MacDonald: I was not in special forces.
So, you can imagine what my inbox looks like this morning because the VA Secretary, Robert MacDonald, was busted telling a homeless dude (who was probably lying, too) that he was Special Forces. Here’s the video (at about 1:15);
It turns out that MacDonald was commissioned from West Point and graduated from the Army’s Ranger School. His time in the military was spent at the 82d Airborne Division. The Hill quotes MacDonald;
“I have no excuse,” McDonald told The Huffington Post. “I was not in special forces.”
He added that he “reacted spontaneously” and “wrongly [with] no intent in any way to describe my record as any different than it is.”
Yeah, well, there were likely at least two liars on the street that night. Every homeless fellow I’ve met claimed to be Special Forces.
“Secretary McDonald has apologized for the misstatement and noted that he never intended to misrepresent his military service,” the White House said in a statement provided to The Huffington Post.
He never intended to misrepresent his service, but then he did. We’ve busted a lot of those 82d guys who claim to be special forces. And here’s yet another. He was right down Ardennes Street from special forces on Fort Bragg, so same thing, really. Except that it’s not.
From the Huffington Post;
McDonald told The Huffington Post that he “wanted to clear up the confusion I probably created — I did create” in the exchange with the homeless man in L.A. Saying he was in special forces, McDonald said, “is not right. I was not in special forces. What I said was wrong.”
McDonald said he has many friends in the special forces community “and I have great respect for special forces.” But, he added, “as I thought about this later I knew this [claim] was wrong.”
I’m hating on the VA for personal reasons today, so this comes at an opportune time for me.
Category: Politics
I remember seeing that clip on the news and telling my wife that homeless guy is full of crap….never thought the VA Secretary was too!
If you want to get your BP going, read the dumbass comments on the Huffpo article…..
I like the guy going nuclear over “Also of note. Members of the 82nd airborne are attached to SOF all the time especially the 75th Inf Regiment. (Rangers). Look it up on the Google before you go attacking a West Point Officer and Ranger School and (jump school) with an impeccable military record!”. Ummm, did he wear the scroll with that Ranger tab?
When we went through this same shit with Senator Tom Cotton’s Ranger claim the Ranger Association rep told me as long as the soldier completed the Ranger course, he had the right to call himself a Ranger. I am not a Ranger so I do not get a vote in the matter. If it is good enough for the Ranger association it is good enough for me and fuck the Huffington Post.
And on the weekends our new VA Secretary wears a leather biker vest adorned with trinkets and rides with a military bike club. If you can be a lying piece of shit and be a successful government contractor (Monkress), a Senator (Blumenthal), Secretary of State (Swiftboat Kerry), why not the boss man at the VA. God knows, they don’t need credibility there. They have it falling out of their asses like manna from heaven.
But on the bright side, we provide sex changes to traitors at taxpayer expense while vets die of neglect…..
And the fact that this piece of shit does not have the honor to immediately resign from his office tells me everything he learned at the point. Obviously not the same thing as some of the epic leaders that have served our country with distinction. The long grey line weeps.
Is there anyone in the B. Hussein 0bama Administration that doesn’t lie through their teeth at the drop of a hat and blow it off like it’s nothing?
It’s nothing but a liberal thang….
BAHAHAHAHAHA…..
His codename was Agent Orange…
…and Brian Williams can verify that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKtjBqJ4NxA
somebody had to….
Man and I was hoping the new guy in charge of the VA was going to get things turned around .. WTF .. I guess being a lying sack of shit is a prerequisite of the current Administration Appointee’s.
I know right! We fall for it every damn time, right back to land grants in the Ohio Valley.
Sad. Just f**king sad.
Well, the 82nd is a special force. Maybe that is what he meant? /s
I think that depends on what your definition of “is” is.
There are many at the Huff Post trying to say that his Ranger Tab makes him SF, because the Ranger Regiment falls under Special Operations Command. The leaps they are going to, in order to try and spin this in a positive light have nothing to do with his claims, but everything to do with protecting the Emporer they worship.
I was 82d also…I was “special” alright, but not Special Forces.
