The official in charge of tracking the Navy’s finances mocked the smell, weight and appearance of subordinates and made hiring decisions that appeared to show bias in favor of other African American women, a new report from the Pentagon’s top watchdog finds.
The 42-page probe concludes that Donjette Gilmore, auditor general of the Navy Audit Service, made a habit of harassing and belittling subordinates, creating a hostile work environment and reducing some employees to tears.
Of 27 witnesses interviewed by the Inspector General, 23 said they had personally witnessed, experienced or heard about this behavior.
Specific comments alleged by witnesses included, “Oh, your perfume stinks. She stinks. You stink;” “Oh, my God, you look like a witch;” “No. Let’s take the stairs because [you need] the exercise;” “Your clothes are too tight;” and “You need to stop eating cookies [because] [y]ou don’t need to eat cookies,” among others.
Employees reported being berated and told to “shut up” in staff meetings and mentioned instances in which two single parents were targeted with derogatory comments.
“Nobody told you all to have kids,” Gilmore allegedly said.
Additionally, according to the report, she created a culture of fear around reporting alleged misconduct.
“Witnesses told us that they and their colleagues were afraid to file complaints against Ms. Gilmore and that no safe or effective channel existed to address their harassment allegations,” investigators wrote. “They believed that previous complaints were ignored and mishandled and that Ms. Gilmore would find out they complained against her.”
Eight witnesses also said Gilmore tried to hide negative feedback from command climate surveys administered in 2023 and 2024, ordering that specific comments be redacted on briefing slides.
This week, the Navy published new guidance on transparency in the administration of command climate surveys. Officials did not confirm to Military Times whether the guidance was linked to the IG report on Gilmore.
“A strong and positive command climate is the bedrock of our warfighting advantage. Because our people are our most valuable asset, a command climate that fosters trust, respect, and psychological safety, is not a ‘nice to have’; it is a combat multiplier,” the Navy administrative message states.
The report also finds that Gilmore’s behavior in 17 different hiring actions showed a preference for external candidates and non-competitive practices and thus “created an appearance” of favoritism. Eight African American women were hired to fill 13 of the 17 roles, with some of them being selected for more than one position, the probe found. Nine of the hires were made without a competitive selection process.
Witnesses, who the watchdog noted included seven current and former Audit Service employees who are Black women, also alleged Gilmore made racially specific comments about hiring and employees, including stating “that she needed to keep an employee by keeping him happy because ‘he is white.’”
In addition, the report concluded that Gilmore misused her role in various ways, most notably by pressuring a subordinate to submit sexual harassment allegations as part of an extended effort to discredit another official, Ronnie Booth, who’d previously been selected over her in 2018 to become the Navy’s auditor general.
“Ms. Gilmore took other extraordinary steps in her efforts to discredit Mr. Booth,” the IG found. “Specifically, Ms. Gilmore:
- sent anonymous letters to other potential victims;
- solicited congressional support for her selection as AG in conjunction with the adverse information about Mr. Booth; and
- coordinated her actions and shared information about the harassment allegations with a Washington Post reporter.”
The DoD IG did find in 2021 that Booth had sexually harassed a dozen female Naval Audit Service employees over the course of more than two decades, engaging in a “pervasive pattern of sexual harassment and quid pro quo sexual propositions.”
Booth retired under the shadow of harassment allegations in 2019.
Gilmore, who previously directed the Navy’s public-private partnership housing reviews, became auditor general in 2022. Between May 2023 and June 2024, the Navy received six complaints alleging favoritism, harassment and misuse of her position.
In responses provided to the IG, Gilmore denied wrongdoing, at times claiming she did not recall specific alleged interactions and comments. She also told the IG that she couldn’t remember the passcodes to government-issued cell phones that were seized by investigators and that she didn’t know where a missing SIM card was, according to the report.
In a message to Military Times, Gilmore said that, on the advice of her attorney, she was unable to comment.
As of Thursday, Gilmore appears to remain in her position as the Navy reviews findings.
“We have received and are currently reviewing the DOW IG report,” a Navy spokesperson told Military Times. “We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and are committed to workforce accountability. We have no further comment on the matter at this time.”
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