Ron DeSantis was NOT a Navy Seal
Ron DeSantis was NOT a Navy Seal
At the Republican Presidential Debate Ron DeSantis used misleading statements designed to fool people about his military service. After the debate several members of the "conservative media" referred to DeSantis as a Navy Seal. Even a commentator on NBC called DeSantis a Seal and was not corrected. The truth is that DeSantis was a Navy lawyer (AKA "JAG") who worked with the Seals.
Actual SEALs Fume at DeSantis’ Navy Service Claims
DeSantis made a point during Wednesday night’s Republican debate to say he was “assigned with” and “deployed alongside” Navy SEALs.
Justin Rohrlich
On Wednesday night, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had an important message for those watching him participate in the first Republican debate of the presidential primary season.
“I learned in the military—I was assigned with the U.S. Navy SEALs in Iraq—that you focus on the mission above all else, you can’t get distracted,” DeSantis said. “So Republicans, we’ve got to look forward and we’ve got to make sure that we’re bringing the message that can win in November 2024.”
DeSantis moved on without further explanation, leaving some observers extremely impressed. Others, however, were far less moved.
“He was never a Navy SEAL,” Billy Allmon, a former member of SEAL Team 1, told The Daily Beast. “It’s a misleading statement.”
DeSantis again said during the debate that he “deployed to Iraq alongside U.S. Navy SEALs,” mirroring the backstory shared earlier this month on a podcast hosted by former Trump counsel-turned-co-defendant Jenna Ellis . During the show, DeSantis campaign surrogate Carly Atchison described her boss’ path through life in deeply inspirational terms.
“He was just a fucking Navy lawyer, never a SEAL,” former Navy officer Scott Mettler posted . “The SEALs were merely his clients.”
DeSantis also spent time during his JAG career stationed at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was an assistant urinalysis coordinator.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/actual-seals-fume-at-ron-desantis-navy-service-claims#:~:text=Actual%20SEALs%20Fume%20at%20DeSantis%27%20Navy%20Service%20Claims&text=DeSantis%20made%20a%20point%20during,“deployed%20alongside”%20Navy%20SEALs
I wonder why DeSantis didn't say he was in the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba? No, DeSantis was NOT an inmate , he was "an assistant urinalysis coordinator." Did DeSantis volunteer to handle the peepees? What a fucking pisser!
As I said in my last article, I thank DeSantis for his service. And, I have a great deal of admiration for those who were actually in the Seals. Seals are exceptional. I'm NOT accusing DeSantis of "stolen valor" but I do find his deceptive statements at the debate to be disturbing.
And, BTW, DeSantis was never a Navy pilot either, despite his stupid deceptive "Top Gun" campaign ad.
I hope the group mods permit me to respond to taunting (and trolls) instead of deleting comments. - al
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Is DeSantis "borrowing valor?"
I think it's a typo. they called him the navy squeal when he was bent over on a ship's fantail...
Show us where DeSantis himself ever claimed to be a Navy pilot or a Seal.
Some people have a hard time understanding the terms "alongside" or "with".
You can't convince me that he didn't know that lie was being perpetuated, which IMO your comment does as well, so let's see evidence that he ever denied it. IMO he's no better than George Santos, another prime example of Republican integrity.
o let's see evidence that he ever denied it. IMO he's no better than George Santos
I just want to make sure this comment is appreciated. Our current President has famously lied about his entire life. He's plagiarized speeches, plagiarized his law school writings, lied about his academic record, lied about his family, lied about his civil rights record, lied about his athletic accomplishments, even lied about his son dying in Iraq to parents of troops actually killed in action. (Funny how the people so upset by DeSantis never seem to criticize Biden for lying about that. Seems like that is just a little more important).
Yet DeSantis is the one you attack for lacking integrity because he told the truth about his service. And DeSantis is the one you compare to another Biden like serial fabulist because he didn't deny doing things he never claimed he did.
Just amazing.
You are against calling out deception by Rs?
