As a Veteran, I take claims of military service seriously. After seeing Congressman Barry Moore’s reactions to the discrepancies with his military records and the threats to media outlets if they ran any contradictory stories, his true character has revealed itself in a not so polished fashion.

His military documentation is very clear, Moore was in the National Guard for 2 years, 6 months, and 21 days, ending with an Honorable discharge in July of 1991. As all enlisted Soldiers do, he completed 10 weeks of basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina in 1989. According to his own records that he released, he was never trained for a specific job for the entirety of his time served. 

This isn’t about his National Guard / Reserve time, it is strictly the fact that Mr. Moore was never deployable (an absolute must to meet our Army’s main mission to Fight and Win our Nation’s Wars) for the entire 6 years that he says he served.  He didn’t complete his initial enlistment obligation nor did he complete the training required to be Military Occupation Specialty Qualified (MOS-Q).

Let’s also put to bed any correlation to Mr. Moore and the rank of Staff Sergeant. That rank is something real soldiers earn through a minimum of 5 years of service, 2 rigorous leadership courses, and yes, one must be MOS-Q.  It is not just handed to someone that has only completed basic training. 

To be clear, Moore’s Honorable discharge was real, and this isn’t about tearing that down.  Moore turned two months of basic training into a fabricated military identity and his consistent misrepresentation of his military service is extremely misleading. 

Imagine working for a corporation for 6 years and never trained for or performed a specific job the entire time employed. How long would you remain employed there?  A simple question to ask Mr. Moore yourself – “What specific military job were you qualified to perform while you were in the Guard for 6 years?”.  Simple, straightforward and in most cases can be easily answered.  

Fact: the only entity that benefitted from Mr. Moore’s Service was Mr. Moore and he alone. Not you, nor I, nor the Guard or our Nation, just him as he went to college for free through the GI Bill.

Alabama is about to elect a new U.S. Senator. We need a leader with honor and integrity who will tell us the truth. I’m grateful our military ranks are not currently filled with individuals like Congressman Moore or we would not have the brave men & women who are trained, ready, and are currently answering our Nation’s call today.  

Ross Cline is a retired U.S. Army Reserve lieutenant colonel who served from 1989 to 2023, including command assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan.