Brigade leaders from Polish strip club episode cleared by probe

Habhab and other brigade leaders came under scrutiny in the wake of a subordinate battalion’s ill-fated September trip to an off-limits strip club in the Polish city of Gdansk. The episode occurred during the Fort Campbell, Tennessee brigade’s nine-month rotation to Europe supporting NATO’s Atlantic Resolve deterrence mission. The unit returned in April.

Senior soldiers from the brigade’s 1st Battalion went to the club after a birthday dinner for their command sergeant major, Stars and Stripes reported. The group lost their battalion executive officer, a major, who later told colleagues that dancers there had drugged him and “bit his nipples” to keep him awake while they continued to charge his credit card.

An initial investigation into the battalion’s leaders resulted in reprimands for its commander and executive officer, among others. The commander retired, and the major who was drugged is pending separation from the Army.