Congressional candidate, James Kimber, phony SEAL
Mary sends us an article in the U-T San Diego about Democrat Congressional candidate, James Kimber facing incumbent Republican Duncan Hunter. Kimber decided that it would be a good idea to wear a SEAL Special Warfare Badge (Trident) for more than a year before he was campaigning even though he never completed SEAL training and he had been disciplined for exactly that while still in the Navy;
“I knew when I decided to run that this might come up, and said to myself that I would answer it if it did,” Kimber said.
[…]
Kimber said he entered SEAL training in Coronado in 1990 as a medical corpsman but was removed from the program after injuring his back during an obstacle course exercise. He remained at the base for several months, and was eventually assigned to the guided-missile frigate Reid.
It was aboard the Reid, he said, where he was called out for wearing the Trident by the ship’s captain, hauled before crew members and admonished and reprimanded. He was age 32 at the time.
“I know this is a big thing and I am very sorry,” said Kimber, who now works as a physician’s assistant. “I knew what I was doing, and it was a terrible mistake that I hope doesn’t negate everything else I have done in my life and what I am doing now.”
Kimber went on to finish his Navy career in 2002. Not in even one word of the article does Kimber explain why he wore the unearned badge, just that he’s sorry that he was caught, even though he knew better.
Category: Phony soldiers
No shame in washing out of a tough program with an injury, but there is in being a dumbass. And being a California Democrat, anyone want to put odds on his getting elected?
He has a snowballs chance in hell of getting elected.
The 50th district is highly conservative, and the incumbent is Duncan Hunter.
I’m a 50th District resident voter. We’re about as bedrock conservative as it gets here in central and eastern San Diego County, despite being stuck in the Soviet Socialist Republic of California. See my earlier posts in other threads about the state’s real voter composition and the election fraud used to subvert it. As an example, the people of California have repeatedly voted to ban gay marriage, only to be thwarted by activist judges legislating from the bench.
Anyway, Congressman Hunter is pretty well-liked around here, and highly respected for his service as a Marine officer in Iraq (and for not being a lying sack of shit about it). This assdouche Kimber is running here because the democrats don’t consider him worthy of a race they might actually win.
There’s no shame in washing out of the program PERIOD. Even if you pull the plug on day three, applying for, turning up at the gate to start and having a red hot crack at the course is nothing to be ashamed of.
A totally unnecessary lie and a waste of credibility. What a dingbat.
A truly “Phildoesque” dude.
I think he needs to do a meet-and-greet at McP’s. While not in his District, I’m sure he will be greeted with many warm handshakes and bowls of soup.
Gallons of soup.
And many enthusiastic back pats!
More than a few of which might be delivered witha closed hand as or after he turns around to face the individual, perhaps?
But will there be ice cream sandwiches?
Sounds like he owned up to it, got punished, and shaped up decades ago. Am I reading this wrong?
No, that is what I gathered. This was an incident from decades ago that he was reprimanded for, straightened his act up and went all the way to Senior Chief.
Doesn’t make what he did right, but there is nothing in the article indicating he ever wore it again after that incident.
Am I to understand from the article they are referring to something he did 20 years ago as a dumbass washout and has never done it since nor has he ever claimed to be a SEAL since that incident?
Here’s how I read the article. He fucked up, he was caught he was punished and he’s never done it again anywhere since that time.
I’m not going to get all outraged about this, the promise of America is every one gets a second chance to recover from being a dumbass when they were younger.
Does make you wonder what other fakery he has committed however, especially working in the medical field. As has been seen numerous times on this site alone, these kinds of people rarely are the “one and done” types.
I believe the article also stated that he had worn the trident on the campaign trail for a year as well…
Nah that’s just the piss poor writing skills of the author who wrote the piece. He wore the thing on board his ship and got busted on his ship 20 years ago, he then went on to become a senior chief. Nothing on his website has suggested he has ever made the claim since that first time.
