DC - New VA Secretary lies about his service

[AlwaysShocked]

In honor of all of our veterans, I wanted to make sure this story gets its own thread. It kind of got lost among the Brian Williams/Bill O'Reilly threads.

This is the guy who was appointed to "clean up" after the last VA Secretary was ousted in the wake of the scandal involving the excessively long waits for vets to be seen by a doctor within the VA medical system. He had already "misspoken" on one of the Sunday morning news shows, claiming some 60 people had been fired from the VA system as part of the clean up, when in truth the figure was 8 people had been fired. (And, justly, the head of the Western Pennsylvania region was one of them.)

"President Obama’s secretary of veterans affairs lied about his military career when he claimed he served in the Army’s Special Forces.

Robert McDonald — who took charge of the agency amid a scandal over veterans dying while awaiting treatment at VA facilities — made the comment in a conversation with a homeless vet in LA.

“Special Forces? What years? I was in Special Forces!” McDonald, 61, tells the man.

The conversation was recorded by a CBS News crew.

McDonald graduated from West Point, completed Army Ranger training and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, the Huffington Post said.

But he never served in the Special Forces.

After his fabrication was revealed, McDonald released an apology Monday in which he admitted the lie.

“I incorrectly stated that I had been in Special Forces,” his statement read. “That was
inaccurate and I apologize to anyone that was offended by my misstatement.”

http://nypost.com/2015/02/24/veterans-affairs-secretary-admits-he-lied-about-special-forces-service/



Imo, our veterans deserve more than THIS!






 

[MyBelle]

In honor of all of our veterans, I wanted to make sure this story gets its own thread. It kind of got lost among the Brian Williams/Bill O'Reilly threads.

This is the guy who was appointed to "clean up" after the last VA Secretary was ousted in the wake of the scandal involving the excessively long waits for vets to be seen by a doctor within the VA medical system. He had already "misspoken" on one of the Sunday morning news shows, claiming some 60 people had been fired from the VA system as part of the clean up, when in truth the figure was 8 people had been fired. (And, justly, the head of the Western Pennsylvania region was one of them.)

"President Obama’s secretary of veterans affairs lied about his military career when he claimed he served in the Army’s Special Forces.

Robert McDonald — who took charge of the agency amid a scandal over veterans dying while awaiting treatment at VA facilities — made the comment in a conversation with a homeless vet in LA.

“Special Forces? What years? I was in Special Forces!” McDonald, 61, tells the man.

The conversation was recorded by a CBS News crew.

McDonald graduated from West Point, completed Army Ranger training and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, the Huffington Post said.

But he never served in the Special Forces.

After his fabrication was revealed, McDonald released an apology Monday in which he admitted the lie.

“I incorrectly stated that I had been in Special Forces,” his statement read. “That was
inaccurate and I apologize to anyone that was offended by my misstatement.”

http://nypost.com/2015/02/24/veterans-affairs-secretary-admits-he-lied-about-special-forces-service/



Imo, our veterans deserve more than THIS!






This is incredibly petty. He was an Army Ranger. Rangers receive special training. I know several who fought in Vietnam. Rangers were the guys crawling through the jungle for extensive periods of time, witnessing the death of their comrades and getting injured themselves.

This is as ridiculous as the lawsuit that Jesse Ventura won.

"The jury gave me what they felt I was damaged. The majority of that money is going to my attorney. Again, this will cost the Kyle family nothing for the lie that was written about me," Ventura said in the podcast.

Ventura also said Kyle's widow Taya had her expenses "paid entirely from a giant insurance company."
http://www.people.com/article/jesse-ventura-chris-kyle-lawsuit-american-sniper
JMO

 

[liljim]

"Imo, our veterans deserve more than THIS!"

it's ironic to hear this said about this case because the person being discussed is a veteran who served honorably.

if it comes to light he had lied or exaggerated other times then i would consider that.

in this scenario it seemed obvious to me that the guy was trying to make a connection with a homeless man and the remark was made very casually, with no intent to claim honor that was not deserved, or in the manner or a braggart.

if it turns out he has done this other times with more suspicious intentions then i would certainly reconsider.

 

[TrackerSam]

"Imo, our veterans deserve more than THIS!"

it's ironic to hear this said about this case because the person being discussed is a veteran who served honorably.

if it comes to light he had lied or exaggerated other times then i would consider that.

in this scenario it seemed obvious to me that the guy was trying to make a connection with a homeless man and the remark was made very casually, with no intent to claim honor that was not deserved, or in the manner or a braggart.

if it turns out he has done this other times with more suspicious intentions then i would certainly reconsider.

As a Viet Vet I agree with both of you. He had Sepcial Forces training. As you said, he was trying to make a connection.

 

[noZme]

I feel outrage! My hat's off for graduating West Point & completing Army Rangers - both very admirable accomplishments. Why did McDonald feel the need to up his credentials to Special Forces? I do not see a little white lie. Why not recognize the gentleman's status & say "I appreciate your service & tell me about being a Ranger. "There was no reason I can see, other than ego, to not acknowledge & allow the veteran his higher status. It is petty & tells me a lot about his character- or lack thereof.

McD may be impressed with himself, but I say a veteran who would lie to another veteran about his rank, is not fit to shine the shoes of recruits much less lead the VA.

Don't mess with my vets! Every time I food shop, there are so many people swiping their free food cards - people who have never worked, nor did their parents or their parents parents. They play the system for housing, food, childcare, medical care & everything else by not marrying or whatever works for them. They have no desire to make a contribution to the world or even pay their own way. Those handouts are killing the USA while veterans cannot see a doctor for months. No sir- not right.