Statewide Op-Ed from Retired Montana Army National Guard Captain: “Tim Sheehy Has Lost Trust of Montana Veterans”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, October 26, 2024

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rehm@mtdems.org

“If we can’t trust Tim Sheehy to tell the truth about his own military record, we can’t trust him to represent Montana in the U.S. Senate.”

Helena, MT – In a new op-ed running across Montana newspapers, retired Montana Army National Guard Captain Lara Dorman calls out Tim Sheehy for his pattern of dishonesty about his military record – including a gunshot wound Sheehy claimed he received in Afghanistan, but federal records and firsthand accounts show was self-inflicted in a Glacier National Park parking lot.

Montana veteran Lara Dorman writes that “Sheehy has shown Montanaveterans like me that he cannot be trusted” and that “if we can’t trust Tim Sheehy to tell the truth about his own military record, we can’t trust him to represent Montana in the U.S. Senate.”

Read the full op-ed from Montana veteran Lara Dorman here: 

Helena Independent Record: Tim Sheehy has lost trust of Montana veterans 
By Lara Dorman, retired Montana Army National Guard Captain
October 26, 2024
 

• Montana is a state with a proud tradition of service. There are nearly 100,000 Montana veterans like myself who put on the uniform to keep our nation safe, and each one of us understands the importance of integrity and trust.
   

• That’s why as a Montana veteran I am so concerned about Tim Sheehy’s dishonesty about his military record. By lying about receiving a gunshot wound in combat, Sheehy has shown Montana veterans like me that he cannot be trusted.
   

• I am a retired Montana Army National Guard Captain who served in the Gulf War. I respect anyone who puts on a uniform in service to our country. But as Montanans have learned more about a war wound Sheehy claims to have received, it’s clear that Sheehy’s story doesn’t add up.
   

• Sheehy told Montanans on the campaign trail that he was shot in Afghanistan. But federal records and new firsthand accounts reveal that it was actually a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Glacier National Park parking lot.
   

• Then, folks started to come forward: The park ranger, who responded to the scene in Glacier National Park, said he was “100% sure Sheehy shot himself that day.” On that day, the ranger met Sheehy at the hospital, where his arm was bandaged, and Sheehy paid a fine for the accident.
   

• It seems those who served with Sheehy aren’t able to corroborate his account, either. In fact, a former Navy SEAL who Sheehy served with recently said that he was convinced that the bullet wound story was made up — because he had seen Sheehy in person shortly after the Afghanistan gunshot wound supposedly occurred, and Sheehy didn’t appear to have any injuries.
   

• Sheehy has even been caught in other lies about his service, like saying that he parachuted into Glacier. Both the national park and the military say that kind of military training doesn’t happen.
   

• We’ve heard many other of Sheehy’s lies, like him saying he grew up rural when he actually grew up in the big-city suburbs. But to lie about a war wound, that’s another level.
   

• If we can’t trust Tim Sheehy to tell the truth about his own military record, we can’t trust him to represent Montana in the U.S. Senate.
   

• The choice in this election is clear. Montanans should reject the man who won’t be honest with us, and reelect the public servant who has always had the backs of Montana veterans like me.

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