After all, that is what is presently taking place. Biden's lies are not the topic and neither are Trump's (which dwarf Biden's).
Surely you do not want to get into a contest of who is the biggest liar among notable politicians.
You spoke for me as well. If I were the seeder of this article I would have flagged Sean's comment as off topic. When one has no comeback for the truth, I know it's hard to stay on topic.
I'm the author of this article (it's NOT a "seed").
I never flag anything because I hate censorshit.
I let people exercise their freedumb of speech so intelligent people can respond.
Oh sorry, I guess I didn't pay attention. I only flag off topic comments on my seeds/articles if they're nasty or mean-spirited, so in that regard I do put SOME limitation on free speech, but then although some may deny it, I believe that even free speech in America has SOME limitations.
You are against calling out deception by Rs?
Not at all. Feel free to find some. This ain't it.
It's a sign of desperation and derangement that this accurate statement has become an obsessive focus on the left.
urely you do not want to get into a contest of who is the biggest liar among notable politicians.
Of course I do. I would never and have never voted for anyone who comes close to the biggest liar. That's what make this so funny. Biden voters, the people who excuse a man who tells blatant lies about his entire life, are upset because someone accurately represented their military service. For a Biden voter to criticize any other politician for lying shows an amazing lack of self awareness. I can't even comprehend the mental disconnect it must take to vote for Biden and attack DeSantis for this.
Here is how you can resolve your confusion.
Call out lies regardless of party.
See?
ow you can resolve your confusion.
It's not confusion, it's awe at the level of hypocrisy it takes for a Biden voter to attack anyone else for supposedly misleading them.
the lack of self respect is off the charts. .
Call out lies regardless of party
Cool. The trick is to start with an actual lie. Since DeSantis didn't lie and you know that, you've already failed the first step.
Once you figure out what a lie is (google Biden talking about himself for examples) try calling out a Democrat for doing it. Somehow the people mad at DeSantis for telling the truth always ignore actual lies when they come from a Democrat.
You have no idea whatsoever what he was thinking.
Show me where he was ever asked about it.
Hey, I no longer have the patience for your criticism and trolling. You can defend that piece of shit racist asshole as much as you want. And that goes for your vote-uppers as well.
[✘]
oops...
Don't worry, be happy. You are just exercising your freedumb of speech .
You know that will never happen. They are more interested in running with a meme as absolute fact.
Of course it will not happen.
I have yet to see anyone claim that DeSantis himself literally claimed to be a Navy pilot or Seal.
Obviously nobody will try to defend a claim that was not made.
I spent years as a Navy Fleet Marine Force qualified Hospital Corpsman assigned to front line USMC units. I wore the same uniform, went where they went, slept where they slept. But I never called myself a Marine.
Although you do qualify to wear our EGA.
The only non Marine allowed to wear it.
A well deserved honor IMO …..
Seems to me that you have a right to name-drop 'Marine' given you were right there with them in the field.
Actually I liked being called "Doc" by my Marines much better. I had to earn that title from them, but that's another story.
Thanks for being there Doc..
Thanks. Just tried to do the job I was trained to the best I could.
I instantly knew that he was not a Seal based on the grammar he used. It was obvious that he was trying to look bigger than he is. Like Gore: "I took the initiative in creating the Internet".
it worked on anyone that believes everything else he says...
Show us where DeSantis himself ever claimed to be a Navy pilot or a Seal.
You need to read the fucking article. Here is the first sentence:
"At the Republican Presidential Debate Ron DeSantis used misleading statements designed to fool people about his military service."
I said he used "misleading statements". I never said, "DeSantis claimed to be a Navy pilot or a Seal."
Here is a DeSantis campaign ad:
He was called out when the fighter pilot ad came out as ''Top Gov''....Actual fighter pilots laced into him over it.
" It’s literally Navy pilot cosplay.”
didn't he meet his wife at the end of fleet week, at the tail-hook club?
snort
How dumb do you have to be to think he was? He never claimed he did. Can you post a seed DeSantis never invented air flight next? He's been shown next to planes. Some stupid progressives might assume that means he invented them.
