{"id":22518,"date":"2017-09-14T20:32:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T20:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/09\/14\/dod-fires-armed-forces-retirement-home-boss-over-refusal-to-enact-new-revenue-plan\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:21:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:21:58","slug":"dod-fires-armed-forces-retirement-home-boss-over-refusal-to-enact-new-revenue-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2017\/09\/14\/dod-fires-armed-forces-retirement-home-boss-over-refusal-to-enact-new-revenue-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"DoD fires Armed Forces Retirement Home boss over refusal to enact new revenue plan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Defense officials on Thursday fired the chief operating officer of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, citing his unwillingness to follow their directions to shore up the finances of the agency\u2019s two homes, which care for about 1,000 former enlisted members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timothy Kangas was not willing to move forward with Defense Department plans to focus on new sources of income for the home\u2019s campuses in Washington, D.C., and Gulfport, Mississippi, said David Tillotson III, DoD\u2019s assistant deputy chief management officer, during a press call Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials are in the process of hiring another leader, he said \u2015 one with experience in running military retirement communities in a nonprofit setting, which means they generate income to supplement operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dr. Timothy Kangas took over the top job at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in April 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, Tillotson said, \u201cthe current chief operating officer has not indicated that he\u2018s on board with going in this new direction. In fact, he\u2019s been a little bit reticient to make some of those changes, and as a result, we\u2019re going to go ahead and make a leadership change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense officials \u201cappreciate his service,\u201d Tillotson said. \u201cDr. Kangas as the current chief operating officer has done some very good things in his 18 months of tenure, but I do think we\u2018ve come to a point where if we\u2019re going to drive forward with the new operating model we probably need to pursue new leadership.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kangas served for nine years as a combat medic in the Michigan Army National Guard, with the 107th Engineering Battalion, according to his AFRH biography<\/a>. He also served with a State Department provincial reconstruction team in Iraq. He holds a doctorate in Public Administration and Public Affairs from Western Michigan University, per his bio. He took over the top post at AFRH in April 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tillotson will hold a town hall meeting with residents at the Washington campus Friday morning, with the Gulfport residents participating through video teleconference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy biggest concern overall is to make sure that we continue to provide service to the current resident population,\u201d Tillotson said. \u201cThese are veterans that served their country honorably for many years. I want to make sure that we\u2019re in a position to continue to provide them support as we move forward. I do think looking at new operating models doesn\u2019t undercut that intent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t