Wes Moore’s Former Army Supervisor Says Maryland Governor Never Led Troops in Combat

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is facing new questions about his military record this Veterans Day, after the Army officer who supervised him in Afghanistan publicly disputed the Democrat’s long-repeated account of leading soldiers in combat.

Retired Lt. Col. James “Jamie” Gottschling, Moore’s immediate supervisor during his 2005-2006 deployment, told Spotlight on Maryland in an exclusive interview published Sunday that Moore never led soldiers in combat and had no troops assigned to him.

For years, Moore has described his deployment as the experience of an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper who led soldiers in combat. Gottschling said Moore’s “service in Afghanistan was good,” but that he was “not a paratrooper,” and he urged the governor to “be honest” about his role.

Gottschling also said Moore did not train with the brigade before it deployed and did not conduct training jumps. According to Spotlight, records show Moore was at Military Police training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for much of the brigade’s train-up period. Military records reviewed by the outlet describe Moore as a lieutenant assigned as a brigade headquarters staff officer, and they show no evidence that he experienced firefights.

Gottschling’s most damaging claim concerns the medal at the center of the controversy. He said Moore’s end-of-tour award was the Army Commendation Medal, not the Bronze Star.

That is a problem for Moore. In 2006, he told a White House fellowship selection committee that he had received a Bronze Star, a claim that went uncorrected for nearly 20 years. After The New York Times and The Associated Press reported in 2024 that he had not received the medal, Moore called the claim an “honest mistake.” The Bronze Star was formally presented to him in 2024, nearly two decades after his deployment.

In October, Spotlight reported that the Pentagon had cited a “law enforcement inquiry” in connection with records tied to Moore’s Bronze Star. The Department of War has also criticized the governor, calling him “a perfect example of a politician who inflates his resume in hopes no one notices.”

The doubts go beyond Afghanistan. Spotlight reviewed Moore’s personnel file and found that the Army paid $25,626 in tuition for him to attend Valley Forge Military Academy on an ROTC scholarship. He was then scheduled to report to his officer basic course in June 2001. His Army training transcript shows he never reported. The Army told the outlet it found no waiver in his records that would have allowed further delays.

Moore did not respond when Spotlight offered him a sit-down interview to dispute Gottschling’s statements or any of its earlier reporting.
The governor has pushed back hard in the past, dismissing earlier reporting as “right-wing drivel” and a “political hit job.” He has also said publicly that he has “nothing to hide” and that the 82nd Airborne Division does not question his service.

Moore, widely mentioned as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender, did volunteer for service and did deploy to a war zone. But with his former supervisor now on the record, critics say the governor owes voters a straight answer about what he actually did there.