Also 82d here and every single one of us who ever served in that division knows the difference between serving in an Airborne division and U.S. Army Special Forces. That said, most of the types who are followers of Puffington Host probably have never served in either and likely have no clue as to what they are talking about.
Ironic isn’t it to watch those fools jump through hoops in support of someone they would normally detest, a former Airborne infantry officer who made it big as a capitalist pig heading up a huge consumer products organization that pollutes the planet? Only because of their Kool-Aid drinking loyalty to that lying POS in the White House.
Dude I was so special in 82nd I only ever jumped from C-65s (its like a C-130 but half as long, and bright yellow).
What the Huff-puff says is factually correct. The Ranger Regiment is a special forces unit that falls under US SOCOM as does the Army Special Forces, Tf160, SEALs, MARSOC and whatever the AFSOC; Pararescue and the like. They are all generically referred to as special forces units. Reef ore, when the man said he was in special forces, he was, while he was being trained and was assigned to Ranger Regiment’s school unit. All Military Level Ed 3 Officer and most NCOs should know this.
He was assigned to the 82d. Not a SOCOM unit – an XVIIIth Airborne Corps unit. He wasn’t at the Ranger Regiment, only the Ranger School.
You might want to do a bit of fact-checking on yourself, “Tim”.
The Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade appears to be part of the US Army Infantry School. That would make them part of TRADOC.
http://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/rtb/
I suppose I could be wrong, but I don’t think any part of TRADOC falls under SOCOM, irrespective of the possible regimental affiliation of their subordinate elements.
And in any case: MacDonald’s service was well before the establishment of SOCOM on 13 April 1987 – as well as before the reestablishment of the Ranger Regiment in 1986. So since his attendance at Ranger School predates by at least 11 years both the modern Ranger Regiment and SOCOM, I think it’s safe to say that when he went thru Ranger School it wasn’t a part of either.
I was an NCO Tim and I completely disagree. I served in a support role in an SF unit. I was therefore a paratrooper and under SOCOM, but it would be obviously fraudulent for me to claim to be SF.
In the army, if you say you are special forces it MEANS something and what that something is, is that you completed the SFQ and a ton of other training for that matter. The secretary knew what he was saying and that’s why he apologized.
Incidentally, I’ve never met a ranger who said he was SF, they’re rightfully proud to be just that.
Get out of here with that weak sauce Tim. The guy has a graduation certificate from school. So do cooks and every other swinging dick that graduates. They ain’t “Special”. That being said, I understand what he was doing by trying to call out a phony vet by baiting him into being caught in a lie. Not a big deal this time in my book, but he doesn’t need your pog ass defending him.
So are you “Special” Holland? Clearly you think you are for calling someone a “POG.”
It’s Huff&Puff ‘Ho.
‘Nuff said.
I defended him on Huffpost and I stand by it.
He was not SF but I do not consider this to be a particularly big deal.
He is Ranger, master parachutist, and served in the 82nd. Quite respectable.
He had a brain lapse while trying to build rapport and go along with the story of a clearly fake veteran. He could not call the guy out with the news cameras rolling. So he said a stupid thing to play along.
It was dumb. But not Stolen Valor.
I’m a special force, myself, but it’s so seekrit I can’t even tell myself about it unless I’m crocked on Boone’s Farm Strawberry Ripple.
Or Annie Green Springs, Mad dog 2020 and maybe a case of Short Dogs!
GruntSgt sez: Annie Green Springs
[Channeling my college days]
… and Cold Duck along with some Boone’s Farm.
And don’t forget to splash your face with Brut or Hai Karate
“What’s the word? THUNDERBIRD!”
Thunderbird….”What’s the price?”
“A Dollar Twice”
Yes, those Gallo Brothers.
The epitome of eloquence.
Thunderbird, the other name for Ft Wainwright anti freeze !!!
Another “Division guy claiming Group status.”
Wow shocking! Another “Qualification by proximity!”
Remember, this West Pointer certainly had the opportunity to go SF…but in those days it was a career killer and not cool for officers. “Don’t want to end up an old captain.” His quick “I’m SF also” reply to the other phony SF guy was quick…almost too quick.
