On 8 July 2020 the
Washington Post (WaPo) ran this dishonest headline for an article: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman retires, citing
campaign of ‘bullying’ and ‘retaliation’ by Trump after impeachment testimony
The
article was written by Missy Ryan and Shane Harris, two people the WaPo identifies
as “reporters.” Unless “Reporter“ is the
new WaPo euphemism for a “Liberal activist opinion columnist” then these two
are no more “reporters” then I am an astronaut. Only two WaPo “Liberal activist
opinion columnists” masquerading as reporters would write a piece like this full
of opinions and only a partisan Rag like the WaPo would publish it and try to pass it off as
“news.”
Although
LTC Vindman through his lawyer made some unfounded allegations about being
forced out of the Army when he announced his retirement, the truth is he was
not forced to retire and the Colonel’s promotion list had not even been
released so he didn’t even know if he had been selected. If he was on the list
he definitely had NOT been removed from it.
(Update: Since this Blog entry was published, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper acknowledged LTC Vindman was on the COL/06 promotion list and had NOT been removed from it.)
The fact is, LTC Vindman saw an opportunity to cash in on his notoriety that probably would not be there if he attended the War College or accepted an 0-6 promotion because he would have been locked into the Army for several years. If he attended the War College he was locked in for two years from graduation or another three years. If he accepted promotion to Colonel he would have had to serve three years from his date of promotion in order to retire in that grade. Depending on his promotion number, it would probably be a year before he pinned on Eagles so he would not have been able to retire as a Colonel for another four (4) years. The War College lock in was mandatory but he could have retired before the promotion lock in but he would have reverted to Lieutenant Colonel on the retired list and his retired pay would be as an 0-5/LTC.
(Update: Since this Blog entry was published, Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper acknowledged LTC Vindman was on the COL/06 promotion list and had NOT been removed from it.)
The fact is, LTC Vindman saw an opportunity to cash in on his notoriety that probably would not be there if he attended the War College or accepted an 0-6 promotion because he would have been locked into the Army for several years. If he attended the War College he was locked in for two years from graduation or another three years. If he accepted promotion to Colonel he would have had to serve three years from his date of promotion in order to retire in that grade. Depending on his promotion number, it would probably be a year before he pinned on Eagles so he would not have been able to retire as a Colonel for another four (4) years. The War College lock in was mandatory but he could have retired before the promotion lock in but he would have reverted to Lieutenant Colonel on the retired list and his retired pay would be as an 0-5/LTC.
Army
promotion list are not releasable by the Army until after they have been
confirmed by the Senate so anyone discussing who is or is not on the Colonel's
list would be in violation of a punitive Army Regulation. Hence, neither I
nor Vindman know for sure if he is on the list and selectees are not even
informed until after the Senate acts. If he was not selected he would
still be eligible again for selection next year although after one pass over to
Colonel his chances would be greatly diminished.
Having sat on two Army promotion boards I would have been surprised if he were selected looking at his record but if he had, he never would have made general. He had only one 12 month combat tour and that was as an Infantry Captain and he received no combat awards for that tour. His contemporaries will all have at least three combat tours and I would be surprised if any did not have at least a Bronze Star. His failure to get a combat award is probably a reflection of his performance in Iraq. Hence, he is probably wise to retire at this point and move on anyway.
LTC Vindman is retiring for personal reasons and neither the Military or anyone else is forcing him to retire. Of course the Washington Post would never mention any of this, either because they are ignorant about all things Military and DOPMA, which is unlikely, or it doesn’t conform to their desired narrative. Just more confirmation of their new tag line: Democracy Dies in Darkness and the WaPo is Turning Out the Lights.
Having sat on two Army promotion boards I would have been surprised if he were selected looking at his record but if he had, he never would have made general. He had only one 12 month combat tour and that was as an Infantry Captain and he received no combat awards for that tour. His contemporaries will all have at least three combat tours and I would be surprised if any did not have at least a Bronze Star. His failure to get a combat award is probably a reflection of his performance in Iraq. Hence, he is probably wise to retire at this point and move on anyway.
LTC Vindman is retiring for personal reasons and neither the Military or anyone else is forcing him to retire. Of course the Washington Post would never mention any of this, either because they are ignorant about all things Military and DOPMA, which is unlikely, or it doesn’t conform to their desired narrative. Just more confirmation of their new tag line: Democracy Dies in Darkness and the WaPo is Turning Out the Lights.
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