Army Chief’s Jet Use Questioned

WASHINGTON — Army Secretary Thomas E. White and his wife flew to Colorado on an Army jet this month and closed on the sale of their Aspen house, according to Army officials and sources in Colorado.

Army spokesman Larry Gottardi acknowledged that the Whites made the Aspen trip while the Army secretary was traveling on business to Seattle. He declined to explain the official purpose of the Seattle trip or what Army business White had in Aspen.

White and his wife, Susan, arrived in Colorado on March 1, Gottardi said. On March 4, they signed papers for the sale of the Aspen house for $6.5 million, according to Bill Sterling, the real estate agent who handled the deal. White, who was an Enron Corp. executive for 11 years before he was appointed Army secretary last spring, and his wife are also trying to sell a town house at the ski resort.

Under a policy outlined in a 1997 Department of Defense directive, “the use of DoD transportation resources is limited to official DoD requirements.” The rule excludes family members from such trips.