Gary McCollum’s Stolen Valor

/ September 18, 2015

McCollumThere are few things less enjoyable than seeing a capable, well-intentioned candidate for public office crater so quickly.

Gary McCollum, sadly, has accomplished this in quick order with his now-thoroughly debunked claim to be a major in the Army Reserves for the last 14 years.

The dogpile is pretty deep at this rate, and the kickoff starts with Patrick Wilson over at the Virginian-Pilot:

State Senate candidate Gary McCollum of Virginia Beach has said in campaign and business writings he is “currently a major in the Army Reserve.”

But Army records show he was discharged in September 2001.

Confronted with that information Tuesday, McCollum said he had mistakenly represented his status but said he believed he was in the reserves, even though he hadn’t had contact with the service for years, had not participated in drills and had not been paid.

WAVY jumps in with their own observations on the entire scandal:

But it is clear from documents obtained by 10 On Your Side that he was discharged by the Army in September 2001, and it’s McCollum’s failure to understand that which threatens his campaign today.

With information that 10 On Your Side had obtained, WAVY pointed out to McCollum that his repeated claims in stories, campaign literature, personal bios, that he is “currently a Major in the Army Reserve” was simply not true.

Ouch.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has a bit more insight on the motivations to continue with the fabrication:

The former Army Ranger and current executive at Cox Communications has touted his military service during his campaign against Sen. Frank W. Wagner, R-Virginia Beach. The district where they are competing, made up of part of Virginia Beach and three Norfolk precincts, has a high concentration of current and former military members.

Jenna Portnoy at the Washington Post gets straight to the heart of the matter:

The misrepresentation could be particularly dicey in the Virginia Beach district, which includes part of Norfolk, home to the largest naval base in the world.

Wagner, a member of the House for nine years before joining the Senate in 2001, called the error a disservice to members of the military.

“I just think it’s a shame that someone feels like they need to exaggerate their military record,” Wagner said in a phone interview. “It certainly brings into question the integrity of the candidate. More importantly, this area I represent probably has one of the largest groupings of veterans of any legislative district in the state.”

…and the coup de grace from Alan Suderman over at the AP (as reported by the Military Times), perhaps not for the content — it is AP syndication, after all, same as the RTD story — but for where his article is published… which is practically everywhere because hey, Associated Press and stuff.

As in most things, it’s the denial that is worse than the story itself.  From McCollum’s campaign website:

But while I am both remorseful and frankly embarrassed that an error like this occurred, at the same time I remain incredibly proud of my 20 years of service to our country.

Small problem with that — McCollum served on active duty for 8 years, then was moved to the Army Reserve for 3 years.  That’s 11 years of service in the military… not 20 years.

That’s painful to read.

Stolen valor is a concept often talked about in this regard.  Whether it’s wearing the uniform at bar, or using a title to obtain a job… it just shouldn’t be done.  McCollum has claimed inactive reserve status through two wars and numerous conflicts at a time when military intelligence officers were at a premium.

Thousands of soldiers, airmen, Marines and midshipmen were asked to place their lives on the altar of freedom during that time — and some never came back.  That’s the real scandal in all of this.  It isn’t what McCollum claimed to be, but that he never shared in the sacrifice.

McCollum knows better than this.  If not, he ought to.

Shaun Kenney is an editor for Bearing Drift and Editor-in-Chief of the Jeffersoniad. 

  • Tyler Pieron

    As soon as America is attacked, he quits. Shameful. Then claims to have shared the burden? Disgusting. As a vet who has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I’m outraged.

    • MD Russ

      Thanks for your service, Tyler, and welcome home.

  • Chris B

    Shaun I posted this elsewhere but I sent this story over to my younger brother who’s in the Army Reserves right now. He said it’s impossible to not know you aren’t in anymore. At the very least you have to report once a year. McCollum is too smart for this, he lied plain and simple to boost his military profile in a military district.

    • Ron Frazier

      In reality, his real record probably wasn’t that bad. He maybe just embedded?

    • Ron Frazier

      *embellished* I hate auto correct. Maysbe that was what got him?

    • MD Russ

      Your brother is correct. The annual reporting requirement is normally satisfied by mail, most importantly to confirm your current location in case of a recall. There are no drill requirements or pay for a member of the IRR, but you know when you are a member and when you are discharged.

      • Turbocohen
        • MD Russ

          And these people vote. Certainly explains a lot, doesn’t it? Thanks for sharing the link.

