Report: Wes Moore’s Army Supervisor Calls His Service Claims 'Disingenuous'

AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis The U.S. Army officer who supervised Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) during his deployment to Afghanistan called for the governor to “be honest” about his role. Retired Lt. Col. James Gottschling explained to the Baltimore Sun that while Moore’s “service in Afghanistan was good” he was “not a paratrooper.” Gottschling’s comments come as Moore has claimed he had “the experience of an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper who led soldiers in combat” while deployed to Afghanistan. During the deployment to Afghanistan, Gottschling was “a field artilleryman with the rank of major during the deployment” and also served as “the brigade’s fire support coordinator and Moore’s direct supervisor,” according to the outlet. “Be honest,” Gottschling told the outlet. “His service in Afghanistan was good. He was a valued member of the brigade staff.” Gottschling continued to explain that it was “disingenuous” of Moore to claim he “led paratroopers in combat” or that he “did what would be direct action activities in a combat zone.” According to the outlet, Gottschling “acknowledged that Moore served with the 82nd in Afghanistan as an attached Army reservist, but said he was not in a jump status”: Moore has described in various accounts, including his 2015 book, “The Work,” months of pre-deployment training with the 82nd at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Spotlight found no Army records substantiating that account; the records placed him in Military Police training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, during much of the brigade’s train-up period. Prior to that, Moore was not qualified in any Army branch and, by Army regulation, would have been ineligible to participate in such training. Gottschling confirmed Moore, who is airborne qualified, neither trained with the brigade before deployment nor conducted training jumps. He acknowledged that Moore served with the 82nd in Afghanistan as an attached Army reservist, but said he was not in a jump status, didn’t receive jump pay and was not in a parachutist’s position. “He’s not a paratrooper,” Gottschling said. Moore, who has previously faced “scrutiny,” has defended his military record, stating that he has “nothing to hide,” WBALTV11 reported. The Maryland governor defending his military record comes amid “questions about discrepancies in his Bronze Star claim and accounts of his service,” according to the outlet. According to the outlet, “among the discrepancies” was Moore’s “claim of receiving a Bronze Star years before it was formally awarded.” Moore previously described the claim as an “honest mistake.”