An Air Force officer bravely stepped forward to confront the injustices that plagued her fellow service members, only to find herself in the crosshairs.
This is yet another instance of a service member voicing concerns regarding misconduct within their command, which included accusations of toxic leadership, favoritism, harassment, and a failure in accountability, only to encounter harsh retaliation for speaking up.
The Gateway Pundit spoke to Lt. Col. Natalie A. Rowell of the California Air National Guard. With 33 years of service to the country, she most recently held the position of 195th Force Support Flight Commander at Beale Air Force Base.
From this position, she observed various troubling issues named above. Throughout the years, she had consistently dedicated herself to enhancing the military. Consequently, she views herself as having been “a whistleblower entrenched in California for quite some time.”
In September 2024, she brought one of her concerns to Major General Matthew P. Beevers, the Adjutant General overseeing the California National Guard and the entire California Military Department, which includes both Army and Air National Guard units.
She conveyed that his Selective Retention Review Board (SRRB) was not being carried out appropriately. The SRRB is a committee assembled by the military to assess the records of service members who are eligible for ongoing service but may not be retained. This process can be initiated due to reasons such as length of service, force restructuring, or particular performance issues, and is not intended for punitive measures.
“It was affecting people, even to the point that some were suicidal,” she disclosed, stressing that this was the reason she felt compelled to voice her concerns.
“People were being notified by text message that they were going to be discharged from the Air Force,” Rowell shared. “We’re talking about people’s careers, some with over 30 years of service, with nothing more than a text message notifying them of their discharge and a brief thank you for their service.”
Coincidentally, while she was there, she had recently sustained an ankle injury. Although she had been selectively non-retained, she clarified that her visit was unrelated to her situation, considering she could not be released from Active Guard Reserve (AGR) orders with a medical condition anyway.
“I was there to point out that the California National Guard was inappropriately handling the Selective Retention Review Board (SRRB),” she explained. “Everything was then projected onto me as if I were the one complaining about my SRRB, but that wasn’t the case.”
However, what this moment marked was the day when the retaliation against her began. With an ankle condition deteriorating, everything came to a head in January 2025. While under military-directed medical treatment for a service-connected condition and awaiting a mandatory disability evaluation, her AGR orders were curtailed without her knowledge, and she was subsequently discharged.
This unlawful decision disregarded her ongoing medical treatment. The discharge is in direct violation of ANGI 36-101, paragraph 12.4.2, and the express medical-hold guidance of the Air National Guard Readiness Center.
The AGR Air Manager, who was originally assigned to carry out the curtailment, declined to do so and formally noted in writing that the action was inappropriate. Two days after the California Military Department recognized a Congressional inquiry into her situation, the discharge action was sent to the Air Reserve Personnel Center, and then officially recorded retroactively three months later which interestingly was the same date a Command-Directed Investigation (CDI) began on her allegations.
“I was involuntarily separated, put in a unique PASCode,” Rowell shared. “I belong to Headquarters Air Force.” Since early 2025, she has not retired out of that PASCode, which is an eight-character alphanumeric code employed by the U.S. Air Force to distinctly identify a specific unit and the assignment of a service member for personnel accounting and administrative purposes.
Rowell reached out to the Air Reserve Personnel Center and was informed that the only way for her to be removed from the PASCode is through the Adjutant General, and that it would only require a memo.
“I never retired. I’ve received no paycheck. I have no TRICARE benefits. They have completely cut me off,” she lamented.
Her husband and children have suffered beside her for 19 months as her discharge remains in “a limbo state.”
Rowell’s State IG complaint (FRNO #2024-21495) has remained unresolved since November 2024. On July 22, 2026, she submitted a signed SAF/IG Complaint of Reprisal in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 1034. A renewed inquiry from Congress was sent through Representative Ami Bera (D-CA) on July 21, 2026. Subsequently, on August 8, 2026, a memo was sent to the California Adjutant General, Maj Gen Beevers, requesting an administrative rescission.
“All the Adjutant General needs to do is write a memo and rescind my separation,” she said. “Restore me to duty and let me go through the medical process just any other normal Lieutenant Colonel with honorable service would do—and then let me retire like a normal human being.”
The problem lies beyond the National Guard Bureau; it is now with the Inspector General of the Department of the Air Force. Will this be yet another case that the Department of the Air Force chooses to pretend they cannot intervene?
Despite her unwavering dedication and service, Rowell finds herself caught in a bureaucratic web of retaliation and neglect. Her plea for justice echoes the frustrations of many who have faced similar challenges, underscoring the urgent need for reform within the military system to protect those who serve honorably and to ensure that their rights and well-being are upheld.
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