Some thoughts on Eric Greitens (as a fellow veteran). It’s ridiculous that he’s getting a second chance with the Navy (and ultimately in politics). He dishonored the Governor’s officer and has dishonored the uniform. 1/11

My military career was anything but successful. Like many poor Black kids, I saw military service as my way out of my small town and hopefully toward a better life. But I didn’t handle the the freedoms well. I racked up debt (so easy to get credit cards in the service)... 2/11

I didn’t fully understand chain of command (I grew up with very few boundaries), and I made a few mistakes. I served during the Clinton administration and this was a time they were giving bonuses to people to retire early. It was a huge period of reduction of force. 3/11

That meant, any small thing could end your service career. During a routine inspection of the barracks, it was discovered that I had equipment in my room without having a proper hand receipt. 4/11

I was a firefighter and many of us would go rock climbing on our days off, so it wasn’t uncommon for us to use harnesses and other gear from surplus for personal use (not right, but not a war crime). 5/11

Well, given my other infractions, I was “given the opportunity” to end my enlistment early. I still remember my commander saying to me, “Look, you’re obviously not going to make a career of this, so if you want out early, let’s go our separate ways.” 6/11

The downside was that I wasn’t going to be awarded an “Honorable Discharge,” in fact, my official designation was “General: Under honorable conditions.” But there was a silver lining... 7/11

My commander told be that I could get my life together & petition to have my discharge reclassified to “Honorable.” But, I didn’t think my post-USAF maturity should influence my time in service. There are men & women who served honorably, & that was reserved for them. 8/11

“General: Under honorable condition” was the consequence of my immaturity and, in all honesty, represented where I was during the 3.5 years of service. 9/11

What aggravates me about Greitens is that he avoids consequences and we have a system that enables him to do so. Just as I lost my chance to serve our country, truly with honor, he’s lost his chance to serve our country (as a serviceman or an elected official). 10/11

Sure, he can run again, but the decision would be the people’s. But just as I didn’t petition to have my service record amended, we cannot accept revisionist history from Greitens. True leadership is about accountability and owning our consequences. 11/11