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erpowers

(9,350 posts) Tue Feb 24, 2015, 10:48 AM Feb 2015

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald Completed Ranger School

It seems this paragraph should have been either the first, or second in Huffington Post's reporting about VA Secretary McDonald's military service, not closer to the end of the article.

In fact, McDonald never served in special forces. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1975, completed Army Ranger training and took courses in jungle, arctic and desert warfare. He qualified as a senior parachutist and airborne jumpmaster, and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division until he retired from military service in 1980. While he earned a Ranger tab designating him as a graduate of Ranger School, he never served in a Ranger battalion or any other special operations unit.

Yes, I understand he did not "serve in a Ranger battalion, or any other special operations unit", but knowing that he completed Ranger training might have helped to explain why, during a conversation with a homeless vet who had been in special forces, Secretary McDonald stated he too had been in special forces. Maybe he thought that completing Ranger training qualified him to say he was in special forces. It also makes his statement seem like less of a lie.

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Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald Completed Ranger School (Original Post) erpowers Feb 2015 OP

He'll still be pilloried from the right. MineralMan Feb 2015 #1

I guarantee he knows exactly what he is and isn't. Military members TwilightGardener Feb 2015 #2

Earning a Ranger tab does not make one a Ranger mwrguy Feb 2015 #3

Both of those points are, at a minimum, debatable Jim Lane Feb 2015 #4

Thanks for the info! I've added this to his Wikipedia bio Jim Lane Feb 2015 #5

MineralMan

(146,336 posts)

1. He'll still be pilloried from the right.

Reply to erpowers (Original post)

Tue Feb 24, 2015, 10:57 AM

Feb 2015

People are looking for anything they can find to discredit anyone connected with this administration. And many who accuse him of something never served at all, much less finished Ranger school.

TwilightGardener

(46,416 posts)

2. I guarantee he knows exactly what he is and isn't. Military members

Reply to erpowers (Original post)

Tue Feb 24, 2015, 11:03 AM

Feb 2015

understand their jobs, ranks, etc. Might seem confusing or unimportant to the rest of us, but for servicemembers, there's no confusion and the distinctions are very important. Plus, he's a West Point grad. My take is, he just blurted out whatever popped into his head. I don't think he was trying to inflate his creds--I think he was just playing along with the other guy. But still, that's a very strange and patronizing way to deal with a person you've just met, to just glibly lie your way through a conversation.

mwrguy

(3,245 posts)

3. Earning a Ranger tab does not make one a Ranger

Reply to erpowers (Original post)

Tue Feb 24, 2015, 11:05 AM

Feb 2015

Also, Rangers are not Special Forces.

Special Forces means a specific group, commonly known as Green Berets.

Jim Lane

(11,175 posts)

4. Both of those points are, at a minimum, debatable

Reply to mwrguy (Reply #3)

Tue Feb 24, 2015, 01:27 PM

Feb 2015

First, as to who is a Ranger, the U.S. Army Ranger Association (apparently a private organization, not part of the government and not promulgating an official definition but still entitled to some consideration IMO) maintains a Ranger Hall of Fame, and states:

To be eligible for selection to the Hall of Fame, a person ... must have served in a Ranger unit in combat or be a successful graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger School.

(from "Ranger Hall of Fame") (emphasis added)

As to the second point, it's kind of like the difference between a Democrat and a democrat. The term "United States Army Special Forces" (with initial capitals) does indeed refer specifically to the Green Berets. The generic term "special forces", however, encompasses other units as well, such as the Navy SEALs, and the Army Rangers, as noted in the HuffPo article itself.

Jim Lane

(11,175 posts)

5. Thanks for the info! I've added this to his Wikipedia bio

Reply to erpowers (Original post)

Tue Feb 24, 2015, 01:55 PM

Feb 2015

The section in his bio about this brouhaha had not included those facts. I agree with you that it puts the statement in a different light.

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