Cory Mills in the spotlight
Rep. Cory Mills, R-FL, is getting some unwelcome attention lately. He narrowly avoided censure (on a resolution submitted by Rep. Nancy “Meltdown” Mace, also an R) but is under scrutiny by the Ethics committee for a variety of sins, and there is questioning whether his Bronze Star is legit.
Mills, now serving his second term, was ordered last month by a Florida judge to have no contact with his ex-girlfriend and to not go within 500 feet of her residence or where she works.
The panel will also examine whether he failed to properly disclose required information on statements required to be filed with the House, violated campaign finance laws regarding his two congressional campaigns, and whether he improperly solicited or received gifts in connection with privately sponsored official travel.
On the House floor Wednesday, Mace outlined a series of controversies surrounding Mills, saying in her resolution that his behavior “brings discredit upon the House.”
She pointed to allegations that Mills misrepresented aspects of his Army service and the protective order. AP News
A bit more on that last is in order, don’t you think?
Rep. Cory Mills, 45, is a Florida politician, businessman, and Army veteran, currently serving in the 119th Congress. Mills has represented Florida’s 7th congressional district, which includes Seminole and southern Volusia counties, since 2023.
According to his website, he served in the Army with the 82nd Airborne Division and Joint Special Operations Command from 1999 through 2003. After serving, he co-founded Pacem Solution International LLC and Pacem Defense LLC, which, according to his website, supported risk management assessments, intelligence collection, and media security.
One sticking point – Pacem sells arms to a variety of foreign governments. Mills is on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees. We call that a conflict of interest where I come from.
It gets a little iffy when Mill’s Bronze Star comes under scrutiny. Some have come forward supporting him, and some Army paperwork does too. But his DD-214 shows no overseas service. Now, we know that DD-214s are hardly infallible – but it gets better.
Mills furnished The News-Journal with a Form 638, the recommendation for him to earn the Bronze Star. While it shows that he earned the medal and details why, Johnson and others have questions, including the date the form was signed.
Army Brig. Cmdr. Arnold N. G. Bray’s signature is on the Form 638. On one line, Bray’s title is listed as brigade commander. On another, it refers to him as” “BG (R),” meaning brigadier general (retired). According to his LinkedIn page and several bios, Bray retired in 2012.
“Cory was one of my (non-commissioned officers) and I awarded all my squad leaders and above the Bronze Star,” Bray wrote in a text message recently.
Bray also wrote that Mills’ actions justifying the award are “ordinarily submitted by the observing individuals. To be clear, I am not validating any of the specifics.”
Former Army soldier Bobby Oller, who served in the 325th from 2002 to 2006, says the bottom of the Form 638 shows that it was created in “Apr 2021.”
”We all know he had to have this document made after 2021,” Oller said.
Both Oller and Johnson say they have spoken to several members of the 325th and has found no one who recalls Mills. News-Journal
This is a case where I strongly recommend reading full articles and doing your own research. Me, I am waiting for more info.
Category: Congress sucks
Mr. Mills, I think you got some explaining to do……
At best, that was an End of Tour award, as in a Meritorious Bronze Star.
But, that retired BG retired in 2012? So was he COL and a BDE commander in early 2000s? It could be. However, he says he awarded the BSM to all his squad leaders and above, and Cory Mills only served 4 years according to that article, from 1999 to 2004. Could he make E5 in 3 years and be a Squad Leader as an E5 Sergeant rather than as a E6 Staff Sergeant? Maybe.
I got my E5 in 3.5 years, and that was because my CSM kicked me out of the promotions board for doing something stupid, and I had to wait a couple months to go back to the board.
Cory Mills’ timeline is kind of tight to make it all the way to squad leader in one enlistment.
Making a brand new E5 into a squad leader sounds like a very bad idea to me. There are developmental steps NCOs need to take to become an effective leader at the next level.
I would definitely not put a brand new E5 into that position. He needs to lead a fire team first, and not just as a E4 mafia team leader.
So, it could be. Maybe.
“I got my E5 in 3.5 years, and that was because my CSM kicked me out of the promotions board for doing something stupid, ….”
THat sounds like a fun story for the telling.
Yup! Time to chill the beer, light up the firepit, and tell stories.
E5 squad leaders are not at all uncommon. My son is one today, he isn’t even very senior with just over a year in grade. When I was a platoon leader (during the same era of Mills’ service) I had two squad leaders that were E5s and my platoon sergeant was a senior E6 for my first year.
That doesn’t mean he was one, just that it isn’t unusual, even a tier 1 unit. Often times units would assign someone of the proper rank to the proper slot by MTOE and then send that person somewhere else to be the BCTs PSD leader (for example), because in that era the BCT wasn’t slotted a PSD. He was just supposed to drive around the battlefield with him and his driver and maybe the S1… Weird times that soon were to change.
I have no problem with a senior E5 in a squad leader position. I had more than one. All units had them back then.
The problem here is that there is no way he was a senior E5 during that deployment.
A 4-year enlistment, deployed when he was about 2.5 years in the Army, squad leader in 3?
I don’t know.
His Company First Sergeant must have been scraping the bottom for leaders.
I just searched his name in a certain database and there were no results.
I’ll try another one.
But it is not looking good…
If you check the General Officer Management Office website, no Brigadier General (BGen) Bray exists, but stories and links about him are everywhere, to include pictures and a LinkedIn profile.
