Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry Condemns Website Questioning 'American Sniper' Military Record

AUSTIN, TX -- Former Gov. Rick Perry took to social media on Memorial Day to berate an online publisher that called into question the military record of the late Navy Seal Chris Kyle, believed to be the most prolific wartime sniper in history.

It all started five days ago when The Intercept published a piece about the number of awards Kyle was bestowed compared to the number he claimed having received in an autobiography. “All told,” Kyle wrote in his book, “I would end my career as a SEAL with two Silver Stars and five Bronze [Stars], all for valor.”

But through its research of military records, The Intercept found Kyle actually earned a single Silver Star and three Bronze Stars in the course of his 10-year military service, the site reported, citing "...a record confirmed by Navy officials."

Perry didn't take too kindly to The Intercept's assertions. He penned a damning editorial on the Fox News website condemning the publisher, demanding a retraction of the story (even though it appears to be factually based).

In his criticism of The Intercept, Perry pulled no punches.

"Despite the high regard in which Americans have held the military for generations, there is a lot about the military that those who haven’t served don’t quite understand," Perry began calmly enough.

Then he unleashed his fury, likening the website and other media outlet who dare criticize a "bona fide American hero" as little more than slithering snakes.

"The most recent snake to peek its head up from the muck is a writing team for a leftwing [sic] publication whoswe only knowledge of the military was likely acquired while Googling derogatory slogans to scrawl on protest signs," Perry wrote.

"In a stunning display of inadequate research, slanted interpretation of valid data and some overly dramatic language, The Intercept, little more than a click-hungry website, took aim at the reputation of a bona fide American hero."

Perry took issue with The Intercept's conclusions, citing different medal counts depending on the source: "At issue was a disparity between Kyle’s account in his book, “American Sniper,” records obtained from a seemingly indifferent Navy through a Freedom of Information Act request and Kyle’s official DD-214. The first mentioned two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars, the Navy recalled one Silver Star and 3 Bronze Stars and the DD-214 credited him with TWO Silver Stars and SIX Bronze Stars."

Perry's own conclusion is markedly different from that of The Intercept: "If there is any inaccuracy in Kyle’s account it’s that he didn’t take ENOUGH credit for his awards," he wrote in his Fox News editorial.

Perry bases his own conclusion on the assessment of Kyle's DD Form 214, referred to as a "DD 214" in the military parlance, which is the U.S. Department of Defense document issued upon a military service member's retirement, separation or discharge.

"As any veteran will tell you, a DD-214 is THE definitive record of a person’s time in the military, used to prove the authenticity, duration and character of said service," Perry wrote. "The official name for the form is Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and veterans learn early on to keep a copy handy. In separation briefings, service members are carefully coached to review it thoroughly because, once it’s filed, it’s filed."

But Perry doesn't stop there, instead positing The Intercept piece as another example of a concerted effort by the "left-leaning press" to disparage or diminish the service of military personnel.

"This article is part of a disturbing trend in the left-leaning press to undermine the heroism of men and women who are willing to risk their lives in the defense of our nation’s freedom," Perry asserted.

Somehow, in an editorial focusing on a disagreement over the number of military medals awarded, Perry managed to blame Obama for the fracas.

"Perhaps it’s a byproduct of nearly eight years of an arch-liberal in the Oval Office combined with an American population increasingly disconnected from the men and women who serve in the military," he said.

Essentially, "Thanks, Obama," Perry seemed to convey.

And Perry, again, didn't stop there. He demanded a retraction of the article -- a deletion, really -- and an official reprimand of the Navy personnel who provided military documents to The Intercept in preparation of its story.

"I am calling on people of conscience to join me in calling for the retraction and deletion of the offending article and reprimand of the Navy personnel who have fed this misperception with their lackadaisical handling of the original information request," Perry wrote, with palpable umbrage.

He addressed the contradiction (and no measure of irony) in his call for a retraction and punishment to the document providers. After all, freedom of press is among the rights and American ideals that those in the military fight to preserve.

"This request might seem odd from someone who is committed to the constitutional freedoms our military fights to defend, but freedom of speech and deliberate libel are two entirely different things," Perry writes in reconciling the apparent contradition.

"To honor the memory of an American hero, the latter cannot be tolerated," he writes in ending his missive.

After graduating college in 1972, Perry was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force, completing his pilot training two years later. He was then assigned as a C-130 pilot to the 772nd Tactical Airlift Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, according to Wikipedia.

Perry's duties included two-month overseas rotations at RAF Mildenhall in England and Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany, Wikipedia continues. His missions included a 1974 U.S. State Department drought relief effort in Mali, Mauritania and Chad, and two years later, earthquake relief in Guatemala.

Chris Kyle is widely regarded as the most prolific military sniper of all time, although his total number of kills also is elusive. HarperCollins, the publisher for his autobiography "American Sniper," previously stated that "The Pentagon has officially confirmed more than 160 of Kyle's kills (the previous American record was 109), but it has declined to verify the astonishing total number for this book."

In his autobiography, Kyle addressed the discrepancy: "The Navy credits me with more kills as a sniper than any other American service member, past or present. I guess that's true. They go back and forth on what the number is. One week, it's 160 (the 'official' number as of this writing, for what that's worth), then it's way higher, then it's somewhere in between. If you want a number, ask the Navy—you may even get the truth if you catch them on the right day."

Kyle was the subject of "American Sniper," a film adaptation of his autobiograpy starring Bradley Cooper in the title role that became the most successful war movie of all time. The film was released after Kyle's murder by an acquaintance Eddie Ray Routh at a shooting range near Chalk Mountain, Texas. A former Marine suffering from PTSD, Routh was found guilty in the fatal shooting and is now serving a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.