Hankerson has given Lloyd until Wednesday to prove he has not "falsified, misrepresented, or otherwise been untruthful" concerning his Navy service during the Vietnam War. If he can't, a highly reliable source said Hankerson would ask Lloyd to resign or be terminated on Wednesday.
Phone calls to Lloyd for comment on Friday afternoon were not returned.
The military records, believed to be six to eight pages, do not support some of Lloyd's claims, according to a letter Hankerson sent to Lloyd on Friday afternoon, which the Journal obtained through an Open Records Request.
In the letter, Hankerson acknowledges that he met with Lloyd on Friday morning and states: "To ensure that the Board of Commissioners and I will continue to have confidence in your ability to provide leadership to the Public Safety Agency, your response must fully address the apparent discrepancies identified herein and you must present competent and reliable evidence of your accomplishments."
The Journal first reported on July 1 that the county had requested Lloyd's military records after discovering two different military discharge documents in his county personnel file.
Lloyd gave the county human resources department a DD 214 form on March 22, for retirement incentive purposes, showing Lloyd earned the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal, said county spokesman Robert Quigley. But in mid-June, Lloyd delivered a different DD 214 to the county's HR department to be "included in his personnel file," Quigley said.
That DD 214 has those two medals listed plus the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, a Presidential Unit Citation, the Navy Unit Citation and a Combat Action Ribbon.
When Lloyd was unable to provide documentation for those medals, Ott said Lloyd signed a release, allowing Hankerson to receive his full military jacket to resolve the discrepancies.
Other discrepancies Hankerson cites in his Friday letter to Lloyd include: biographical information attributed to Lloyd from the Smyrna Memorial Day Service, in which Lloyd claimed to have served as a Navy SEAL and received two Bronze Stars, a Silver Star and a Purple Heart; and a curriculum vitae from November 2005 that includes the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart under the heading of "Honors and Awards."
Hankerson wrote that those awards were not included in Lloyd's military records he received from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis on Tuesday.
Commissioner Bob Ott said Hankerson makes personnel decisions, while the Board of Commissioners serves as an appeals committee for those who feel they were wrongfully terminated. He added that none of the commissioners have seen the military records.
"If the information he claimed in the past regarding his military service cannot be substantiated, and, in the county manager's opinion, Mickey has been less than truthful, he should resign or be terminated," Ott said. "The department of public safety has always lived under a creed of honesty, and it is absolutely crucial that our public safety employees be truthful and lead by example."
Vice Chair Woody Thompson has told the Journal previously that he believes Lloyd should resign if the county manager believes he has been dishonest. But Thompson echoed Ott's views that the board is an appeals committee, so the issue, for now, rests with Hankerson.
Hankerson said Tuesday he would release a statement by the end of the week regarding Lloyd's employment, but no such statement was received by Friday night.
During the Marietta Fourth of July parade, Ott said he asked Sen. Johnny Isakson to help in expediting Lloyd's records, a request Ott said Isakson agreed to and completed. Ott said the commissioners felt the matter needed to be solved correctly - and quickly.
Prior to his service in Cobb, Lloyd served two years as deputy commissioner of Homeland Security. Lloyd retired as deputy chief of the Atlanta Police Department in 2000 after 29 years of service to the department. Since being hired by Cobb County, Lloyd has spoken at several events and his introductions included varied details of his military service during the Vietnam War.
The summer 2003 edition of the Cobb Fire Department's newsletter, "The Smoke Signal," included a few paragraphs welcoming Lloyd to the county as the new public safety director. The welcome included biographical information about Lloyd, which stated: "He served in the U.S. Navy Special Forces in Vietnam."
Most recently, Lloyd was among a handful of speaker-veterans honored on stage at the Smyrna Memorial Day event, held at the Smyrna Community Center. The printed program for the event stated, "Lloyd served 18 months in Vietnam as a member of SEAL Team 1, part of River Squadron 116, Mobile Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta. His decorations include the Silver Star, two Bronze stars, both with 'V' device, and Purple Heart."
Smyrna City Councilman and Vietnam War era veteran Wade Lnenicka said Lloyd verbally gave him the information used in his introduction.
But Robert Ledee of Woodstock, a former lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps and Vietnam veteran who has been researching Lloyd's military history on Lloyd's behalf, said on July 1: "Mickey will tell you that he was not a Navy SEAL."
The county began looking into the matter after it received a letter dated June 7, accusing Lloyd of lying about his military record.
Follow us on Twitter!
As we have all heard before, leadership starts at the top. The police department has had a lot of recent problems. For example, the DUI boating accident resulting in the arrest of one officer and the death of the other.
The hit and run incident involving another officer. There was also the recent situation with the officer's arrest for kiddie porn and last weekends DUI arrest of the Captain.
Not to say police officers are perfect but we should expect that they not be involved in criminal actvity.
All this to say, why would the officers be held to a different standard. Mickey Lloyd is only a yes man for Mr. Hankerson. Mr. Lloyd only does as he is told. So, this begs an answer. What has Mr. Hankerson let slide. This are both highly paid individuals with our taxpayer dollars.
Cobb County looks foolish to allow another 5 days to give Lloyd time to produce the information. This has been going on a while now. It seems that he is given extra time to see what other deceit he can come up with
I agree, he should not be given a choice to resign. This would keep his retirement intact. Cobb County citizens should not have to fund his retirement. He should be fired and prosecuted.
A few years ago, the Navy lost one of its best recent admirals to suicide because of accusations such as this. Adm. Boorda, as it turned out, WAS qualified to wear the service ribbons in question.
Mr. Hankerson, you have a duty and obligation to this county's veterans and all its citizens to do the right thing. The onus is on Lloyd to prove his repeated claims (and they WERE repeated and some of us have SEAL coins to prove it).
It's easy to establish whether someone is a SEAL. I believe that question has already been answered and should be grounds for dismissal right there. The citations are another thing. But let's allow all the players to step up and do the right thing before making premature judgements.
People's lives and reputations are at stake. That said, come on Mr. Lloyd. Come clean and do the right thing and quit stalling. Time is up.
I don't believe MDJ leadership is displaying befitting humility, and I doubt that you would feel a need to apologize or explain.
Not that I expect you to shudder in apprehension, but expect there to be comment about the objectional practice and about news coverage defiiciency--by MDJ and Neigbor Newspapers and by others--in micro-blogging such as at Twitter and perhaps elsewhere on the web.
Lloyd displayed a character flaw back then when he callously threw innocent recruits overboard, and Cobb County Commissioner Sam Olens (who is now running for GA Attorney General) went along with it.