By Philip Dine
Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Military authorities have determined that Missouri state Sen. Jon Dolan, a major in the Missouri Army National Guard, did not knowingly engage in wrongdoing by taking leave from his assignment in Cuba to vote in a special session of the Legislature last fall.

At the same time, Dolan's political activities violated rules that bar reservists from carrying out functions of political office while on a tour of duty, officials said Tuesday after a 3 1/2-month investigation. Given a choice of continuing his tour of duty or performing his functions as a senator, Dolan has decided to end his tour at Guantanamo Bay early.

The ruling means that Dolan, R-Lake Saint Louis, will take part starting Jan. 20 in the new legislative session in Jefferson City.

"I'm pleased that a fair resolution was made in the matter, and that I can complete a tour of duty at Joint Task Force Guantanamo, as well as still serve the people of the 2nd District," Dolan said.

 "It's tough to go through something like this, and I hope the Department of Defense uses this case to properly inform everyone and firm up the interpretation of this directive - and it seems that's exactly what they've set about doing."

He cast the critical vote Sept. 11 to override Gov. Bob Holden's veto of concealed-weapons legislation. 

Dolan could have faced a range of penalties - including a reprimand, forfeiture of pay or court-martial. But he received a relatively light punishment - letter of admonition.

That's because officials at the U.S. Southern Command, which has authority over U.S. military operations and personnel in South America, Central America and the Caribbean, and which ordered the investigation, acknowledged that the rules Dolan violated were neither clear nor widely known. 

"There was no deliberate misconduct. There was probably misinterpretation of the regulations. It was a mistake," said Southern Command spokesman Steve Lucas. Guard officials did not make it clear to Dolan that he could not return to Missouri to vote while on duty with the Guard, Lucas said.

"All officers and members of the chain of command have an obligation to make sure that regulations are properly adhered to," Lucas said. "So who screwed up? Not only did the senator apparently misinterpret the statute, so did the staff."

Southern Command officials have asked the National Guard to address the matter, Lucas said, "so that no one else gets tangled up in this."

As a result, Guard and Pentagon officials will use the Dolan ruling to clarify the rules governing Guard members in public office - including legislators, sheriffs and city councilors. This could affect thousands of people in communities across the country.

A Defense Department regulation and federal law prohibit reservists from carrying out functions of political office when called up for a tour of duty not longer than 270 days. Dolan, called up for a period not to exceed 365 days, had contended that the rule took effect only after someone had actually served 270 days - but the investigators determined that it started on the first day of deployment.

Maj. Tom Serrano, ethics counselor at the National Guard Bureau, has worked with the Pentagon's Office of Legal Policy the past few weeks to draft a summary of the policy and a slide presentation on the matter. They will be sent in the next few weeks to Guard offices in every state, so officials can be acquainted with the issues involved.

"This case requires us to take action," said Mark Allen, National Guard spokesman. "We have an obligation to assure these people are properly informed."

The case began in September when Dolan's supervisor granted him a six-day leave to go to Jefferson City from Cuba, where he led a detachment that worked with journalists covering the incarceration of prisoners captured in Afghanistan.

Dolan says he was later given "a lawful order to obey the directive," which he said meant either leaving his tour of duty or ceasing all functions of his public post, including paying his staff and calling his office. He said he couldn't put aside his Senate tasks, given the commitments he had made to keep in touch with constituents as well as his staff.

"They weren't messing around," Dolan said. "I could do nothing but comply, and compliance in this case meant concluding my tour of duty. There's no way I could turn my back on my constituents.

"Every officer who comes after me who's also a civil officeholder will now be briefed on the directive, and those who came before got off easy."

In the future, officeholders called for duty will be told they should "freeze" all functions of their public job the moment they are mobilized, Dolan said.

"The senator had a tough choice to make," Lucas said. "It's a shame the command staff was only educated on that after the fact."

Dolan has been back in Missouri since the holidays. With leave time, his tour ends Jan. 13, after 159 days. He'll then spend a week at Disney World with his family.

Dolan will remain in the Guard, which he joined on Jan. 25, 1986. While his punishment - the letter of reprimand - is relatively minor, it could affect his Guard career.

"I don't have a crystal ball," Lucas said, "but it certainly could." 

By TIM HOOVER
The Kansas City Star

JEFFERSON CITY — State Sen. Jon Dolan, who took leave from his military duty to cast a crucial vote for a concealed weapons law, did not knowingly violate rules by taking the trip.

That was the finding released Tuesday by military officials after an investigation of Dolan's trip from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Jefferson City in September to vote for an override of Gov. Bob Holden's veto of a concealed weapons bill.

The St. Louis County Republican's trip to make the votes was sharply questioned by Democrats. Roy Temple, a political consultant to Gov. Bob Holden, questioned whether Dolan's leave violated military regulations that say an officer shall not “exercise the functions of a civil office” while called to duty for a period in excess of 270 days.

Dolan, a public affairs officer for the Joint Task Force at Guantanamo Bay, said he thought the rule did not apply to him because he had not yet served more than 270 days of active duty.

Officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, however, said the rule applied to anyone under orders for a period of more than 270 days and throughout the entire period.

That was the final interpretation of the regulation, said Steve Lucas, a spokesman for the Army's Southern Command in Miami. He added that military officials were taking steps to make sure all holders of political office are aware of the correct interpretation of the law.

To reach Tim Hoover, Jefferson City correspondent, call 1-(573) 634-3565 or send e-mail to

thoover@kcstar.com.

© 2004 Kansas City Star and wire service sources. 
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