That is what the Huffington Post reported on Feb. 23, which really distresses me, because I so admire the Honor Code of West Point – from which Robert McDonald graduated in 1975.
The Huffington Post reported:
“Robert McDonald, the secretary of veterans affairs, wrongly claimed in a videotaped comment earlier this year that he served in the Army’s elite special forces, when his military service of five years was in fact spent almost entirely with the 82nd Airborne Division during the late 1970s.
“U.S. special operations forces (SOF) are composed of exhaustively trained and highly capable troops from each military service, including the Army Rangers, Delta Force, Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces (also known as the Green Berets) – but not the 82nd Airborne. … Special operators are a close-knit community deeply hostile to outsiders who try to claim the coveted mantle of special operations.”
In Los Angeles, in January, McDonald was accompanied by a CBS TV news crew. They recorded an exchange between McDonald and a homeless man who told them he had served in special forces.
“Special forces? What years?” asked McDonald, who went on to say:
“I was in special forces!”
But the records show he never served in special forces.
When the Huffington Post contacted him and asked him to explain his special forces claim, McDonald replied with the following bombshell of truth:
- “I have no excuse. I was not in special forces.”
- “What I said is wrong. I reacted spontaneously, and I reacted wrongly (with) no intent in any way to describe my record as any different than it is.”
When the Huffington Post contacted former senior special forces commander retired Army Col. Gary Bloomberg, he said:
“What a boneheaded statement – is this what we want from our senior government officials?”
Col. Bloomberg went on to note that he had checked with others in the special forces community, which is normally quick to apprehend special forces impostors in the same way that the Stolen Valor organization hunts down and exposes those who wear unearned military decorations.
McDonald is former president of Procter & Gamble. He was selected to replace Army Gen. Eric Shinseki – who resigned in disgrace last May following reports of widespread corruption inside the Department of Veterans Affairs.
But the White House announced that President Obama accepted McDonald’s explanation. Secretary McDonald has apologized for his misstatement and noted that he never intended to misrepresent his military service.
The White House noted:
“We take him at his word and expect that this will not impact the important work he’s doing to promote the health and well-being of our nation’s veterans.”
Think about that.
And wonder whether or not this should be described as a “misstatement” or a lie.
How on earth are members of the public to believe that this head of the Veterans Affairs Department “never intended” to misrepresent his military service?
If he never intended to do so, why, in the name of common sense and the honesty we expect from high-ranking Cabinet members, did he do so?
And what about the White House statement:
“We take him at his word” – when his word has been found to be so patently false.
Media wishing to interview Les Kinsolving, please contact [email protected].
|