They are both members of Group- the lying phony group that claims Stolen Valor on an hourly basis. Phuck them both.
“[I had] no intent in any way to describe my record as any different than it is.”
In other words, lying comes naturally to him, I guess. It took no special effort: no thought went into it. He just lied without intending to do so.
[…] one happened so fast that even my buddies over at This Ain’t Hell couldn’t jump on […]
As a former member of the 82nd I wonder if he was one of those guys with a $50 green beret tattoo on his arm. When confronted about it they clamed its in honor of a buddy who served in Group. Now the fun part is when somebody that went basic with tattoo guy tells the tail of the basic trainee getting the $50 green beret tattoo after graduation. The Drills must love this stuff.
Before I became aware of the stolen valor problem as a result of visiting this site some years back one of my SF sons gave me a really nice SF ball-cap with the “de oppressor liber” logo and the words on the circular patch, “US Army Special Forces.”
I wore it out one time and while at a store shopping a guy asked me, “when and where did you serve?” I stammered an answer that “my son gave me the hat and I was not Special Forces.”
I was dumb enough at the time that I wore the hat, but smart enough when the guy asked me the question about my service to be uncomfortable and embarrassed that someone would might think that I was dishonest.
Needless to say….that hat has never again left my home and sits proudly hanging from a nice 8-point Whitetail killed up in Schoharie County, NY.
Live and learn.
Any of that venison left in the freezer?
😉 just a wee bit, but always enough for a friend!
Ain’t I Special Forces?
After all, my rank was Specialist, and I served in the Armed Forces.
What we heard from the White House: He said he was sorry. That’s good enough for us.
What that means: If we didn’t own his soul already, we do now by keeping him in his job.
What we should have heard from the White House:
“The president is deeply concerned regarding Secretary MacDonald’s admission that he lied about the nature of his military service. At the very time when the VA is striving to re-earn the trust of our Veterans, the VA secretary’s false claim undermines that effort. Accordingly, the president has requested that Secretary MacDonald tender his resignation, effective at 10:00 this morning.”
In another (R) presidential administration, that would happen. But, we have “the Lightworker” (aka bodaprez), so this is just another SNAFU day for them.
Secretary MacDonald – you had one job, and you just fucked it up by opening your cakehold with your lie…
It appears he (MacDonald) is more than qualified as per VA standards.
http://www.disabledveterans.org/2015/02/24/secretary-mcdonald-misspoke-900-fired-va-employees/?inf_contact_key=6aaa7823963b5492124ac058415162c1b468b2ace7d87ef798a7ca6ea3c1ed32
Let me take this opportunity to say that I was not in Special Forces or the Rangers either. Please ignore all of my speaker bios, press releases, and other marketing material provided by me or uncorrected by me over the years that says that I was.
sincerely
John “Faker 6” Giduck
Remember a few weeks ago when MickeyD shot his yapper off at the Senator, at the hearing where things got a little heated? MickeyD yelled at him; “what have you ever done”? Well, McDonald; he didn’t lie about his service.
Excuse me; Congressman, not Senator:
http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/12/va-secretary-under-fire-after-losing-his-cool-in-congress/
We were slow out of the blocks on this one, but I’ll make it up to you with an exclusive later today.
You know….so much of this crap is going around youwould think a man at that level would be careful about making claims like this…..I never saw this one coming.
I bet with all the fraud going on at the VA he has visited TAH or at least is aware of it, anyway to tell if gov types visit the site from IPs?
Nah, Mark Kirk did it, too.
It’s called ‘mouth in motion before brain in gear.’ Politicians talk so much about so little, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he’d say something completely asinine before he thought about it.
But should he be firebombed for it? ABSOLUTELY.
So what was he intending to do instead of what he did do when he lied about his military service? These guys who lie when being honest would be easier have a serious mental problem.
Once again the actions of those who know better reveal the epidemic of lying that plagues our great nation.
It would appear that we are that nation filled with liars at every social strata throughout the land. We lie about military service, college credentials, lie on our taxes, lie about our sporting ability, lie about performance enhancing drugs, lie about being faithful, lie about being liars.