      • David Obermark

        Can you educate me on this MD Russ? After I retired from the Navy after almost 21 years, I was in the Fleet Reserve. No reporting required. When I got to the 30 year mark I got a letter saying I was no longer in the fleet reserve. That letter could have got lost in the midst of all the junk mail as my wife sorted through it for me, but she saved it.

        I have no experience in how things go if you depart from service before you “retire” but I suspect this issue is being blown out of proportion.

        How about we measure up McCollum’s provable service in the military against Wagner’s provable service? How does that measure up?

        I am going to admit I am going to McCollum because I want to run Wagner out of office. But will you guys at least give the guy I am going to vote for a solid chance? On the issue of military service, how well does McCollum measure up against Wagner? Both served, but only McCollum served active duty.

        • MD Russ

          I’m sorry David, but my powers can only be used for good and never for evil. If you retired from the Navy after 21 years and didn’t understand your Fleet Reserve status then you should have asked. Would you be trying to tell us that you didn’t get a DD 214 when you retired after 21 years? Really? How did that happen while you were getting retired pay every month from DFAS? Knock off the bullshit, sailor.

          • David Obermark

            What? I got my DD214. All the specifics you provide prove that you know nothing about Gary McCollum’s situation.

          • MD Russ

            You’re right, David. I know nothing about McCollum’s situation. I know nothing about how he took an apparently honorable military service record and turned it into a pathological lie to boost a political campaign underwritten by a major corporate interest who paid him to do no work while he campaigned for an office in which he could further the profit objectives of that corporation.

            Silly me.

          • David Obermark

            Pathological lie? Perhaps it was a simple mistake.

            How about how Wagner authored, sponsored and took great care in getting legislation passed for Dominion, who is historically one of his best campaign contributors, which resulted in me having to payer higher rates for my electricity to the benefit of his campaign contributor? What do you have to say about that?

            I am voting for McCollum because he is not Wagner.

  • Evan

    It’s strange that he didn’t know what his status was. There’s a critical issue being left out of the conversation though, which related to the Individual Ready Reserve – which is the status Mccollum believed he had. The IRR doesn’t require monthly or annual training – rather, it’s for troops who indicate that they’re ready to resume military service in times of trouble but aren’t in the regular rotation for training or deployment. It isn’t completely beyond belief that someone might miss the letter where they were discharged from the IRR given that there aren’t any requirements for those members.

    • MD Russ

      Very wrong, Eric. When you are separated from the military, regardless of whether it is a discharge from the IRR or retirement from the Regular Army, you are given a document called a DD 214. It is such an important document that in separation briefings service members are advised to have several certified or notarized copies made and even pay a filing fee to have a copy registered at your local courthouse (assuming that you are not gay and Kim Davis isn’t your Clerk of Court). Without a legal copy of your DD 214, you or your survivors cannot qualify for service-related benefits, you cannot apply for re-entry to the military based on prior service, or even legally wear military decorations at a veteran’s event such as a Veterans’ Day parade. (See the Stolen Valor Act of 2005. Thanks, Shaun, for making that your headline.)

      Anyone who claims that he didn’t notice that he was discharged from the military 14 years ago is either a God-damned liar or a complete moron. Neither one belongs in the Virginia Senate.

  • Ron Frazier

    Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.

    Albert Einstein

  • Wally Erb

    Seems to me, this is insignificant compared with the treachery that Frank Wagner perpetrated on his constituents by supporting the special interest lobbyists which directly results in higher energy costs by an unregulated monopoly. Notice that Wagner’s commercials highlight his Naval service and private sector accomplishments. However there is no mention of his performance in his public service. Perhaps, that is not as palpable as being a Navy diver.

    • MD Russ

      Deflect much, Wally? That is pure, unmitigated bullshit, even coming from you. So what is McCollum’s campaign position? “I’m a liar and a cheat, but my opponent is so much worse because he accepts campaign contributions from special interests while all I have done is to take a no-show job salary from a big telecom corporation who certainly doesn’t expect any favors from me when I’m a state senator.”

      “Higher energy costs by an unregulated monopoly?” Have you looked at your phone, TV, and Internet bill lately?

      Really?

    • Jimmy Frost

      Actually Wally, it’s exactly BECAUSE of Frank Wagner we have the LOWEST electric rates in the mid-atlantic region.

    • Craig M Kilby

      Are you retarded Wally? Unregulated monopoly? Read much?

      • MD Russ

        C’mon, Craig. He is not “retarded” but “learning disabled and riding to school on the short bus.” Or, as we used to call them, “drooling window lickers with the Coke bottle bottom glasses.”