The article states the Form 638 was signed by BGen (retired) Bray, presumably while serving as the commander of the 2d Brigade Combat Team, 82d Airborne Division…except that COL William B. Caldwell IV (now a retired BGen) served in that capacity from 2001-2003.
(“BGen Bray” substantiated he signed the form over a TEXT message exchange? You gotta be shitting me.)
Everywhere I’ve looked for information on “BGen Bray” conflicts with other information.
One article I found about “BGen Bray” claims he was the principal advisor to the Iraqi Ground Forces Commander from 2006-2007, except that MGen James M. Milano held that position during that time.
Another article claims “BGen Bray” served as the Deputy Director of Operations for U.S. AFRICOM during 2011, and retired the following year, except that BGen Christopher K. Cavoli held that position in 2011.
Another article claims “BGen Bay” was named as the Deputy CG of U.S. Army Cadet Command at Ft. Monroe, VA, except that BGen Arthur Batell held that position.
A Form 638 only starts the nomination process. It’s not the actual citation, certificate, or medal.
What does Cory Booker’s DD214 say? Was it corrected with a DD215?
If by “bronze star” does he mean the 5/18″ star device that denotes a subsequent award?
(If that’s the case, does that mean I can claim I have 2 silver stars and 9 bronze stars?)
We’ve all seen people conflate the two before.
After about 20 minutes of research, I’ve found enough to support that Cory Booker is just another lying politician and a discredit to the uniform he claimed to have once worn.
Correction: “BGen Bray” (vice Bay) and Cory Mills (vice Booker).
(Or I could be wrong…)
BG Arnold N Gordon-Bray is the retired officer they keep quoting.
Here’s the announcement of his being assigned as advisor in Iraq. https://www.gomo.army.mil/public/announcement/usa-738
Here’s the announcement for his deputy CG of cadet command. https://www.gomo.army.mil/public/announcement/usa-1233
What did Captain Tuttle have to say about the matter?
(Grin)
I thought he was dead.
Unfortunately, CPT Tuttle, while bravely trying to administer life saving medical evaluations, died somewhere in South Korea in the vicinity of Uijongbu.
We all know the answer.
If you have to explain why you don’t have the proof, it’s bullshit.
There are far too many Cory’s in the House. As well as Heathers…I don’t know if there are ANY Heathers in the house, but I can’t stand Heathers…or Ashleys….or Megans…or Regans…or any other popular girl names from the late 80s, early 90s. Not because they were mean or anything, but just because they had cooler names than mine….Skivvy…..Who wants a name that’s more associated with UNDERWEAR?
I could be wrong, maybe some units delegated approval authority to O-6s, but in my experience, the BSM and MSM require approval from an O-8 or above, not a Brigade Commander. I’m sure there were BGs who had the authority; I’m speaking from Regular Army FORSCOM experience: the Division or regional commander approved BSMs.
The BSM is also a highly political award, as in it’s usually the highest decoration received for service in a combat theater, and given our broken awards system, the powers that be don’t want its reputation to be smeared by every dirty enlisted Soldier receiving one. In my experience, even if the immediate chain-of-command supports the award, higher HQ will downgrade it or disapprove it outright. Mills was allegedly an E-5 serving in a Squad Leader position. His platoon, company, battalion, and even brigade leadership supported the award, but what are the chances of some random E-8 or MAJ in G1 just letting it get to the CG’s desk unmolested?
In 2013, I watched then-1LT Rachel Washburn’s BSM recommendation on the brigade awards tracker for a few months. She was probably the most well-known officer in 4IBCT, 3ID, having been an Eagles cheerleader and having numerous news articles written about her. And, yes, she’s the one I’ve referred to before who always seemed to be perfectly made up, even when she was on Female Engagement Teams outside the wire: rachel washburn army – Search Images. Anyway, her award was downgraded a few times, though I think she finally did get her BSM. Deserved? Well, probably more than any of the staff officers who never left FOB Shank.
It’s entirely possible that Mills was in an SL position. Units have to fill the positions, and though Weapons Quad Leaders are supposed to be the most experienced NCO besides the PSG, I’ve seen PFCs placed in the position, with the reasoning being that the gun teams would be divided between the PSG and PL, so the available SSGs would run maneuver squads. I knew 2-year E-5s and 4-year E-6s in The Old Guard. FORSCOM generally doesn’t promote like that. A few days ago, I vented about 3-15 IN’s “bottom up” weekend accountability policy. The now-Corps-level CSM who implemented that was also heavy-handed when it came to promotion boards. After he assumed responsibility, only a handful of SPCs were recommended for promotion in the few months before I went back to brigade S3. Soldiers would joke about needing a Ranger Tab and 300 APFT score to make it past the first few questions, and truth be told, the only person I can think of who earned a recommendation was a Ranger-qualified former MIT student (I can’t remember if he’d graduated or not, but recall seeing his ERB in a school packet and noting he had a 136 or so GT score).
Back to the BSM, though. An acting SL isn’t going to receive the same considerations as someone who’s been in the position for a few years. The awards system is broke, and feelings get hurt, with the easiest feelings to hurt being those of junior personnel. Maybe he had great peers and leaders who wanted to see him receive the award. In my experience, there are always those who would undermine a “lowly” E-5 before he got such a decoration, from crusty E-6s to senior NCOs and officers, and even Mills’ E-5 peers and subordinates. As with Washburn–a “mere” 1LT being put in for an award that nearly every CPT around her got–Mills’ DA638 would have raised eyebrows in every level of S1 up through G1. Even if the officers supported it, I’m willing to bet some hateful E-9 would have tried to intervene.