He might be a guy who fucked up and learned a lesson. Or he may be another shit bag liar. This one article isn’t enough for me to make that leap.
He’s got no chance of beating Hunter, and for me this kind of revelation at this moment in time should be beneath Hunter’s team. They have a solid record they don’t need desperate revelations of 20 year old single mistakes to win. It cheapens Hunter’s candidacy for something like this to be revealed at this time.
Stay out of the stupid shit and stick to the good stuff when running your campaign, especially against a non-contender like Kimber.
Whether or not this offence is forgivable is of course up for the SEALs to decide, not me.
I can tell you this, though. Screwups are forgivable, provided that the person who screwed up is capable of offering amends that offset the screwup. That’s how forgiveness works – it’s one thing to SAY you are sorry; it’s quite another to prove it by your deeds.
So, if there are any SEALs reading this…do you believe Mr Kimber made appropriate amends? I’d like to know your answer, should you feel inclined to reply. It is, after all, YOUR Trident. ;o)
My opinion only, but likely shared by more than a few. He f*cked up – bad. He got caught. He was made to stand before the Skipper and answer for his f*ckup. He took his lumps and drove on, and retired as a Senior Chief. I’ve got no problem with him personally. His f*ckup is the kind that can ruin a political career, and he’s paying that price now. To put this in perspective a little, nearly every Teamguy has 1 or 2 or 5 stories of catching some non-Teamguy doing stupid sh*t with the Trident. Like a young Dirty Boat Guy at The Dungeon in New Orleans trying to get laid by a stripper or 3 but he’s too young to realize that there’s all the honor in the world in being a Hard Fighting Hard Drinking Sailor, not to mention a Dirty Boat Guy. Those stories usually end with a couple of thumps to the skull and a semi-paternal “What the f*ck were you thinking?” and it stays between the temporary fool and his ‘educator’ and it’s never an issue again. I once busted out a phony Teamguy who was banging my girl’s best friend, and he played the part so well that it wasn’t until months of minor errors in names and dates and units added up that I felt the need to have a talk. After that talk he dropped off the face of the earth. 15 years later I am in a Sandy Place, waiting to catch a helo ride and there’s a platoon of Marines hanging out in the same luxurious locale, in between jihaddi stomping sessions. Their Corpsman was a little older than the 0311s, and I get that familiar face Spidey Sense ‘ping!’ and one guess who it was. His eyes were a little wide when he noticed the recognition in my face, and then I gave him a fist bump and said “Keep up the good work and make sure your Killers don’t lose too many permanent fangs our here Doc” which got a laugh from his 0311s and a lot… Read more »
Rog that Sharkman. Had lunch with Slab at S&W in NYC along with former CO of DG on Monday. Great lunch and huge hole in my pocket. Worth every MF penny!
You learn to cut slack after knowing these men!
Speaking of everyone getting a second chance, and third fourth fifth and sixth chance, I saw on the news this morning that today has been declared Marion Barry Day in Washington DC.
Sounds like he went on to have a perfectly respectable career. If one runs for public office I guess these things need to be dealt with. I changed rank 11 times. Every time I advanced to the rear it was for fighting, drinking, or telling someone to get fucked. If I ever run for public office the paper better dedicate a lot more space to cover my career. Just for the record I was Pvt-twice, PFC-twice, LCpl-twice, Cpl-twice, Sgt-twice, then I fucked up a perfectly stellar record at SSgt only once. I am still perfectly capable of telling someone to get fucked, Semper Fi.
Dave,
At least you were consistent.
/except for the SSgt thingie.
😀 ;D 😀
LMAO, I was more than likely consistent at being Jekyll and Hyde. Nefarious would be an adequate description for some of my activities. I have always had an aversion to a Rube Goldberg style of problem solving. Meritorious in the field/deployment and strippers and beer in the rear. I don’t regret any of it…I had a ball.
My concern is the fact that (according to the article) the guy was 32 at the time he got busted.
