Inspector General

20151113-034269 43
said she did not tell MG Lewis because she felt the conversation would have been awkward. The
civilian female staff member added that she believed that had she expressed her concerns to
MG Lewis, he would have “been responsive” and apologized.
Twelve witnesses confirmed that MG Lewis was routinely physically demonstrative with
both male and female office personnel and not solely with the civilian female staff member.
According to witnesses, MG Lewis’ physically demonstrative behavior routinely included hugs,
fist bumps, and pats on the back. No witnesses told us that MG Lewis’ behavior was sexual in
nature. Witnesses also told us that no one told MG Lewis that the civilian female staff member
did not like being hugged.
MG Lewis declined to comment when we asked him whether being physically
demonstrative was part of his leadership style.
Alleged inappropriate touching 17
An officer assigned to the Secretary of Defense’s office told us that two female staff
members told him that MG Lewis touched the “behind” of a female enlisted Service member
assigned to the office. The officer told us this disclosure surfaced in the context of these two
female staff members telling him that MG Lewis made them uncomfortable. The officer asked
them for examples of what MG Lewis had done to make them feel uncomfortable. He explained
the resultant conversation as follows:
[One of the female staff members told him] Well, he touched [a
female enlisted Service member’s] butt. And I was like “Whoa,
okay.” I said, “Has she told anybody that?” And I dug into that a
little bit more, and said, “Well, you guys need to go back and tell
her to go, you know, make sure that she is aware, and she can tell
somebody about this, and this isn’t something that’s normal.” I
said, “Are you guys sure it wasn’t like a, you know … innocent –”
You know, I asked all those questions. Like, “Was it innocent?
Was it something like that?” And they were like, “Oh, you know,
he likes to like put his hand on your shoulder or put his hand in the
small of the back.” And I was like, “Really?”
The officer told us he had “the sense that they would” talk to the female enlisted Service
member about the matter but never followed up with them to see if they did.
The first of the two female staff members that discussed this incident with the officer told
us that she learned via “hearsay” that MG Lewis had touched the “butt” of the female enlisted
Service member. She stated that she heard about the incident from another female staff member
and the female enlisted Service member:
17
This alleged incident probably occurred in the spring or early summer 2015, although witnesses could not recall a
specific date.