  • Jimmy Frost

    Here’s what I don’t get:
    Not to disparage the service of anyone in the armed forces, but if he was discharged in September of 2001 and ASSUMING that he KNEW he was discharged, officially on September 1st, 2001, why is it when our nation was attacked just 10 days later did he not at least contact the Army and say “Hey, uhh, since we’re probably going to war, do you guys think you might need me for anything?”

    But since then, he seems to have been enjoying his faux-status as an Army reservist, but never mentions why he wasn’t deployed over the course of the Iraq or Afghan operations.

    This guy has some large holes in his story.

    • MD Russ

      On 9-11 I had been retired from the Army for a little over three years and was in a “combat critical” specialty and rank when I retired. I called the Army Personnel Command and asked if they were going to recall me. The guy on the phone looked me up on his computer and said, “Oh, we have you classified as 4-I.” “4-I,” I wondered. What the heck is that? During the draft days they had a 4-F classification for those who were not eligible to serve under any circumstances. So I asked what it meant. He replied, “It is similar to 4-F. It means that when the terrorists get to the intersection of Fourth and I Streets in Washington, we’re gonna call you.”

      Seriously, PERSCOM told me that only separated veterans who had been out less than 12 months could volunteer to return. I don’t agree that McCollum has some holes in his story. I think that he is a flat-out liar.

      • mezurak

        Has anyone actually seen McCollum’s paperwork?

        • Turbocohen

          A copy of Service Verification? Yes.

  • Scout

    Something’s clearly amiss with this guy’s claims, and voters, particularly in his part of the state, may rightly take offense at that and pull the opponent’s lever as a result. But, he did serve, did achieve a fairly high rank, and did some time in the Reserves. That, to me isn’t “stolen valor”. It’s dumb-ass lying. I don’t get why he wouldn’t be proud of his actual record or feel compelled to exaggerate it (padding his resume with extra years of reserve duty won’t burnish his credentials in that district). What he did actually do in the service of the country appears to be completely honorable and admirable.

    But here’s what I really don’t get: This is the same site (actually the same contributor) that leapt strenuously to the defense of Ken (“Once a Marine, Always A Marine”) Cuccinelli’s gossamer Marine Corps service even after that particular candidate had scrubbed all reference to early campaign literature claims that he had been a Marine Corps officer. When this issue first came up with Cuccinelli, many of us said that he had a simple way to parry claims that his campaign literature/bio claims were a “stolen valor” moment – produce his DD-214. We urged him to do it. It was the simple antidote to questions that had been raised. We waited, and waited and waited. My recollection is that the DD 214 never appeared, but the early references (back when KC was running for State Senate) to being a Lieutenant, USMC, were quickly and completely expunged from the historical record. Shaun posted up his elaborate explanation under the “Once a Marine, Always a Marine” banner I think at his own site in the first go-round (the explanation is complicated, and has something to do with being accepted in JAG program but then the Corps not needing any more lawyers – what happened to every Marine a rifleman – when law school ended so they just let Ken toodle off without further obligation – the explanation itself may have been true, but it didn’t explain why Cuccinelli would permit people working for him to represent or imply that he had actually served). Shaun did it again, with little modification, in the Governor’s race. This time, it was a bit more startling, because by then, the candidate himself had long ceased to make any representations about his Marine Corps service and the past references in biographical information had been stricken for years. The candidate said nothing at all about it, but one very much had the impression that Shaun had been selected to float the defense in each instance (it was too elaborate for it to have been put together without detailed input from the candidate), but if the defense fell flat, Cuccinelli would have some deniability and could venture some other explanation.

    So I’m a little suspicious of indignant outbursts from this particular source about “stolen valor” directed at a guy who actually served, but for some reason has felt compelled to exaggerate his service, when there was such a vigorous, aggressive defense of another guy who never served, but who, for the early part of his political career, permitted his literature and his supporters to assume that he did.

    I say this while recognizing that, after reading Shaun’s contributions over the years, I’ve been very impressed with much of his recent thinking and articulation of issues of great importance to all of us on this side of the aisle. I’m very glad he’s using this forum to make us think through things that often get dismissed or are too lightly considered because of ideological or marketing gimmickry constraints. But fair’s fair. You can’t roar in high dudgeon about this particular candidate, who actually served but was dishonest about the extent of that service, when you have invested substantial time and energy defending another candidate, who never served, but who allowed the impression to be created that he had.

    On second thought, campaign hacks can do that, but it’s meaningless noise. Shaun has graduated from those ranks to being an important thought leader for the Party in Virginia. I expect more of him.

  • Turn out the lights….the party’s over! I wouldn’t worry about Gary….he’s still going to enjoy his million dollar job at COX!

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