Being ignorant and doing stupid sh!t in your teens/early 20s IMO is much more forgivable than doing so in your 30s. By age 30, IMO you really should be done with “growing up”.
I don’t disagree with your position, but I have seen people take until about age 35 to finally get their shit together and become truly useful and productive citizens.
I’m hoping that’s the case with Kimber, he was a dipshit who got busted for it and then turned the corner after that life changing callout and has become a better man ever since.
For all my inherent cynicism surrounding the human condition, or lack thereof, I still have an odd sense of optimism that some people are never beyond repair and just require the right impetus to make themselves better people.
Of course at some point for those others who won’t get better and remain reprobates and shitbags, a quick .45 between the eyes is the best outcome for all of us.
“he was called out for wearing the Trident by the ship’s captain, hauled before crew members and admonished “
Being a former Army guy, I know about Article 15’s, but just wondering how does the Navy haul you before the crew and admonish you?
Do they tie you to a mast and rip your shirt off?
Back in the day, in the Army we used to read Article 15s out in Company formation. Until the PC Army of the early 90s rolled in and took over
He had this happen once, but it was in front of the entire battalion. Yes, a battalion formation was called to read the Article 15 charges against an E-3 that was busted TWICE in one night while driving under the influence.
They pipe the sound of a boatswain’s whistle over something called the 1MC. This is followed by the announcement, ‘Now, muster all restricted men on the mess deck with the Duty Master at Arms.’ The 1MC isn’t really required because scuttlebutt spreads quickly as the bulkheads have ears. Hole Snipes never get restricted because its a bit redundant. Twigits con their way out of it. Deck Apes wont show up for restriction because they are already on some working party. Hope this helps you make a hole Ricky. Anyway, turn to, there are workers aloft.
Wow, obviously traditions and discipline are very different for a crew onboard a Naval vessel.
I was an Army NCO in the 70’s and 80’s and there were no procedures or interest in punishing or reprimanding a soldier in front of the his unit.
During my first tour of Camp Pendleton (1983 – 1984), I came across a guy went to Radio Repair Course. He told me a story that sounded like complete bullshit, but of course Marines never lie or exaggerate, so I just nodded my head in agreement. Then, I saw it happen, just as he described, twice at A Company 3rd Amphibious Assault Bn.
We were standing in formation about 07:00, waiting to fall in. About ten minutes after formation was to be held, the door to the Company office opened, and the XO walks out with two scruffy looking guys with mirrored sunglasses, tie dyed shirts, cut off jean shorts and sandals. These two guys looked to be about 15 years late for a casting call for Dragnet. So, with the scene being set, we fall in, they take the morning report, then LCpl Greenwood (actual name, because it ties in to the end of the story) was called to report front and center. WTF? Why is this POS getting an award? So he marches up, salutes the XO, then Cheech and Chong step forward, flash their badges, throw him against a car, frisk him, cuff him, and haul him away. The XO then says “Carry out the plan of the day”.
So a day or two later, Greenwood is back in the shop, bitching about how they can’t do that to him, his dad is a lawyer, and he is going to sue the Marine Corps. Sgt Kiefer asked him why he was suing the Marine Corps. “They say that I am a drug dealer.” So Sgt Kiefer said “But you are a drug dealer.” LCpl Greenwood then said “But they can’t say that about me.” Later on, one of the other Comm Shop resident comedians said “Did you hear they are dropping the charges against Greenwood?”. When someone asked why, he said “Because you can’t burn green wood (Greenwood).”
Duncan is a stud. Oddly I met him and McCain on the same weekend during a GOE thing in DC. McCain looked over your shoulder and had a limp, sweaty handshake. Duncan looked you right in the eye and had a firm grip. That still means something to some of us.
I don’t know Duncan Jr. – people back in SAN say he’s a little too cocky for his own good – but I remember his dad, and even helped register new citizens with his grandfather R.O. way back in the day. R.O. had to have been pushing 85 or 90 back then. Good people.