Of course, we know a fresh seed is needed to distract from progressives mocking people for their honorable service and fantasizing about killing American troops in the last one.
Surely you can see that DeSantis was trying to pull a "internet creator" Gore to give the impression that he was a Seal. That was obvious to me the instant he made the comment.
Al Gore specifically said "I took the initiative in creating the Internet." DeSantis accurately claimed he was deployed with Navy Seal. He did not say "I was a Navy Seal." If he was pulling an AL Gore he would have said "when I was deployed as a Navy Seal. "
I know the English language can be complex and contains nuance that makes it difficult for some to understand but this is ridiculous. But just because words appear close together does not give someone the ability to simply connect them in any way that suits their partisan needs. It's the same thing people do here when they claim news articles that contain the words Trump, Russia and Putin in close context count as proof that Trump colluded with Putin. Words matter. It's the not the speaker's fault if a significant portion of liberals appear unable to understand simple English.
There's only so much dumbing down speakers can do. People who take his quotes as a claim to be a Navy Seal should be embarrassed . I am for them.
Splitting hairs. Give it up Sean. You know damn well that DeSantis used that language so that people would think of him as a Navy Seal. Just as Gore used his language so that people would think of him as one of the founders of the Internet.
Just stop.
Lol. Words matter.
It's like watching 1984 play out in real time. Dumbing down the language because nuance is just too hard for some to follow.
Look forward to 2028, when NT will simply be 50 posts a day consisting solely of "DeSantis is double plus ungood"
He'll be out of politics and running a Christian nationalist k-12 by then.
Yes they do and you are trying to split semantic hairs in a feeble attempt to defend DeSantis.
Obviously he used that language so that people would think of him as a Navy Seal.
“Lol. Words matter.”
Pick your poison.
He'll be out of politics and running a Christian nationalist k-12 by then.
I doubt that will stop the obsessive relationship some have with him. You can attack him for teaching white supremacy for teaching kids that math is real and 2+2 =4.
Possibly by 2028 DeSantis will be in the dust bin or a commentator on Fox News.
I guess it is akin to Biden saying he never, ever discussed any of Hunter's business with him.
just with Hunter's associates!
Oh.
Like Biden talking about his little kitchen fire and making up how dangerous it was to his wife and the firefighters who responded.
nope.
the very same people obsessed with Trump will still be yakking about him for the rest of their lives.
Sort of. Biden exaggerated his own experience in a failed attempt to empathize.
Do you think that DeSantis' gratuitous mention of Seals was not an intentional choice of language to make people think he might be a Seal?
What an interesting way of avoiding saying Biden outright lied!
Hey. he almost lost his corvette (which must have been parked in the kitchen for some reason) but didn't so he's a fire victim just like the people who had family members killed.
It is amazing that he managed to make "no comment" a more compassionate response than the prepared response he actually gave with days to prepare.
What I stated was accurate.
An exaggeration is a lie. The word connotes a situation where someone takes a kernel of truth and then expands upon it with falsehoods.
Hello?
so you finally admit Biden lied.
ah, progress!
Finally?
This is the first time you have seen me acknowledge a Biden lie?
Get a clue.
yes, I wrote finally.
Great interpretation!
he'll be the headliner in a touring drag show by then ...
Do you ever address the actual pic of an article ("DeSantis Was Not A Navy Seal"), or do you always deflect in an attempt to hijack the conversation?
This article is NOT about Biden.
Why don't you publish an article about Biden's lies?
Just following the left's lead on things!
He's not, actually. That is literally how anyone in the military would say it if they were deployed with anyone not their own unit. When I went to Somalia I was deployed with the Tenth Mountain Division. I was not in the Tenth, I just deployed with them. Anyone in the military would have understood what DeSantis meant instantly and would not need clarification. Reporters should know just as well. When they were embedded with a unit, they weren't in the unit, they just were with them. It's the same thing. The wording should not be hard to figure out for a civilian, either. The grammar makes it pretty clear that being deployed with a SEAL team is not grammatically the same as being deployed in a SEAL team.
