Capt. Brian Moss and the Pacific Missile Range Facility have declined to comment on allegations, based on a Navy Inspector General's investigation conducted more than a year ago.

The Navy has taken "effective measures" in response to the investigation, Navy Region Hawaii public affairs officer Lt. Jane Campbell said.

Among the allegations: that Moss spent $119,000 building two beach gazebos, one near his official residence and one near the base's enlisted housing, which cost far more than an original estimate of just $15,000; and that he spent more than $50,000 renovating his official residence on the base, including $13,000 for carpeting, which was flown in from the Mainland.

The spending of that money was not properly authorized, the investigative report said.

"It was a matter of, the funds were there, but it was the wrong funding category. It was a matter of which pot to take it from," Campbell said.

She said since the expenditures, the Navy has more clearly delineated who makes decisions for paying for Navy housing improvements. All such decisions at all Navy facilities in the Islands are now made by a Navy program manager for housing, she said.

Navy Region Hawaii conducted the investigation at the Pacific Missile Range Facility after receiving an anonymous complaint on a Navy complaint hot line.

"There was an immediate investigation," she said.

Navy Region Hawaii has closed its portion of the investigation. Campbell would not say whether Moss was reprimanded for his actions. She said certain portions of the case have been sent to the Pacific Fleet, which oversees Navy Region Hawaii.

Moss was also cited for dramatically increasing base spending for consultants whose work was not always what the money was authorized for.

A former range commander, retired Navy Capt. Robert Mullins, said Moss faces a difficult challenge, running a base whose management is through the Pacific Fleet, which uses it for fleet testing, but whose duties include a dramatically increased role in testing of sophisticated equipment for the national defense.

Often, consultants must be hired to get the job done, said Mullins, who ran the base from 1991 to 1994 and now serves as Kaua'i manager for Textron Systems, which does defense contracting work on the base.