On March 29, 2012 he was suspended with pay from the National Guard by Governor Patrick pending the outcome of an investigation into an allegation that he raped a servicewoman in his unit in 1984 during training at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The accusations resurfaced in 2010 during court martial proceedings against Lt. Col. Mark Murray who serves as the Massachusetts National Guard's quartermaster. Carter initiated court martial proceedings against Murray "after state and federal investigations uncovered a range of alleged improprieties, including misusing federal money, hiring a convicted felon to do legal work, and threatening a whistleblower" and after Murray refused to resign in lieu of court martial. During the court martial, Murray alleged that the charges against him were retaliation by Carter for his role as investigating officer when the charges were first raised two years after the alleged attack. The court martial found that Murray had "failed to comply with federal law in managing Guard funds", but they voted 3 to 2 to allow Murray to retain his job. After the verdict, Murray was stripped of most of his responsibilities. It was alleged that Carter also retaliated against two of the judges in that court martial by trying to have them forced out because he was not happy with the verdict. Further investigation into the rape accusations was in part the result of a background check required for Carter's federal promotion to Major General. The promotion "must be approved by the Army and confirmed by the US Senate".