite yet, it may just be BO’s way of ensuring allegiance to his path to the destruction of the USA.

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- kryptonite
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 9:37am
  Yeah Allen is an Islamist sympathizer, but it was a CATHOLIC ****** who brought him down, and that is capturing the media’s attention in a way Islam never has. Got censored for saying it, lol.
  
  Report this comment
bikerdogred1
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:41am
The news media can tell us more in two days about generals and sluts then they can tell us in 4 years about obama.

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- dublinthewagons
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:59am
  The news media know nothing about the military, as few of them have been in the military.
  However they are experts on sluts. Its their line of work & holds their interest.
  
  Report this comment
- kryptonite
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 9:08am
  So who’s Obama? Pimp-in-Chief
  
  Report this comment
- barber2
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 9:12am
  Exactly. Those school records stay buried but….
  
  Report this comment
- kryptonite
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 9:12am
  Well, it’s officially the Wh*** House. “White” is a dirty word, anyway.
  
  Report this comment
HKS
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:38am
Has there ever been a more pitiful government than this one? Where did they find so many crooks, liars and thief’s to stick in one place. Pitiful, just pitiful.

“Remember Benghazi”

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Dushman Kush
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:38am
Our Commander-in-Chief and our First Lady have bent over backward to assist our military and our military families. The have tackled the problem of homelessness among veterans. America is truly blessed to be lead by an administration solving problems, creating solutions, and setting proper examples. When President George H.W. Bush promised us a New World Order, he could have told us that our military would be replaced by the United Nations peacekeepers. He knew at the time.

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- dublinthewagons
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:50am
  Is that why he wanted them to furnish their own insurance? BO & first lady don’t give a flying crap about the military. In Afghanistan they have to count there ammo before and after going on patrols.
  When he gives a peach the military has to disarm before attending. The marines have rubber bullets in lybia. You koolaid has drugs in it.
  
  Report this comment
- Stoic one
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:56am
  What alternate Universe are you getting your information from?
  
  Report this comment
- let us prey
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 9:04am
  Douchmankush
  Really? Put down the pipe homie.
  
  Report this comment
- barber2
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 9:21am
  DUSH: My, you managed to slam Bush with the NWO business and praise Obama’s agenda of buying votes of the military with more tax payer’s funds ( funny, in that Obama belonged to the old Far Left / antimilitary crowd who once smeared him with the General ” Be – tray-Us” title . The Far Left has always hated the American military as much as they have hated banks and capitalism ! ) You are wasting time here with this baloney…go tell this your buddies down at OWS… they actually believe this stuff…we don’t ..
  
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- RJJinGadsden
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 9:25am
  STOIC ONE, For even more information regarding where HINDU-KUSH is coming from just cut and paste his site name into your search engine. Another one of our idiot trolls who uses the same site name literally everywhere.
  http://www.topix.com/member/profile/dushmankush
  
  Report this comment
GuruMeditation
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:26am
Obama is the enemy.

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Stoic one
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:23am
This is how you clean out all of the ‘opposition’ in the military; then place subordinates that are sympathetic to the concept of “The United Socialist States of America” or USSA.

Has a nice ring to it…. right Barry voters?

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dublinthewagons
Posted on November 14, 2012 at 8:21am
Russian red army 1941. Hitler assn. of generals.
The demise of the military for full control. Dictator B.O. aka soros.

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- AmericanFightingMan1
  Posted on November 14, 2012 at 12:33pm
  Bingo.
  
  Report this comment

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