A colonel in the Air National Guard (ANG), who had nearly 35 years of service, was relieved of her command in 2021, coincidentally at a time when one of her subordinates was disseminating nude, explicit photographs.
Colonel Leslie Zyzda-Martin is the former commander of Wisconsin’s Volk Field Air National Guard Base. Her story highlights a troubling intersection of military culture, accountability, and the challenges faced by those who dare to stand against misconduct. Unable to clear her record amid suspicious circumstances, Zyzda-Martin was forced into retirement in October 2024. Three years later, she is still struggling to clear her name under dubious circumstances.
It is essential to recall the context leading up to this incident: Major General Donald Dunbar resigned in 2019 at the urging of Governor Tony Evers (D-WI). His resignation followed a federal investigation that uncovered a decade’s worth of mismanagement of sexual assault complaints by Wisconsin National Guard leaders. The Guard not only failed to follow military procedures by neglecting to track cases or guarantee that both victims and accused individuals were afforded due process, but they also attempted to conceal the situation.
The National Guard Bureau’s (NGB) Office of Complex Investigations (OCI) found that the “programs and systems for handling allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other workplace or service-related misconduct (emphasis mine) were non-compliant with federal law and regulation, and in various respects, deficient or failing.”
Zyzda-Martin was interviewed on at least two occasions by Inspector General personnel concerning allegations of wrongdoing committed by then-NGB Brigadier General Chad Parker. Little did she know, this would likely play a significant factor in her removal from command two years later.
In 2020, Zyzda-Martin stepped into a challenging environment, finding herself ensnared in a web of unsubstantiated allegations and a lack of transparency from superiors. At the time, the ANG colonel was serving at the Pentagon on a Title 10 tour at the National Guard Bureau in the Intelligence Directorate when she was offered the opportunity to apply for a command position with the Wisconsin Air National Guard.
“I took that job and found a base that was not within standards and ill-equipped,” Zyzda-Martin told The Gateway Pundit. She characterized the military installation as “a sleepy base,” and, on the heels of the 2019 scandal, her goal was to restore U.S. Air Force (USAF) standards to the base. However, her earnest efforts were met with resistance, culminating in four complaints against her, all of which were later found to be unsubstantiated.
Hellbound and Down 