The commander of a US Army aviation battalion has reportedly resigned after its “drugged” executive officer was bitten on the nipples by strippers at an off-limits club — and went AWOL for two days.
The drunken escapade involving the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade’s “No Mercy” battalion occurred during a nine-month rotation in Poland when about 40 members of the Apache chopper unit traveled to Gdansk to visit World War II battlefields, Stars and Stripes reported.
Lt. Col. Matthew Fix led the unit, part of the famed 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, which was tasked with providing air support for NATO, according to the outlet, which cited the Army’s investigation report about the embarrassing incident.
At the end of the first day, the unit ate dinner at The Legendary White Rabbit Saloon, where they celebrated their sergeant major’s 40th birthday, but several members went to other bars and became “heavily intoxicated” before returning to their hotels, the military paper reported.
Some of the soldiers — including the battalion’s XO, Maj. Matthew Conner — reportedly ended up at the off-limits Club Obsession, where patrons are scammed out of thousands of dollars after consuming drinks spiked with drugs.
One officer told investigators that during the ride back to Powidz after the fateful excursion, Conner said he received several lap dances and that strippers “bit his nipples to keep him awake, and repeatedly had his credit card swiped,” according to the report.
The pilot showed the soldiers in the car driven by Fix several receipts adding up to 50,000 — though it was unclear whether the money was in dollars or local currency, which would amount to about $13,000.
Conner “also expressed a belief that the champagne he had been given at the club had been laced/drugged,” the report cited by Stars and Stripes said.
He was “so severely impaired by the incident that he canceled all of his flights for the next week because he ‘just did not feel right’ and it took days for him to feel normal again,” according to the report.
Fix didn’t report the suspected drugging of Conner to his commanders and none of the witnesses mentioned the battalion commander attending the strip club, according to the probe.
After carousing into the early morning hours, no one could find Conner, who wasn’t in his room at the IBB Hotel Dlugi Targ — so Fix and Sgt. Maj. Ronnie Winberry organized a search party to retrace their steps during the trip, which was supposed to be about improving “unit cohesion and morale.”
“The group ultimately met up outside the Obsession Club, where MAJ Conner was allegedly last seen, to begin the re-tracing process,” the report states.
Conner was eventually found at another hotel and the team then completed an abbreviated version of their battlefield tour.
The so-called 15-6 probe recommended that Fix and Conner face administrative or disciplinary action along with several other members of the unit.
Fix has received a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand and is in the process of retiring, while Conner faces a separation review board, Stars and Stripes reported.
“The command took immediate and appropriate adverse action against the leaders involved,” military spokesman Col. Joseph Buccino told the outlet in a statement.
“Some officers are facing further administrative actions to determine whether they will continue to serve in the Army,” he added.
The investigation found that “not only is it questionable whether the purpose and intent of a (battalion staff ride) was met, but during the trip, multiple individuals exhibited lapses in judgment and leadership that are not expected of senior leaders in the Army.”
