Tim Sheehy violates Naval Honor Code

In 2004, Minnesota’s Tim Sheehy signed the Naval Academy’s midshipmen’s Oath of Office and Honor Code which say he wouldn’t “lie, steal or cheat,” and would do his “duty and to live honorably.” 

 Nineteen years later, that same Tim Sheehy announced running for Montana’s U.S. Senate seat. Based upon the number of lies he’s told the press and people of Montana, Sheehy not only had abandoned Minnesota in pursuit of political power, he also abandoned his Midshipman’s Oath and Honor Codes.  

As an Eisenhower Republican and a proud veteran, I strive to live by a similar oath and honor code. But Sheehy’s long list of prevarications make him unworthy of my vote and the office he seeks. 

Sheehy stated he grew up “rural” in Minnesota. Actually, he grew up in a suburb of St. Paul, in a multimillion-dollar lakeside house. 

Sheehy has made his military service central to his campaign. But, when Sheehy left active duty in 2014, records show he was discharged with an “involuntary separation” after failing to earn promotion to the next rank. 

He claimed on a podcast that he’d been a Navy SEAL from 2004 to 2014. Impossible since he didn’t graduate from the Naval Academy until 2008.

Sheehy also claimed he’d parachuted into Glacier Park during Seal training — which the Park Service says not only didn’t happen to him, it is not allowed at all. 

Sheehy talks about a badge of honor, a bullet he claimed was lodged in his arm in Afghanistan. He’s told so many different stories about this that it makes your head spin. 

Sheehy has said he “lied” to a Glacier National Park ranger about accidentally shooting himself in his arm in the park in October 2015 — claimed he’d gotten shot in Afghanistan instead. The park ranger last week said Sheehy wasn’t shot in Afghanistan — that Sheehy signed a statement and paid a fine for shooting himself in Glacier Park — all verified by park records. 

In another questionable story, Sheehy said he used his “life savings” to start Bridger Aerospace, but records show he received considerable assistance from his father and brother, a Wall Street financier. 

He also sold $160 million in bonds, telling bond buyers their funds would be used to buy more special firefighting planes and build hangars. But he then used the bond proceeds to buy out the Bridger stock of a hedge fund, enriching himself by consolidating his Bridger ownership and that of his brother.  

As to the honor code, recently Sheehy said, “I’m a war hero, a job creator and a philanthropist.”  

Well, I’ve been out of Vietnam for 55 years, and I’ve never heard a single Vietnam veteran call himself a “war hero.” My father fought in World War II and was awarded two Distinguished Service Medals, the French and Italian Medals of Honor, two Silver Stars and seven Purple Hearts. I never once heard him say “I’m a war hero.” But Sheehy claims it. Narcissistic, maybe, but not exactly the honor code. 

Sheehy also made repeated remarks invoking racist stereotypes about Montana Native Americans being “drunk at 8 a.m.” and throwing beer cans at him on the Crow reservation. When pushed to the wall on this, Sheehy said he was man enough to apologize, but still has not actually apologized to First Montanans. 

Midshipmen’s honor is not limited to only lying, cheating or stealing. The moral and ethical standards imbued in midshipmen at the Naval Academy should stay with them for life! But not Tim Sheehy. 

These are just some of the reasons this Republican and Veteran will vote for Sen. Jon Tester, not Tim Sheehy.

Mick Ringsak is a Vietnam veteran and former President George W. Bush’s appointee for Region 8 SBA administrator. He lives in Butte.