Robert McDonald - In the midst of a scandal about inaccuracies in the reports of NBC News Nightly anchor Brian Williams, and some claims of the same in a report by Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, the Secretary of Veteran Affairs has admitted that he lied after telling a homeless man that he was part of the Special Forces last month.
The incident happened when Robert McDonald toured parts of Los Angeles with CBS news cameras during a count of homeless veterans late in January. During an exchange with a homeless man, who claimed to have served in the Special Forces, McDonald said "Special Forces? What years? I was in the special forces!"
But Robert McDonald has told Huffington Post that his claim was "wrong" and that he has "no excuse" for the incident. He further noted that he has "great respect" for the Special Forces.
Since the incident many people have criticized the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, who has been in the office for less than a year. Although McDonald graduated from the West Point U.S. Military Academy and completed Army Ranger training in the seventies, he was never deployed to serve in a battalion. Instead, McDonald was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division after completing training as a parachutist and airborne jumpmaster.
A retired army colonel and Special Forces commander has described McDonald's claim as a "bonehead statement."
The chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Rep. Jeff Miller said he is "disappointed" in a statement about the incident. He has urged McDonald to "redouble his efforts" to ensure accuracy in his reports and those of other Veteran Affairs officials. "This is the only way the department can regain the trust of the veterans and taxpayers it is charged with serving," he explained.
Meanwhile, the White House has released a statement saying "We take his at his word and expect that this will not impact the important work he's doing to promote the health and well-being of our nation's veterans."
