WASHINGTON — A new campaign ad in Alabama attacks Rep. Barry Moore over questions surrounding his time in the military, but the congressman is pushing back, releasing records to defend his service.
Ahead of the June 16 Republican U.S. Senate runoff, a super PAC supporting Moore’s opponent ex-Navy SEAL Jared Hudson launched an ad Monday questioning Moore’s time in the Army National Guard.
The ad states that Moore’s past representation of his military service is “dishonest, disgraceful, (and) disqualifying.” The same group is circulating a memo to reporters alleging that Moore has exaggerated his service for years.
The attack quotes one of Moore’s own congressional campaign ads in which he said, “I’ve been in those combat boots. I understand what it’s like.”
In response, Moore’s campaign said that he did wear combat boots to train. Though, he never did serve in combat or deploy.
A more nuanced picture
Moore has consistently highlighted his military service in his political campaigns over the years. With fresh accusations he has exaggerated that service, Alabama Daily News reviewed Moore’s service records to find the truth.
First, Moore has publicly touted that he has served six years in the Alabama Army National Guard and Army Reserves. It’s also noted on his online biography page on his official congressional website.
Documents show that Moore served about 2.5 years in the National Guard and another roughly 5.5 years in the Reserves.
His NGB Form 22, the National Guard’s report of separation and service, shows that Moore served a total of two years, six months and 21 days in the Alabama Army National Guard from December 1988 to July 1991.
Moore’s discharge form shows that he was honorably discharged and assigned to the U.S. Army Reserves as a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, which are “trained Soldiers who may be called upon, if needed, to replace Soldiers in active duty and Army Reserve units.”
A provided video of Moore’s U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs webpage shows that Moore served in the Reserves from July 1991 to January 1997.
Second, questions have circulated about whether or not Moore achieved the rank of a staff sergeant. In a letter from veteran Republican lawmakers attacking Gov. Tim Walz over misrepresenting his military service as he campaigned for vice president in 2024, Moore is listed as a “Staff Sergeant – Army National Guard (Ret.).”
The discharge document provided by Moore’s campaign lists him as the pay grade of a staff sergeant, but his campaign said that he was still an officer candidate when he was discharged.
In reference to the 2024 letter by Walz, Moore’s campaign said that his listed title came from the organizers, not Moore himself, and emphasized that Moore did not retire, but was honorably discharged.
Moore’s U.S. Senate campaign also released a picture of the candidate’s veteran ID card. They also make clear that Moore was on active duty for basic training from March to May in 1989, though he never deployed or served in combat.
In a social media post, Hudson challenged Moore to release his DD-214, which is a document that summarizes one’s military service. Hudson put up a picture of his in the post that showed six years of service in the military.
Moore’s campaign said that he does not have a DD-214 because he does not have active duty service beyond basic training. His team also pointed to a 2022 policy change that began requiring DD-214s for National Guardsmen if they served more than 90 days on active-duty orders. The 2022 change came years after Moore completed his time in the Reserve.