I should add that all this doubles when talking about deploying with SEAL teams. It's not uncommon for non-SEALs to deploy with the teams, since they need support as much as anyone. Who goes would depend on the mission. No one would think that most of them would ever be on an actual mission, though. It would be understood that these personnel would be at the base of operations for the actual mission and not on the mission itself, although there are some exceptions. Forward Air Controllers for example. They would actually be on the team for the mission, but not a SEAL.
If DeSantis did something wrong it would not be the wording he used, which was pretty clear to me and not confusing, it would be not correcting others who were saying he was a SEAL or on a SEAL team. I don't have information as to whether or not he made such corrections and I wouldn't trust the media to tell me if he had so I have no opinion there.
I am aware that his words were carefully chosen. The point, however, is that he chose to gratuitously mention the Navy Seals with language that the ordinary person could easily interpret as 'DeSantis was a Seal' or that he 'served alongside the Seals' (as in accompanying them on missions).
He was actually a JAG attorney supporting the Seals (the Seals were his clients). He was an attorney. Mentioning his ties with Navy Seals is an attempt to make his service record look more impressive than it really was.
I am not surprised he did this, he is a politician. But I do not buy the excuses provided for him.
it's easier for rwnj's that can't think past deceptive bullet points in their superficial mental processes... he knows his prime audience...
Okay. I suppose you're going to see it how you see it. Personally, I don't see the deception. I see what politicians with military service do what they always do; appeal to voters on that basis, as well they should. Further, doing a little research, it seems it's always been known he was a JAG officer since he first ran for office. If that's true, I wonder how many "ordinary people" think JAG officers routinely go on the hot end of SEAL missions? That is, I find it hard to believe they could be confused for very long if they cared to understand.
You might try checking out Factcheck. It gives a brief description of his service while being deployed with the SEALs and, deployed is the accurate term for it. It also contains a comment about DeSantis' service from the commander he was there to advise.
Yes, he was supporting the SEALs. Yes, he did it in the capacity of an attorney. And that service was more than you're making it out to be, as if he were sitting in an air conditioned office way back on a nice safe base all the time. I seriously doubt that, since he would need to be with the commander quite a bit, meaning he was likely running around in his battle rattle just like everyone else sometimes, advising the commander and inspecting prisoner detention centers.
I can tell you this. Any of us in the military would jump at the chance to deploy with SEALs, even if it were only a support role like DeSantis. I was a Blackhawk helicopter mechanic/crew chief and I can tell you that such a thing would have been a highlight of my career. It would be an honor to be able to say I deployed with them, and deploying with them, even if it's only support, is the correct term to use because it is completely accurate and true. And if you think people who get "deployed" with SEALs in that fashion aren't proud of it and tell stories about it you just don't understand the culture. These SEALs and other Special Forces operators are the best warriors our country produces and they are legends. The SEALs couldn't do what they do without that support and there's nothing wrong with being proud of being a part of that.
It also seems to me that the media is making this into a big deal on purpose, which is where the real dishonesty is coming from. Why? Because all of this could be set to rest by simply asking "When you say "deployed" with the SEALs, what exactly do you mean What did you do?" Have they done that? Maybe, but not that I've found. Rather, they seem to want to stick with the idea that he's making a false claim or something or claiming something that he's not. I suppose that even if they did, many people would still think he's stealing valor or something. Well, all I can say to that is they don't know what they are talking about, probably because most of them never served.
I'm not defending the man DeSantis, who is running for President. I'm defending the serviceman DeSantis, who seems to have served honorably. I'm defending the serviceman against the untrue and uninformed idea that seems to be that "you didn't deploy with SEALs unless you were there with them shooting at stuff." It's simply not true, it's unfair and incredibly demeaning to one who was doing the job he was supposed to do.
Lastly, I already know I won't be voting for DeSantis for president so I'm not saying this in defense of my chosen candidate.
Odd that you are writing so much about this.
