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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Senate Candidate (R) Under Suspicion For Uniform Abuse |
| 2011-08-27 |
| Mike McCalister, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, violated U.S. Army regulations by wearing his uniform to a political fundraiser — a move that further fuels the criticisms of veterans and service members who say he's misleading voters to seem like more of a soldier than he ever was. A retired colonel in the Army Reserve, McCalister has made his military record central to his campaign, which has launched the political newcomer into the top tier of a crowded field of Republican candidates. But his website and campaign speeches have been full of so many strong-sounding claims that he's now drawing fire from former subordinates, a high-ranking general at U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa and the veterans group Stolen Valor. The group obtained photographs of McCalister wearing his ceremonial uniform at a Feb. 16 fundraiser, the Highland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner. McCalister, 59, has refused to answer specific questions from reporters and Stolen Valor about his record. His campaign called Stolen Valor a "front group," but failed to provide any evidence. After vets complained, his campaign changed his website to no longer say he was a "special operations colonel" — a non-existent title that could lead someone to believe he was in the Special Forces. He wasn't. McCalister had also claimed he once "testified before Congress" on a national-security matter. He then claimed he never said he testified. After the Miami Herald noted the misstatement by producing video, he issued a letter to supporters saying he was being nitpicked. For instance, McCalister has repeatedly said he was involved in "black ops" and has seen "scary things." But he never served in combat and was really a "paper pusher," said Jeffrey Shera, a former sergeant major who served in Special Forces. Shera said he worked with McCalister from about 2001 to 2003. "Anything he said associated with black ops is not the truth," Shera said. He said McCalister was in charge of a team evaluating fire-and-training range capacity and "most of that work was done by a Marine reservist major who worked for him. McCalister spent most of his time going to the MacDill Air Force Base gym and sitting at the juice bar at the time." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #3 he thinks that if Harkin, Richardson, Kerry, et al, can get away with it, he should be able to. Problem is the "R" behind his name. We don't play that game |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-08-27 13:51 |
| #2 Courtney Massengale |
| Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division 2011-08-27 12:29 |
| #1 Idiot... |
| Posted by: tipover 2011-08-27 12:17 |