I can’t stand this whole “war hero” thing when we are talking about behind the scenes pencil pushers. The true heros are the guys with their fingers in a trigger guard or the ones in the breach supporting them. I don’t know Vidman’s history too well but I do know he entered the service out of college as an officer.
He was injured by a roadside IED. No heroics. Just bad luck. A Purple Heart says nothing about a person’s courage, let alone their honesty.
Need to add: Physical courage and moral courage are separate things. Lots of physically brave men have been willing to do bad things to make money or advance their careers. The corrupt politicians following the Civil War often had outstanding and genuinely heroic war records. Didn’t stop them from robbing the taxpayer though.
I spent most of my adult life in the military. It doesn’t make me a foreign policy expert. And while I am pretty honest, my being in the military had nothing to do with my being honest. I had a number of commanders I would not have bought a used car from.
Vindman served only 10 years as an Infantry officer. He rode over an IED and got a PH just like any REMF supply type. He has spent 20 plus years as a foreign affairs puke in DC.