All he wanted was some American-made boots.
An Air Force noncommissioned officer who complained to Congress, military investigators and the media that he was issued Chinese-made boots for an Afghanistan deployment now says he is being retaliated against by his command for his stand.
Master Sgt. Steve Adachi, a reservist out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, said he was issued China-made boots before he left Hawaii and again when he was in Kabul, Afghanistan, from January to July 2012.
Adachi, who is with the 624th Regional Support Group, said he went through his supply chain multiple times to get American-made boots, but was rebuffed and basically told "good luck" with that.
He had better luck with Congress.
In October, 52 lawmakers signed onto a letter noting Adachi’s plight and urging the Defense Department to comply with the letter and spirit of the 1941 Berry Amendment, which requires the military to buy products made in the U.S.
Adachi said he had never received a letter of reprimand in 31 years of Air Force service. Then the decorated airman received three in early November — all for a petty misdemeanor harassment conviction that happened four years earlier.
Adachi, 52, maintains it was reprisal for his boots complaints.
In late January, Col. Maynard Mendoza, the commander of the 624th Regional Support Group, notified Adachi that he was further recommending that he be demoted to tech sergeant for "failing to fulfill" noncommissioned officer responsibilities.
Mendoza noted that Adachi could apply for retirement in lieu of demotion.
Performance reports for Adachi in 2011 and 2012 said he "clearly exceeds" expectations and is "truly among the best."
But Adachi said that two days after he got back from Afghanistan, he was called into his commander’s office and raked over the coals for going public with the boots issue.
"My commander said, ‘You went outside the chain of command, you weren’t acting like a senior NCO, apologize to your supervisor for going over his head,’ all this other stuff, and it was crazy," Adachi said.
He had sought a military investigation into the Chinese-made boots and asked U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa’s office for help — communication that he says, and which Honolulu defense attorney Eric Seitz agreed, is protected.
A couple of weeks after Adachi returned from the deployment, Lt. Col. Douglas McCobb, an Air Force official at the Pentagon, wrote to Hanabusa to say that although the two pairs of boots provided to Adachi were indeed made in China, there was no violation of the Berry Amendment because neither purchase exceeded a $150,000 minimum threshold for bulk purchases.
But after "significant research and a comprehensive legal review," it appeared that the Air Force’s purchase of the sage-green boots originally issued to Adachi in Hawaii was a violation of the Buy American Act, which has a $3,000 minimum threshold for bulk purchases, McCobb said.
Jim Miller, a spokesman for Air Force Reserve headquarters, said in response to a Star-Advertiser inquiry that the command’s inspector general is investigating Adachi’s allegation that he received reprimands as a result of his public stand on the boots.
"Air Force Reserve Command does not comment further regarding ongoing investigations," Miller said in an email.
Miller did say the 624th Reserve Support Group "has taken appropriate corrective action, including additional Buy American Act training" for unit personnel authorized to make government purchases.
Adachi’s China-made boot woes began after he volunteered for Afghanistan duty and then visited the 624th’s supply warehouse at Hickam to get outfitted.
"So he gave me a pair of boots. He had all these boots on the rack," Adachi said.
On the box was, "Made in China." He thinks they were Converse.
Adachi remembered thinking, "Why are they buying boots made in China? We have all these Americans out of a job, and we’re using taxpayer money to buy boots made in China. That doesn’t seem right."
Adachi said he told the supply manager he didn’t feel comfortable going to war with boots made in China, "and he said, ‘Well, these boots are cheaper.’"
Adachi went to a uniform shop on base hoping to exchange the boots, but said he was told he couldn’t — because they were Chinese-made. He went back to the supply manager and got him to dig around for any American-made boots, and finally, a pair was found — women’s size 6. Adachi, who wears a 10.5, said he then traded those for his correct size at the uniform shop.
In Afghanistan, a uniform change was mandated and that meant exchanging his sage-green boots for tan ones.
He emailed the Hickam supply manager, asked for replacements and told him, "Please ensure that they are made in America."
"I mentioned that if they are made in China, I will send them back," said Adachi, who by that time believed that the unit was circumventing buy-America rules.
When the boots arrived from the company U.S. Patriot, Adachi opened the box and "lo and behold, they are made in China," he said.
He emailed back, asking how he could once again get American-made boots, and that’s when he said he got the terse response, "Good luck."
"And I’m like, holy crap, I’m kind of mad about this whole thing," said Adachi, who worked as a safety manager in Afghanistan.
The complaints to the inspector general and Hanabusa’s office followed, along with a story in Air Force Times.
The story ran June 25, getting a lot of attention. He returned to Hawaii in late July. The letters of reprimand were issued in November, and Adachi was told in January he would be demoted.
Adachi’s commander’s efforts to demote him — as well as all three letters of reprimand — are based on Adachi’s 2008 conviction for petty misdemeanor harassment involving a former female tenant.
The commander, Mendoza, said in correspondence that Adachi was arrested for "abuse of a family and household member" and the woman identified was his girlfriend.
The Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968 states that it is illegal for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to ship or possess a firearm.
Mendoza maintained that Adachi violated the Lautenberg Amendment by possessing and transporting the pistol and rifle he was issued and took to Afghanistan. He also asserted that Adachi failed to report the conviction to military supervisors.
Adachi’s attorney, Kevin O’Grady, responded that there was no domestic relationship with the woman, there was no violation of the Lautenberg Amendment, and Adachi did tell his commander at the time, Col. John Morris, and the Hickam judge advocate general’s office about the misdemeanor.
Mendoza subsequently rescinded one of the reprimands, but Adachi said the commander stuck with the other two. Adachi wants the black marks removed from his record. He also opposes the threatened demotion, which hasn’t taken place yet.
Miller, the Air Force Reserve headquarters spokesman, said if Adachi is reprimanded or demoted through nonjudicial action, the Air Force can’t comment due to privacy issues.
Hanabusa’s office reported that Adachi’s unit relied on the boots vendor to comply with applicable laws and regulations. Remaining Chinese-made boots were removed from the shelves and returned to the vendor.
The Air Force Reserve also instituted a policy locally to inquire where items are manufactured if the information is not readily available, Hanabusa’s office said.
In the end, Adachi brought congressional attention to the issue of the Chinese-made boots, but he still faces demotion.
"What they (my commanders) did do, was they killed the messenger. They basically said, ‘Sgt. Adachi, you are wrong, not us,’" he said.