I am constantly reminded of the Brothers Karamazov and this quote:
“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky
VOV, like you, I am not a religious man. But I do believe that some good comes from adherence to certain Judao-Christian principles. Don’t you think perhaps that all this willingness to lie and cheat is a direct outgrowth of our national culture turning its back on those principles that the country was founded upon?
For me not lying is a sign of your value as a human, if your word ain’t worth shit neither are you as my father used to tell me…. To me we are either humans of quality or not, there were no less liars in the days of old. Countless tales of lying scoundrels abound from the past, the difference was the culture itself shamed and shunned those liars as unfit company for men and women of superior quality. The problem with not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings ever and awarding trophies for shit performance is this, when everyone is special nobody is special really…we are not all special and we are not all truly equal in our humanity. We have chosen as a culture to celebrate the lowest common denominator, you can assign that to less religion I would assign it to the concept that mass media has made the lowest common denominator the goal in achieving product sales. Consequently the lowest common denominator becomes the ideal, previously culture idolized those who were leaders of character, or athletes of integrity, now we idolize money and we celebrate any method of achieving it regardless of the behavior that is exhibited to attain that celebrity. There is no penalty for lying your way into money as the money and the fame is the reward that wipes clean the sins of our newfound celebrity heroes. We’ve always had the lowest common denominator entertainment, but with the concept that selling soap matters more than the content of our art it was inevitable that the lowest art form would be the winner because it appeals the basest instincts. God never changed that previously in the history of man, and certainly can’t compete against the mass media today. There would be no putting that horse back into the barn today, if it ever was truly in the barn to begin with. We are not all liars, but we no longer hold liars to account as we once did and we reap that benefit. We vote for liars and then complain about those liars, we hate… Read more »
Apparently this part of his West Point education got lost after graduation at some point…
A CADET WILL NOT LIE, CHEAT, STEAL, OR TOLERATE THOSE WHO DO.
http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1951/18250/whitepaper.htm
A CADET will not lie, cheat et…not an officer or Veterans Administration Secretary.
Quibblers all.
See that, thanks for setting me straight. I was under the impression that the CADET honor code was there to form the basis for a career of honorable service devoid of lies or stealing or cheating…but you understand that it only applies to the cadets and not the officers who graduate.
Sadly, that would explain a great deal of the happenings at the Puzzle Palace.
How can he effectively serve as VA Secretary with this “hiccup”? Answer, he cannot.
The honorable thing to do would be to resign. But who in this administration has proven themselves honorable? Answer, very few.
“But who in this administration has proven themselves honorable? Answer, very few.”
Challenge: Name one.
Well let me think hmmmmm. NONE ! ! ! !
Bingo, A/C. He must have already proven his ability to lie or he would not have been appointed. With them, it simply isn’t done.
(Although, do they lie in private meetings among themselves? How does that work?)
You know, I was just a simple grunt and proud to say so. I have great respect for the common combat soldier. But I’ve said before, those men who have the desire, train and have what it takes, to go further to earn Airborne, Ranger and SF qualification go above and beyond. I hold them in high esteem and gratitude. I’ve have NEVER spoken to a supposed homeless vet who was anything less than a Ranger and usually SF, SEAL, Marine Recon, etc. NEVER met a common grunt. Not a cook, clerk or truck driver among them. Sons of bitches anyway! This is from my time volunteering at the local homeless Mission and seeing and hearing all kinds. Yes I am sure there were some veterans there, but few and far between in the large community of mostly homeless by choice.
I could not agree more. That is exactly my experience, they are mostly homeless by choice. That does not mean there are not a few that do need some legit help. It means you have to week them out of the crowd. The vast majority have someplace to stay and choose not to. Before I get the usual bullshit from the bleeding hearts, my parents ran homeless shelters for years. Spare me your nonsense.
Aren’t Rangers Special Operation Forces though?
Special Forces is a Green Beret thing.
If you graduate from a Special Operational Forces school doesn’t that make you Special Operation Forces even if you don’t serve in a SOF unit?
