https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-afghanistan-ohio-campaigns-e75d2566635f11f49332bd1c46711999 Not good.
I've never understood why veterans feel the need to inflate their otherwise honorable military service. I've seen a few vets who inflate their credentials with diploma mill degrees, but that's a topic for another day. I loathe these vets.
His service wasn't all that honorable. He was discharged as an airman. That's an E-2. Normally, after 4 years, he would have been an E-4 even if he wasn't promoted competitively. Also, he received nonjudicial punishment under Article 15 (likely causing him to be lowered in grade). It must have been serious since he was two grades lower than he should have been when discharged. If I'm right, a field grade officer handled the Article 15 so they could take more than one stripe. (When I was a commander, I was a mere Captain and could only take one. At a time, that is.) He was never awarded any of the medals that go along with serving in Afghanistan. Qatar was, technically, in a war zone, so he can, technically, call himself a combat veteran. So can I from serving in Korea. But I would never dream of it; it's so deceptive. Also, his discharge was coded as being ineligible to re-enlist. So, he lied about where he served. His service was obviously tainted. He lied about his employment. (He said he was an executive. When his bankruptcy was approved his salary was $51K. So...no.) And he'll likely be elected in a heavily gerrymandered district, ousting a long-serving Democrat. Because, you know, tribal.
You'll get a kick out of this follow up: he now says his deployment records are classified (https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1573359423250173953). I know lots of people claiming to be SOF will try that line, but they're usually not running for Congress. Sheesh.
Whoa. Coded as not eligible for reenlistment? That's like a really, really big red flag, friends. Did he at least get an honorable discharge or the more appropriate general discharge under honorable conditions?
The Trump train is strong here in Ohio. I see a lot of knuckleheads with their excessively large 2020 Trump signs still in their yards. Historically, I have voted for both parties, but until the Trump bandwagon fades, I am looking forward to voting a wave of blue.
We don't know. I suspect he received an honorable because he did his four years. Let me explain. In the Air Force, almost all administrative discharges--where the Air Force decides to get rid of someone--result in Honorable discharge. It's just our culture. As a commander, I did several and they were all honorable--even though some came after one or more Article 15 actions. If the guy finished his entire enlistment, but was denied reenlistment, I can guarantee he received an Honorable. A General discharge would almost always come from administrative action on the service's behalf, not just the expiration of an enlistment. So, what's with the denial of reenlistment? I have a theory there, too. Usually, going through an Article 15 does not, in and of itself, disqualify someone from reenlisting. It's a serious matter, but not automatically disqualifying. But....first term airmen must be of a certain grade to re-enlist. I believe that grade is Senior Airman (E-4). But he was an Airman (E-2), likely the result of a big Article 15 hit. Simply put, he didn't have sufficient grade when his enlistment was up, so he was technically ineligible. (Good thing, too, because whatever he did to get punished must have been very, very serious to cost him two stripes instead of one.) As a captain, I could only take one stripe (at a time). The two times I took two stripes were each due to two separate incidents by the members involved. If this guy lost two stripes in one Article 15 action, that action was taken by a field grade officer (major or above) and--like all Article 15 actions--approved by the JAG. Also, the incident must have been really bad. The commander likely said something like, "I'm going to let you go without a court-martial, but I'm taking two stripes so you cannot reenlist." I'd welcome a more positive explanation, but I can't imagine what it could be. And neither can he since his campaign is already dodging questions and issuing "soft lies" to minimize it. And now the "secret deployments," which are pure BS.
