Crane whistleblower claims Army, Navy retaliated against him; may testify before Congress

Rick Ward said he repeatedly warned the military branches that sloppy handling of explosives at Crane Army Ammunition Activity could produce catastrophic consequences.

Ward has filed cases against both the Army and the Navy with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, a quasi judicial agency that protects federal employees from, among other things, unfair labor practices.

He said the safety problems have existed for more than a decade, and the military agencies had failed to fix them since a 2013 explosion that hospitalized five people. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, largely confirmed the findings in Ward’s reports. It has shared its findings with the White House.

Ward said instead of fixing the problems, the military branches fired him and now are preventing him from keeping his security clearance, which is vital to his career.