Again, I am not saying that DeSantis explicitly lied in his language. I am saying that it was obvious to me that he was being the consummate politician trying to exaggerate his military career by mentioning the Seals as he did. He almost certainly knows that the name-dropping affiliation would cause some to think of him as a Seal or as someone who was doing Seal procedures alongside Seals.
This is not something that is worth debating.
Having served, I feel somewhat differently.
Thanks anyway.
I agree Drakk. This is just the next iteration of attack politics. Nothing more.
Meanwhile Biden’s real lies regularly go unchallenged by the same “concerned” citizens. Like topically, his lie that his son died in Iraq.
He didn’t and that lie achieves a new level of “forced” stolen valor. His son Beau served, honorably by everything I’ve seen and he deserves better than the lie his father is telling about him.
Hunter on the other hand received an OTH administrative discharge. Don’t hear much about that one either do we?
De Santis didn't lie any more than Joe Biden has when he has repeatedly said his son died in Iraq.
Your constant "what-aboutisms" are fucking ridiculous deflections.
This article is about DeSantis.
Maybe you should write your own article about Biden.
In my 20 year Naval career, I did in fact know a Naval officer start out as a JAG officer and then went through Navy SEAL training. Have also seen Naval Aviators become Medical Corps officers and Medical Corps officers become Naval Aviators. It is rare, but it can and does happen.
Is it about some folks accusing DeSantis of lying?
I see, only GOP lies count, right?
fantasizing about killing American troops in the last one.
Please stop lying.
Did you miss the fantasies about fragging American officers?
I wrote nixonites. stop lying.
assistant urinalysis coordinator.
ROFL!! Assistant? Why would anyone even admit this role, ever? Such bold leadership.
his job was to dump the excess urine in the head and toss the cup...
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Was he actually at the prison facility? Or one of many other Navel Units? Guantanamo Bay Navel Base does quite a bit more than just house the prison facility. I was there several times while in the Coast Guard before they opened the prison.
Yes, he was at the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, EG.
Here is an interesting article that raises a lot of questions about the guards/JAG/prison/DeSantis.
Thanks!
DeSantis is just a special guy. Bless his little CIA stooge heart...
I only remember the McDonalds there, lol...
Hasn’t Biden closed that prison by now?
Every time a Democrat wants to close Gitmo, Congressional Republicans block it. They claim that trying the detainees in US courts who endanger US citizens.
So unless we can figure out how to "process" the detainees, we will probably keep them in Gitmo.
I think that the Dems controlled the House, Senate and Presidency in 21 and 22.
They should have taken advantage of the opportunity to prosecute the detainees.
But they may have found out that Manchin and Sinema would vote against it.
Then he clearly wants people to think of him as a Seal.
I hate when people embellish their record. He could just say what he did in a straightforward way, and it would be fine. There’s nothing wrong with being a JAG. You’re still serving your country. But this bullshit makes it seem like everyone in the Navy who is not a seal should be ashamed of themselves.
Eggzactly!
He should have said he served in Iraq and overseas.
Same impact, the truth with no flavor.
94% of American adults have never served and no have clue about the military
and it's dependence on anacronyms like TAD vs PCS.
I wasn’t an Infantry Officer but I served in an Infantry Battalion and Brigade. My military records show me as a member of those units.
The average person, reading the text on this image, would be led to believe that DeSantis was a Navy Seal.
Period. Case closed.
It doesnt say "assigned to Navy Seal Team 1"
it says Navy Seal Team 1
Everyone can see that he isn't wearing a Seal Trident.
No, it isn't, it's the FMF (Fleet Marine Force) badge.
If you look over his right shoulder I believe that is the ''Bone Frog'' which is only used by the Seals.
I've only seen the Bone Frog as a tattoo but I think you are right. When I was assigned to Fort Monroe, one of my wifes friends had a Seal boyfriend in VA Beach. We went to a Halloween Party at his house. Every room had a VCR running a continuous loop of different training events from parachuting, exiting subs under water, training raids, etc. A lot of testosterone in that place at one time.
