The former commander of the 693rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany was relieved of command in September after a drunk driving arrest at the base’s gate.
Col. Robert Morse was removed by Col. Jason Brown, the 480th ISR Wing commander at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, on Sept. 18 “after losing trust and confidence in [Morse’s] ability to command,” the 480th said at the time.
The wing did not provide any further information on the reason for his removal, citing policy and the Privacy Act.
According to a police report obtained by Air Force Times via the Freedom of Information Act, Morse was stopped at a safety awareness checkpoint at Ramstein’s West Gate at about 10 p.m. Sept. 10. Security forces asked him to exit his vehicle, and noticed his eyes were glazed and bloodshot and that he smelled of alcohol, the report said.
In their statements, the security forces officers said that when they told Morse they were going to test his breath for alcohol, Morse “immediately got nervous and whispered under his breath ‘oh s---.’”
Morse blew a .0525, above Germany’s legal blood alcohol limit of .05, the report said.
At that point, the report said, Morse blurted out to the officers that he had consumed some drinks at dinner earlier that evening before driving to the base. The security forces advised Morse not to say anything further that could incriminate him.
Morse passed the one-legged stand and walk-and-turn tests at the scene. The officers handcuffed him and brought him back to their station to conduct another breath test, which yielded the same result as the earlier breath test. They also conducted an eye test, which showed signs of alcohol consumption.
The report said German police was contacted and arrived at 11:19 p.m. The German police conducted another breath test, concluded he was driving under the influence under the legal standard, and told him he would be fined.
Shortly after midnight, Morse waived his legal rights under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, declined legal counsel, and gave a statement in which he said he had consumed a few glasses of wine with his new deputy commander. His driver’s license was seized, and he was issued a Preliminary Suspension of U.S. Forces Certificate of License letter. Morse also was given a ticket for driving under the influence and released.
The 693rd conducts airborne ISR operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, among other missions.
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.
