A now-retired United States Army major general was found to have inadvertently left a tube of classified maps on a train traveling to Poland for a full day, according to a newly-released Pentagon report.
Less than a month later, former Maj. Gen. Antonio Aguto also overindulged in alcohol during a dinner in Ukraine and fell some time after, sustaining a concussion that led to incoherence and confusion during a briefing the following day.
The issues were so serious that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) issued a full report following its investigation. The previously Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) was partially disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act.
General Aguto Oversaw Ukraine Aid Planning
Aguto had previously served as commander of the Security Assistance Group—Ukraine (SAG-U), the joint headquarters responsible for ongoing Western security assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He relinquished command in August 2024 to Army Lt. Gen. Curtis A. Buzzard.
Prior to Aguto’s retirement, the DoD IOG launched an investigation in June 2024 after allegations surfaced that the general had “lost classified documents on a train in Europe,” engaged in “Prohibited Activities for DoD Personnel on Temporary Duty (TDY) in Ukraine,” and “was intoxicated at meetings.”
The DoD IOG further investigated a “subsequent allegation that MG Aguto’s counterproductive leadership style created a ‘toxic environment’ within SAG-U headquarters.
In total, the IOG interviewed Aguto and 33 other witnesses.
While the report provided a series of mixed conclusions, and did not find Aguto liable for drunkenness or creating a hostile work environment, it “substantiated that [he] failed to comply with” security procedures governing the transfer of classified information. It also concluded, based on a “preponderance of the evidence,” that drunkenness had caused him to fall and suffer a concussion during one trip to Kyiv. Finally, it concluded that SAG-U had a “poor command climate and low morale” under Aguto’s leadership, although it noted that multiple factors had contributed to this problem.
Charge #1: Mishandling Classified Documents
The most serious complaint against Aguto was the breach of classified materials, which occurred while the general was returning by train from Ukraine to Germany. Due to their size, the maps, which were classified as “Secret,” were hand-carried in a cylindrical tube. The maps were carried onto the train by a noncommissioned officer, but not carried off.
Aguto was only informed that the maps were missing after he returned to his headquarters in Wiesbaden. The tube was discovered on the train the next day and returned, apparently untouched.
According to the DoD IOG report, Aguto failed to follow procedures, including a security directive requiring diplomatic couriers to handle the transport of such materials.
“US Embassy Kyiv, Chief of Mission Security Directive 2022-06, ‘Safeguarding and Handling Classified Materials,’ July 10, 2022, states that only diplomatic couriers or specially authorized nonprofessional diplomatic couriers can hand-carry classified material across international borders,” the report noted.
It added that the general also failed to “comply with DoD Manual (DoDM) 5200.01, Volume 3, ‘DoD Information Security Program: Protection of Classified Information.’”
Aguto was found to have failed in sealing the classified documents, and then lost possession of them. Moreover, the IOG said it “found insufficient evidence to determine who had control of the classified maps once the travelers boarded the train for the return trip.”
Aguto took responsibility for the temporary loss, even though he was not the one designated to carry the map tube onto the train physically.
Charge #2: Drunkenness
The other significant part of the investigation involved a night of excessive drinking several weeks later in May 2024, during a nine-day trip to Ukraine.
During a six-hour dinner in Kyiv with other military personnel, Aguto was reported to have drunk nearly two full 500 ml bottles of “Chacha,” a Georgian brandy that contains 40 to 50 percent alcohol. The general acknowledged that he was at “some level” of intoxication. Department of Defense guidelines stipulate that officers are allowed to have two alcoholic drinks at official functions, but no more—a limit that Aguto clearly exceeded.
At some point after dinner, Aguto fell and hit his head. Sometime later that evening or early the next morning, the general fell a second time, striking his forehead. He fell a third time en route to the US Embassy, tearing his jacket and hitting his jaw.
“A preponderance of the evidence established that MG Aguto suffered a moderate-to-severe concussion caused by head injuries from at least one, if not all three, falls in the late evening of May 13 and the morning of May 14,” the report stated.
The report did not find Aguto to be intoxicated while on duty. Instead, it concluded that his stupor while on duty was the result of a concussion he sustained in the falls. It noted that if Aguto had been hung over, his condition would have started poor and grown better over the course of the day. According to eyewitnesses, the opposite pattern took place; Aguto was more focused in the morning and grew steadily more incoherent as the day progressed.
“Without evidence of a blood test result from MG Aguto on May 14, we cannot conclude that MG Aguto was still intoxicated that day from his consumption of alcohol the evening before, especially considering that the symptoms resulting from intoxication are similar to those resulting from a concussion,” the report stated.
Aguto said he was “allowed” to consume alcohol.
“I acted in good faith within what I believed to be appropriate guidance from General [Darryl] Williams, as during our conversation he indicated no limitation on alcohol consumption,” Aguto told the inspector general’s office.
Charge #3: Poor Leadership
The report “did not substantiate the allegation” that Aguto’s leadership of SAG-U had been counterproductive. It said that it had failed to determine that his leadership style had created a “toxic environment,” as an anonymous complaint had claimed.
The report did conclude that SAG-U suffered from morale issues, but it evaluated that these had stemmed from a variety of issues, including “high operational tempo, austere living and working conditions due to limited installation amenities, high rate of personnel turnover, and Service culture differences.” It also noted that Aguto’s aggressive leadership style was “not always well received,” but was not indicative of misconduct.
Things Always Turn Up Somewhere in Poland
Aguto retired from the United States Army in August 2024, at the same time he left command at SAG-U.
The incident involving the classified maps is embarrassing for DoD, but not unprecedented.
In 2023, Jack Teixeira, an airman in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested after sharing classified maps of the ongoing Ukraine conflict with his friends on the popular Discord messaging app. Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November 2024.
Nor were Aguto’s maps the most “sensitive” item to be left on a train traveling through Poland. In January 2025, a batch of Russian anti-tank landmines that were being transported on a Polish train were misplaced—and accidentally delivered to an IKEA warehouse. The mines belonged to the Polish Army, and a Polish general was later fired for attempting to cover up the incident.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
