--- title: "Political candidate accused of stolen valor apparently cannot stop stealing valor" description: "Air Force veteran-turned-Ohio congressional candidate J.R. Majewski can’t seem to stop embellishing his military service." date: "2022-09-29" modified: "2022-09-29" authors: - name: "Jared Keller" job_title: "Former Managing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/jr-majewski-air-force-stolen-valor/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Around the World" - "Military Branches" - "News" - "United States" --- # Political candidate accused of stolen valor apparently cannot stop stealing valor ![JR Majewski stolen valor]() *J.R. Majewski, Republican candidate for U.S. Representative for Ohio's 9th Congressional District, speaks at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Sept. 17, 2022. (Tom E. Puskar/Associated Press)* Ohio congressional candidate J.R. Majewski can’t seem to stop embellishing his military service. Barely a week after the Associated Press revealed that the Air Force veteran had allegedly [misled the public about a 2002 combat deployment to Afghanistan](), the news outlet [revealed]() that Majewski had also misrepresented the circumstances of his past punishment and demotion the previous year. While Majewski’s campaign reportedly [told]() the Associated Press that the candidate was punished and demoted to the rank of E-2 for his involvement in an Air Force dormitory “brawl” in 2001, [records]() of his non-judicial punishment proceedings, obtained by the Associated Press and published online, indicate that Majewski was in fact demoted for driving drunk at Kadena Air Base in Japan on Sept. 8 of that year while assigned to the 733rd Air Mobility Squadron there. “When you decided to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after indulging in intoxicating liquor you brought discredit upon yourself, \[733 AMS\], and the Air Force,” the disciplinary records, which were published in full by the AP, [state]() “Further misconduct by you of any type will not be tolerated.” In response to the Associated Press report, Majewski posted a photo of the memorandum of reprimand he received for the incident on Twitter, [stating](), “I'm not proud of it. I learned from it. I remain focused on the issues affecting Ohio, in 2022." https://twitter.com/JRMajewski/status/1575247236648341525 News of the discrepancy only compounds the questions swirling around Majewski’s military record following last week’s [revelation]() that, despite repeated claims on the campaign trail of seeing combat during the early years of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, that candidate only ever saw deployments to Japan and Qatar. Majewski had previously made [several]() [public statements]() about his ostensible tour of duty in Afghanistan. During the chaotic evacuation of Hamid Karzai International Airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of last year, he [tweeted](), “I’d gladly suit up and go back to Afghanistan tonight and give my best to save those Americans who were abandoned.” In [response]() to that initial report, Majewski claimed that, despite his status as a glorified plane loader at a rank just one notch above entry-level, his ostensible deployments to Afghanistan were “classified” and that the Associated Press article — based on his own military records — represented a “hit piece.” “I was in multiple bases in Afghanistan and the time frame is clear, in 2002,” Majewski [stated]() during a Friday press conference. “We flew in and out of the area of responsibility multiple times. It’s almost impossible for me to tell you where I was and on what day. That’s why my orders are listed as a classified location.” > [**Subscribe to Task & Purpose Today**]()**. Get the latest military news, entertainment, and gear in your inbox daily.** It’s unclear what the fallout of the revelations over Majewski’s military service might look like. Last week, House Republicans [pulled an almost $1 million ad spend]() slated for the Majewski campaign mere hours after the Associated Press disputed his claims. [According to Politico](), the funding was for ads targeting Majewski’s political opponent in the race. Despite the withdrawal of financial support, fellow members of the Ohio Republican party have [stayed mum]() on the consequences of the candidate’s misrepresentation of his service. But among active-duty service members and military veterans gearing up to vote in the midterm elections this November, the label of “stolen valor” — lying about or deliberately exaggerating the details of one’s military service — may end up hurting the Majewski campaign more than any claims of “classified” service can fix. “The No. 1 trope that comes out of people when they are either fabricating a military record or, in this case, embellishing a record is they fall back to, ‘It’s classified,’” former Air Force master sergeant and stolen valor investigator Ed Caffrey [told]() the Associated Press. “There’s no junior enlisted air transportation specialist who was doing something so secret that 20 years later it still needs to be classified.” ## The latest on Task & Purpose - [**‘Untethered’ Air Force general**]()**: ‘When you kill your enemy, every part of your life is better’** - **The Air Force’s** [**top recruiter**]() **is personally reviewing recruits’ hand tattoos so they can enlist** - **Political candidate accused of stolen valor claims his** [**deployments are ‘classified’**]() - **Tank warfare is** [**still relevant**]()**, even if the Russians suck at it** - **The best military field gear** **we’ve ever bought** **Want to write for Task & Purpose?**[ **Click here**]()**. Or check out the latest stories on**[ **our homepage.**]() ## Author Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Facebook]() [LinkedIn]() [Instagram]()