Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, was called out by the U.S. Army officer who supervised him during his deployment to Afghanistan, saying that the politician needed to “be honest” about the role he played in the military. Retired Lt. Col. James Gottschling sat down for a conversation with the Baltimore Sun concerning Moore’s service.
Gottschling said that Moore’s “service in Afghanistan was good,” but he was “not a paratrooper” as he has previously claimed. The retired lieutenant colonel’s comments came as Moore claimed he had “the experience of an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper who led soldiers in combat” while he was deployed in Afghanistan.
While on deployment in the Middle Eastern country, Gottschling served as a “a field artilleryman with the rank of major during the deployment.” He also served as the “brigade’s fire support coordinator and Moore’s direct supervisor,” he revealed during the interview. “Be honest,” Gottschling said. “His service in Afghanistan was good. He was a valued member of the brigade staff.”
The retired military man then explained that the claims of leading paratroopers in combat made by Moore were “disingenuous,” along with statements that he “did what would be direct action activities in a combat zone.” Breitbart News then reported that Gottschling “acknowledged that Moore served with the 82nd in Afghanistan as an attached Army reservist, but said he was not in a jump status.”
“Moore has described in various accounts, including his 2015 book, ‘The Work,’ months of pre-deployment training with the 82nd at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Spotlight found no Army records substantiating that account; the records placed him in Military Police training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, during much of the brigade’s train-up period. Prior to that, Moore was not qualified in any Army branch and, by Army regulation, would have been ineligible to participate in such training,” the outlet said, via Breitbart.
“Gottschling confirmed Moore, who is airborne qualified, neither trained with the brigade before deployment nor conducted training jumps. He acknowledged that Moore served with the 82nd in Afghanistan as an attached Army reservist, but said he was not in a jump status, didn’t receive jump pay and was not in a parachutist’s position,” it continued.
Gottschling then plainly stated that Moore was “not a paratrooper.” Moore, who has faced scrutiny before, has publicly defended his military record, saying that he has “nothing to hide.” The Maryland governor’s defense of his military service comes after “questions about discrepancies in his Bronze Star claim and accounts of his service” arose.
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“Not only do I have nothing to hide, I have nothing to be ashamed of,” Moore went on to say in response to challenges concerning his record. Moore then claimed that issues surrounding his service stem from mistakes, lack of context, and faulty memory over time. “I have never mischaracterized my military career, and I’m very proud of the service that we all did in Afghanistan and my time throughout the Army,” Moore commented.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video