IMO, DeSantis shouldn't have had the Bonefrog behind him in the photo. It has a special meaning for Seals,
The Bonefrog is a sacred and iconic image in the SEAL Teams that honors Navy SEALs who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of country and our freedom and as far as I know, they are the only unit/service that uses the Bonefrog.
It seems that more than US Navy SEAL's are taking exception to it....
BTW who gets to determine what is a sacred and iconic "anything "?....
In this case the Navy Seals.
I don't think that's how it works nowadays....
Everyone?
Only 6.4% of American adults are qualified to say that they are veterans
and I can say from experience that my Air Force officer offspring studying for a PHD
would not know what the Trident meant, or cared very much.
Aren’t we supposed to use hyperbole while on the site?
Yes, they would assume that. Question is, was this created by DeSantis or someone else? According to the article, it was someone else? According to what I've read, several others have made things like what your showing here but it wasn't DeSantis.
I'm sorry but all of this makes no sense to me. If DeSantis was going to try to fool people about being a SEAL, why would he wait until now and why on earth would he think of doing so when it would be impossible to pass off? In a run for president, no less? I could see Biden doing it but only because I'm not sure he knows what planet he's on, let alone what he has actually been doing on it since birth. Not even he, in his lucid moments, would deliberately try to pass off something so easily able to be fact checked.
Seems to me that what's actually going on here is a) people being too lazy to do the small amount of work to understand what he meant and b) the media, as usual, is pushing the idea that he was trying to claim he was a SEAL, when all it would take is to ask "What do you mean by "being deployed with SEAL team 1? What did you do?" to clear things up. But are they doing that? No. It's more sensational to insist that he is claiming he was on a SEAL team.
Here's what FactCheck.org had to say about it.
And in that same article:
Which makes what DeSantis said about it perfectly logical in light of it.
He mentioned his time with the SEALs not because he was trying to claim to be one, but because of what he learned from his time with them. He was saying Republicans need to have the same focus. That was the point. But because you all have bias against the man, you stop at "deployed with the SEALs" and blew a gasket, even though this info has been out there for years.
People won't bother to read that because some of them are convinced DeSantis did something horribly wrong.
Silly, isn't it?
Yes, but we all tend to do it. I stopped coming here for a while, and really, I'm not back yet, because I found myself doing the same thing more than I'd like. I'm only commenting on this because DeSantis is a fellow serviceman who seems to have served honorably and it pisses me off to see him denigrated for it because others misunderstand and, when it's explained, don't care. DeSantis did not claim to be a SEAL. Anyone with half a watt of brain cell activity knows DeSantis claiming to be one when he's not would work about as well or worse than chasing 1st graders down a street while naked and carrying a bag of sex toys. Just seems like emotional judgment rather than critical thought, to me. He doesn't deserve it. Not for that, at least, since what he said was true.
Now I gotta go. I'm getting too worked up again. I mean, rather than just learn the facts and say, "oh, okay. I see what he was talking about." and move on, no, gotta make it something it's not so he's easier to hate. Whatever.
Think of it this way. DeSantis is not an ex-Jag speaking privately to friends about his military experience.
He is speaking publicly as a candidate for President. He is in the big show. He is fighting against some very big odds.
DeSantis is a politician and politicians, especially now, always try to put themselves in the best possible light. Embellishing one's resume by clever wording (stating the truth but creating a false but nice impression) is to be expected from a politician.
My comment has and is that I did not buy for an instant that his (gratuitous) stated relationship with Navy Seals was an innocent anecdotal comment made in passing with no intent to make him look more impressive. Not by a politician running for PotUS. Sorry, not buying it.
One more thing. This is not, at least for me, some anti-DeSantis thing. Biden does this crap all the time; this is all Trump does. And my opening comment referenced Gore. To me, this is an obvious, distasteful, ploy by politicians regardless of party and not limited to one individual.
