by Javier Manjarres
With the latest Quinnipiac poll has showing retired Lt. Colonel Mike McCalister leading former U.S. Senator George LeMieux by 3 percentage points and having established himself as a serious contender in the Republican Senatorial Primary, the proverbial bullseye on McCalister’s back has gotten a whole lot larger. Retired Colonel Chuck Winn, a self described ‘LeMieux supporter’ has made some pretty stinging charges against McCalister including the following:“For someone who’s pro-choice, McCalister playing it both ways on the abortion issue might not be a problem. However, a candidate who deliberately misrepresents his military background should raise red flags.”
Winn is essentially accusing McCalister of being a liar- or if we’re being charitable, exaggerating- the extent of his military background. Winn continued:
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Winn is referring to the fact that McCalister’s bio states that he a past member of Special Operations Comand and involved in ‘black ops’, facts that McCalister has also personally stated on numerous occasions that many will attest to, including I.
McCalister can easily remove all doubt by producing the documentation of his service record. But in the name of transparency, what are Chuck Winn’s motives behind his accusations, and where exactly is his proof that McCalister is misrepresenting the extent of his military service? For the record, Winn was the past campaign manager for retired U.S. Senator Bob Smith in his failed attempt at the Senate in 2010, and he’s also been the dispenser of some “very colorful’ and demeaning rhetoric in attacking his opponent at the time, Marco Rubio.
Here is Chuck Winn’s complete Facebook missive against Mike McCalister:
For someone who’s pro-choice, McCalister playing it both ways on the abortion issue might not be a problem. However, a candidate who deliberately misrepresents his military background should raise red flags.For over a month, McCalister ignored questions from retired and former military officers about inconsistencies between his bio and web site. Now that reporters have begun asking McCalister focused questions he toned down his exaggerated claims.
During a 33 year career spent mostly in the reserves and national guard, McCalister now sates he served 3 ½ years on active duty. Of these it appears 12 months were in an operational headquarters at McDill AFB in Tampa, and the remaining 30 months were likely accumulated over 32 years of attending 2 week annual training cycles with his reserve units, initial entry training, and attending various Army schools.McCalister has alredy been caught twice making grossly misleading statements on his web site.The first occurred after questions were submitted about his claims to being a “Special Operations” colonel and statements he made in stump speeches about being involved in “black operations”. On 15 July his home page was edited deleting the reference to McCalister as a “retired Special Operations Army Colonel” substituting merely “retired Army Colonel”.Prior to 10 Aug under “Meet the Colonel” his web site read: “He appeared before Congress as a Subject Matter Expert on national security and military readiness of all U.S. Special Operations Forces worldwide.”
After 10 Aug (and several major press interviews) under “Meet the Colonel” his web site edited that statement to read: “He accompanied Genreal W.P. Tangney, Deputy Commander, USSOCOM, as he Subject Matter Expert on national security and military readiness of all U.S. Special Operations Forces worldwide, when the General testified to Congress.”His bio indicates that he was an engineer officer and not a branch qualified Special Operations Officer. Therefore, he could only be considered to have staff expertise in analyzing readiness reports submitted by Special Operations units, not as an expert on Special Operations.
Under “Meet the Colonel” his website still states: “He has vast experience working with other U.S. security agencies, foreign officials, and military leaders. Colonel McCalister served as the Assessment Chief of U.S. Special Operations initiatives in foreign nations, where he worked closely with U.S. embassy personnel to protect vital American interests.” This implies that he frequently deployed abroad to liaison meetings to foreign military and U.S. embassy personnel. Once a reporter asks him if that coordination with U.S. embassy and foreign personnel was done electronically and at stateside conferences, expect another website change.
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