As USAACE commander, he was responsible for the training, doctrine, organizational structure, and future technology development for 90,000 aviation soldiers and over 4,000 aircraft.

[4] As a field officer, Crutchfield commanded 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment from 1998 to 2000 before proceeding to the Army War College to pass the bar for promotion to colonel.

The allegation was an anonymous report claiming that Crutchfield "invented a way to get a free plane ticket" to travel from PACOM headquarters in Hawaii to Fort Rucker solely for his promotion ceremony.

[10] It was found that Crutchfield spent $3,821.61[11] on a 7-day trip to Alabama en route to Washington, D.C. "to accommodate his preference to hold his promotion ceremony at Fort Rucker" rather than his duty station at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii.

The trip in question included meetings with several Fort Rucker personnel and plans for a speaking engagement at Maxwell Air Force Base on the same day as the promotion ceremony.

[12] Crutchfield contested the findings, retorting that he was "not guilty of wasting government resources" and conducted official and "bona fide" activities on the 7-day trip.