I know I don't what a Trident would mean. And I was Air Force
We all try to put ourselves in the best possible light, TiG. But here's the thing. DeSantis didn't embellish anything in the comments made by him that I saw. He simply stated the simple truth. He didn't inflate anything. He didn't use unusual words or phrasing. He didn't talk about what he did or about himself, but rather what he learned from the experience. He talked about what the environment taught him.
I get that people think he is shamefully trying to cover himself with a bit of the blanket of glory that covers SEALs and other Special Forces operators but, in my opinion, that's simply a knee jerk reaction that comes from the bad side of people. "Oh! He used SEALs in the same sentence as himself! Stolen valor!!!" But that's all it is. A response we're conditioned to feel because we often see real cases of it.
But, if anyone actually cared to get past their knee jerk emotional response and do just a few minutes of digging, they might have realized that maybe he actually deserves credit for his time with the SEALs in Iraq. I posted what the Commander of the SEAL team had to say about DeSantis and I think we know that such people don't tolerate fools or hand out phony praise. Further, the Bronze Star awarded to DeSantis covers the time period he worked with the Seals. Also, in my research, I ran across a joke within the SEALs and, probably, other special forces. If you have the choice between adding one more shooter to the team or a lawyer, take the lawyer. The idea is that even though DeSantis was "just" a JAG officer, it doesn't mean he wasn't an important member of the deployment with real value to offer the team.
So, again, yeah, I get why you feel the way you do. But, having done just a little digging, I think you're wrong about it. DeSantis never even remotely claimed to be a SEAL. DeSantis did work with the SEALs. By all accounts I found he deserves credit for it and was recognized with a Bronze Star for service for it. He got high praise from the Commander of the SEALs he worked closely with. To my knowledge, he never spoke about serving alongside the SEALs in ways that built himself up with fanciful exploits, like "this one time, we were out and came under heavy fire and I had to...." No, he simply talked about what working with the team taught him.
And most damning of all is the media. Rather than ask clarifying questions, they push the stolen valor angle. They sensationalize it. I've asked you before. How hard would for just one reporter to ask. "Mr. Desantis. You said that you deployed with the SEAL team. Could you please tell us in what capacity and what you did there? Were you actually on a team out doing missions?" Now, maybe one actually did, but if so, I haven't found a transcript yet.
In the final analysis, my opinion is that if people feel deceived by DeSantis' statement they have no one to blame but themselves. They thought no farther than a gut reaction and did nothing to go beyond it. Maybe DeSantis should have made clarifying remarks in his comments, like "For those of you who may think SEALs regularly carry JAG lawyers along with them on actual shooting missions with the team, this is not what "deployment" means. It means to go from one geographical location to another, usually in reference to a theater of combat of some sort. It doesn't mean I was on the team. Just that I was with them when we deployed." Of course, no one would hear a thing after that because they're too busy processing that. That is, the point of the comment he wanted to make, what he learned from his time working with the SEALs would be lost. Of course, thanks to the media intentionally pushing the stolen valor angle, it was probably lost anyway, so there's that.
So, again, I've wrote a lot of words that aren't going to make any difference. Later.
To me, he name-dropped the Navy Seals for political gain.
We disagree.
It happens.
To me, I couldn't imagine a more superficial reaction to what he said.
As you say, we disagree.
It happens.
When I was with "Operation Deep Freeze". There was a Master Chief Hospital Corpsman and former SEAL team member who went to Winter Over at Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. He had the SEAL Trident, Master Diver emblem, Master Parachutist, and about eight rows of ribbons on his khakis. This guy was the real deal total package. I noticed he had the Bone Frog tattoo on his right forearm. When I asked him what it meant and he just smiled and said "It's a SEAL thing" and walked away.
Salty, very salty!
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He most certainly and deservedly was. At that time the only medical support for that station were Independent Duty qualified Navy Corpsmen. The rest of the station crew were all civilian. Palmer Station for him was what was known as his twilight tour before retirement at 30 years.
My Dad did 30 years in the Naval reserve after a hitch in the Corps. Some of those senior chiefs were salty old bastards not to be trifled with.