US Army is so confusing sometimes.
No. Ranger School is a combat leadership course. Graduates of which earn the Ranger Tab and go back to their previous units. It is NOT a course to get into the 75th, nor is it an SOF qualification course. The 75th and Ranger School just share a name only.
To think of it another way, Ranger School is like getting a Masters Degree in ground combat leadership.
Also, only those assigned to an SOF billet are SOF.
However, when the candidate is assigned to the Ranger Course he is assigned to the unit, which is a special forces unit, (note the lack of capitalization to make it generic)with a Special Operations Command
Um, no. The Airbore and Ranger Training Brigade appears to be part of the US Army Infantry School. That makes them part of TRADOC – not SOCOM.
Hondo is correct. The 4th, 5th and 6th Ranger Training Battalions of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade report to MCOE at Ft Benning, the 75th has nothing to do with it. They are a TRADOC unit.
So you can graduate from Ranger whatever and still not be a Ranger?
WTF. Over.
FatCircles00311,
So you can graduate from Ranger whatever and still not be a Ranger?
Essentially that is a correct statement. A graduate of Ranger School is “Ranger Qualified” and accorded the honor of being numbered amongst Rangers; however, being “Tabbed” is not the same as serving in the Ranger Regiment. The former is a school, the latter is a lifestyle.
The best answer a Ranger School graduate who never served in Batt can give, when asked if he is a RANGER, is to say: “Tab, not Scroll“. A soldier or former soldier (post-1980) will immediately understand.
So what is the purpose of ranger school? Is it just a fancy name for an NCO school?
Can you be in a Ranger unit if you haven’t completed it?
Nearly every slot for NCOs and Officers in a regular infantry unit a billeted for Ranger Tabbed individuals. Because like I said, it is a combat leadership course.
To get into the 75th you have to go through Airborne and 8 weeks of the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP), formerly known as RIP. to hold any leadership position in the 75th, you have to already have your Tab.
Guys with Ranger Tabs in any unit will go up the promotion ladder faster than those without. Which is why if you ever watch Army officials on the news, damn near all of them to a T, will have the Ranger Tab. Most never having served in the 75th or been any kind of SOF in their careers.
Which on a side note is also why they are pushing women to go through Ranger School, so they can have the same advancement opportunities. But they are not opening up the 75th to women.
And people wonder what is wrong with the VA?
Even their leader is full of shit.
I wasn’t in the Army, so I’m not an expert on this by any stretch of the imagination. It seems to me, though, like this is splitting hairs. At the very least I wouldn’t want to condemn this guy with the same vehemence I would condemn a guy who claims a BSM and Purple Heart when he never even left CONUS. There has to be degrees to this. I’m going to go out on a limb and throw something out here from my personal experience. I enlisted in the USAF in May, 1991. I was in DEP for 8 months and went to BMT in January, 1992. I did my first tour in Saudi Arabia starting in Dec, 1992. That was about a year and a half after the Desert Storm ceasefire. About a month or so after I got to the AOR the operation officially changed from Desert Storm to Southern Watch. As a result, my DD214 notes participation in both operations. When I went to the tag office to get my tag I opted for a veteran’s tag (they’re free in GA). Since my DD214 says Desert Storm on it I had the option of getting a Desert Storm plate. I like the look of that plate a whole lot more than the regular “veteran” plate. I also liked the fact that it gave an indication of my service “era” so I wouldn’t be confused with any of the post 9/11 guys and the greatly increased ops tempo they’re working under. So, is that stealing valor? I watched aircraft launch to enforce the no-fly zone, but I was there way after the SCUD threat was eliminated and I did not earn the Kuwaiti version of the Kuwait Liberation Medal. In fact, they didn’t even put the U.S. version of the Kuwait Liberation Medal on my DD214, although I fit the requirements and I do have the SW Asia Campaign Medal. Is my Desert Storm license plate deceptive? Am I in the same category as the Secretary who went to Ranger school but short-handed that to “Special Ops” in… Read more »
I’m a civilian. If I see a Desert Storm license plate, I assume it belongs to a Desert Storm veteran, SINCE ONLY SOMEONE IN DESERT STORM WOULD HAVE THOSE PLATES, RIGHT?
