Yet another retired military officer is speaking out against Sen. John Walsh’s abuse of power at the Montana Department of Military Affairs.
Today in the Missoulian, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Richard R. Roehm of Bozeman slammed Walsh for pressuring subordinates to join the National Guard Association, a lobbying group to which Walsh hoped to be named vice chairman:
“Army Vice Chief of Staff Chiarelli wrote in the reprimand that Walsh’s actions were inconsistent with the conduct expected of senior leaders …
Walsh should have acknowledged this formal judgment from the Army and corrected his behavior. Rather, our appointed senator has adopted a calculated maneuver to justify his deliberate violation of his oath of office by claiming a higher interest in the welfare of our guardsmen. This is a distortion of the facts and a rationalization to justify his transgression. As a general officer, he had multiple legal courses of action that were available. There was no need to resort to illegalities.”
As a reminder, KXLH reported an Inspector General’s report from the U.S. army found Walsh used language that “seemed coercive” and “very threatening” to pressure subordinates to join the National Guard Association.