And those dudes could party …
I was a medical troop in the Air Force but I was Preventative Medicine (look for hazards before they maim or kill some body). There were med techs that I would trust for medical care before I did some of our doctors
I'd rather be treated by the NP's instead of my Dr...
Objective, rational thinking is white supremacy. Ask the Smithsonian.
It's probably better to ask Senator Tommy Tuberville, he seems to be the expert on white supremacy.
uh, I think he's probably too busy being supportive of americans in the armed services right now...
... representing alabama while residing in florida.
DeSantis fighter jet ad reminded me of the Dukakis photo op of him with a tanker helmet on standing in the tank cupolas behind a machine gun.
Yep.
And what the fuck is on DeSantis head?
Looks more like a football or rugby helmet than a pilots helmet
I think it’s a replica of a HGU-33 pilot helmet.
I am only familiar with the HGU-55/P
This site might help:
One SEAL who didn’t serve with DeSantis has his underroos in a bunch? Big deal.
This is nothing more than liberal attack politics. That and military haters, hating on another Vet.
SOSDD
Why are YOU mocking a combat vet?
Do YOU hate SEALs?
1 guess.
I’m mocking no one. But if you want me to mock a “combat vet” I can certainly help you out by mocking John Kerry.
That lying POS can’t be mocked enough.
Of course not, I guess you think your statement (13) was a fucking compliment:
One SEAL who didn’t serve with DeSantis has his underroos in a bunch?
ALL SEALS deserve our respect. You disrespected a SEAL.
You can try to deny that, butt you still OWN it.
Deflecting it to another combat vet is fucking weak.
Please stop denigrating combat vets.
In other words certain vets can't be criticized. Which ones?
Military service is to be respected, but the minute one makes political statements one is open to criticism.
It's okay to criticize a vet's politics, but it's wrong to criticize the vet's service.
I sometimes disagreed with John McCain, but I always called him a "war hero".
When I was in the Navy, they sent me to firefighting school. We watched a tape of the accident on the USS Forrestal. McCain's A-4 was hit by a missile that was accidentally fired from the aircraft behind him. He somehow managed to escape. He was going to be sent home to recuperate but he refused to abandon his squadron because they were going into combat. McCain was a true hero!
Completely agree. He was also my first choice in the Primaries. By 2008, I think he was getting to old. Compared to the likely candidates next year, John was a young man in 2008.
he had my vote until he picked bible spice as his VP.
Yes, he was, as were many of the airmen and sailors aboard the Forrestal on that tragic day.
However, the statements made by Senator John McCain are to be taken in the context of him as a US Senator. He showed integrity as Senator. He also showed a bit of pettiness as well.
I liked him, too
Yeah, but he also lost credibility when he stood next to DuhBya and said the economy was good as it went into the fucking toilet.
I think we all liked and respected John McCain.
I used to have a copy of a GOP email that was sent around within the party faithful after mac got the nomination. it said something to the effect that yeah, he's a major asshole, but it wouldn't serve the party to let everybody else know that. years prior he told my cousin that he had no future in the GOP after mac felt being disrespected by him. later on, that cousin became a bush appointee for his full 8 year term.
Here’s where I explain how respect works for not only Vets but everyone else.
One can respect what another does or has done and still disagree with something they have said or done. It’s asinine to infer that one doesn’t respect another, simply because of one thing they have said or done. So because one was once a SEAL one is denigrating them if they disagree something they have said or done? Ridiculous.
Simply ridiculous.
That said, don’t act like you’ve got the market cornered on respect for Vets. Not even close bud. So take a moment to get off your high horse and look around a bit. With your mouth closed, eyes and ears open. You might learn something from fellow NTers. Or you can continue with your obtuse observations.
Oh and by the way. Thx for your service.
The oath is for an indeterminate period; no duration is specifically defined.
*wikipedia
The oath is for an indeterminate period; no duration is specifically defined.
*wikipedia
Rutabaga, pine cone, volute and hydrogen ….. all are about as applicable to my post as your response was.
Nice job!