Lt. Gen. Antonio A. Aguto Jr., right, the commanding general of Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, visits soldiers on Feb. 7, 2024, at Grafenwoehr Training Area, in Germany. (Jarvis Mace/U.S. Army National Guard)
The Army general responsible for coordinating support for Ukraine left a tube of classified maps behind on a train in Europe and lost control of the sensitive material for 24 hours, according to the Pentagon watchdog.
Gen. Antonio Aguto, a three-star general at the time, was also found to have sustained a concussion following a night of heavy drinking at a social event in Kyiv, leading to incoherence and confusion in a briefing the next day.
The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General report, released Thursday, investigated incidents that occurred between April and May 2024. Aguto was commander of the Wiesbaden, Germany-based Security Assistance Group-Ukraine. Aguto relinquished command of the group in August 2024, having presided over its activation in 2022. He retired the same month.
At the time of activation, SAG-U had about 300 personnel. In 2024, it was reported that NATO would take over the coordination and provision of most international security assistance. The mission, to be known as NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine, would be in Wiesbaden and involve about 700 personnel.
The Inspector General received three anonymous complaints between May 20 and May 24, 2024. The IG initiated an investigation June 6, 2024. The IG also investigated a subsequent allegation that Aguto’s counterproductive leadership style created a “toxic environment” within Security Assistance Group-Ukraine headquarters, the report states.
The IG interviewed Aguto and 33 witnesses.
On March 24, 2024, Aguto and his staff traveled to Kyiv as part of the security assistance mission. Part of the trip required them to travel on the Department of State chartered train from Poland to Ukraine.
Aguto and witnesses said he decided to bring a set of classified maps to Kyiv for this trip. Aguto and a witness told the IG that the maps were not packaged in accordance with directives because the maps were too big to wrap and the map tube was too small.
“I used [sic] these maps quite frequently regardless of where I’m at to brief officials on the status of what’s going on in Ukraine, uh, which is my job.” Aguto said.
The general and his staff boarded the chartered train on April 3 to begin their journey back to Wiesbaden.
“When they arrived in Poland, the witness performed a quick scan of the train and did not notice anything out of the ordinary, but he did not see the map tube come off the train,” the 56-page report states.
Aguto did not recall who discovered the map tube was missing, but his executive officer alerted him. It was found on the train the next day and returned, via staff with the U.S. Embassy Ukraine.
Aguto told investigators he took responsibility for the loss of the maps “because I am the senior guy.”
Mishandling of classified information comes with severe penalties. Consequences range from official reprimand and loss of clearance to being fired in the case of nefarious intent.
The second incident involving the general occurred on May 13, 2024. During a nearly six-hour dinner, a military engagement, a witness said Aguto drank two bottles of Chacha “throughout the course of the night.” Chacha is a Georgian brandy containing 40-50% alcohol.
One witness said Aguto “appears drunk to me.” Aguto told the IG he was “at some level of intoxication.”
During a meeting in Aguto’s hotel room that night to go over his schedule for the next day, two witnesses reported seeing him fall backward and strike his head on the wall. The witnesses did not see him trip on anything.
“Aguto told us that he remembered being near a table and trying to move a chair just before falling and hitting his head against a wall. He said that he felt ‘woozy’ after the fall and sat down, and then things got ‘a little uhm blurry for lack of a better terms [sic],’ ” the report states.
Aguto stated that he had medical conditions that could have contributed to the fall.
One of the witnesses thought Aguto might have had a concussion.
Early in the morning of May 14, Aguto said he had another fall.
“He told us that he could not remember much about the circumstances of the fall and could not remember where he fell or what he hit his head on, but he said it caused a mark on his forehead that he described as ‘a bump, probably it was red, about a quarter of an inch long,’ ” according to the report. When asked to compare the falls, Aguto said that the next morning, he “did not feel well at all,” and described that he had a headache and was extremely tired. He also told the IG that he felt a little “woozy,” “dizzy,” confused, and found it “really hard to focus.”
As he met staff in the hotel lobby ahead of a morning meeting with then-Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, witnesses reported Aguto acting lethargic and “not himself,” and staff said they suggested he cancel the meeting.
Aguto slowly responded, “I got it.”
En route to the U.S. Embassy, and running late, Aguto and his staff decided to walk the remaining 50 meters to the embassy’s main gate. Shortly after exiting the vehicle, Aguto fell forward, striking his right elbow and jaw, as well as tearing his jacket and shirt sleeve, the report says.
Aguto was later taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a concussion.
Investigators found Aguto’s falls had been a result of “overindulgence” in alcohol, saying he should have considered the effects before drinking so much. Whether he was permitted to consume more than two drinks, the IG report states he knew at the time he had important meetings to attend the following morning.
Aguto disagreed, saying he “acted in good faith” and had received verbal permission from Gen. Darryl Williams, commander of U.S. Army Europe, to drink at the dinner in light of the “cultural significance” of drinking at such events.
The IG report did not substantiate the allegations of counterproductive leadership during Aguto’s time in command.