You decide. It’s your call.
Same category? No, you officially earned that title. Is it deceptive? Yes in my opinion.
I’m not being intentionally misleading, so I wouldn’t say it’s deceptive. I acknowledge that it can easily be misconstrued and for that reason I’ll probably swap it out for a regular (and kind of homely) veteran plate.
I’m still of the opinion that the Secretary was just applying a spur-of-the-moment shorthand and doesn’t fit the category of total shitbird.
That would be a valid argument, except that Ranger School is not SOF, nor a path into SOF and definitely nothing to do with SF.
I’m Army illiterate, so I’ll defer. If y’all say he’s a shitbird, then he’s a shitbird.
As a prior AF guy myself and now an Army guy, I’ll try and help. It would be like a 2T such as yourself running around telling everyone he is an Aerial Gunner(1A). Or a hospital guy telling everyone he is a PJ.
I don’t know why anyone would be surprised that he lied about his service. He’s been lying since Day 1 about cleaning up the VA, his recent confrontation with Rep Mike Coffman as an example, not to mention his disrespect of an officer who has served honorably through multiple tours. Which also brings up the question of how/why the head of the VA isn’t familiar with the service of one of the few Congressmen who has been working for YEARS to clean up the VA?
Were I Queen, this clown would be gone and Mike Coffman would be the head of the VA with free reign to get things in order.
Word!
A little follow up on Mike Coffman, apparently, MacDonald’s minions tried to claim that Coffman wasn’t really a combat vet. They were wrong, as those of us in Colorado could have told him. No honor.
http://coloradopeakpolitics.com/2015/02/24/lying-liberal-liars-lie-swiftboat-attack-coffman-sinks-mud/
I wonder how long before he starts making claims that he’s going to be the next American Legion National Commander…
He’ll have to get in line.
Maybe he can use his VA Choice Card to buy a pressure dressing to treat what is left of his integrity.
Old MacDonald lied to the farm, E-I-E-I-O.
Jump in if you have some dope rhymes to add….
As for MacDonald…This is Sparks speaking, “Hey you know I went to see the doctor last Tuesday. Excuse me it was Wednesday.” THAT is MISSPEAKING!
“I was Army, Special Forces”, says the phoney assed homeless bum.
“I was Special Forces too!” replies MacDonald.
That brother and sisters of TAH, is not misspeaking. It is not memory lapse, quickly caught and corrected. No, it is a plain and simply, out and out LIE! I bet the next mortgage payment that was NOT the FIRST time this shit head has said it either. He doesn’t regret it, he regrets the cameras were there. If they hadn’t been and probably again in the future, he will walk the line of “Special Forces Homeless Vets”, inundating most large cities and glad hand everyone with, “Yea? I was Special Forces too!” Of course without cameras and reporters and only his aides with him, he’ll say what he wants and no one will be the wiser. I hope it starts to come out now how he’s done this before around the VA, Emerald City of Headquarters. TURD!
And once again it’s time to cut another set of TDY orders for PFC Diogenes of Sinope to resume the country wide search.
That small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel just got blown out.
We just can’t catch a break.
Amazing ! WTF is wrong with these people?
PERFECTLY wonderful military career, absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of but YET has to blurt out stupidity. All you do is say,”Yeah? Well I was a PL in the 82nd !” Finished. Talk sh*t about Ranger school experience, etc. Great day.
As a current VA employee . I had to sit thru 3 days of “training” on how to be a nice honorable guy . I am disappointed with our “boss” . In my position everyday I speak to vets and would never lie to them to build a “repor”. there is no need to . What do I do at the VA ? I am a Housekeeping Aide , yup that’s right I clean the vets rooms , bathroom , everything , and take the time to everyday to shoot the $hit with them , WW2 to current combat vets. Only two have ever told me that they were SF and they both did not pass the course . Now if I see some joker on the street who tells me he is Special Forces 11 times out of 10 he is full of it .