Three weeks after President Donald Trump’s extraordinary purge of inspectors general across the federal government, a document arrived in Navy Lt. Cmdr. Shannon Bencs’ email inbox.

It was the day before Valentine’s Day, but what was detailed in the 64-page report under the official seal of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense was a relationship gone sideways:

“WHISTLEBLOWER REPRISAL INVESTIGATION, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER SHANNON BENCS, U.S. NAVY, NAVAL SUPPLY FLEET LOGISTICS CENTER,

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII.”

Bencs had been waiting for nearly four years for the report since filing complaints against her commanders, claiming they had retaliated against her for exposing significant issues before a devastating fuel leak at the Navy’s largest storage facility in 2021 contaminated drinking water for tens of thousands of service members and their families.

But when she scoured the preliminary findings, her heart sank. The DOD inspector general found no link between her whistleblowing and her negative performance reviews.

“It was like a kick in the gut,” Bencs told The War Horse. “I had a feeling that they would protect the Navy.”

While Congress empowered inspectors general with independent oversight to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, critics say what happened to Bencs is typical of a system that is overseen by the agencies that are under the spotlight themselves.

Now, some advocates for greater independence and accountability are asking: Could IG reform really come...

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