{"id":2629161,"date":"2026-07-13T13:51:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T17:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/usmc-flags-tennessee-candidate-as-incongruent-with-standards\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T13:58:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T17:58:00","slug":"usmc-flags-tennessee-candidate-as-incongruent-with-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/usmc-flags-tennessee-candidate-as-incongruent-with-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"USMC flags Tennessee candidate as &#8216;incongruent&#8217; with standards"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fusmc-flags-tennessee-candidate-as-incongruent-with-standards%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2629161&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Republican candidate in Tennessee\u2019s District 45, Brian stewart, highlights his Marine Corps service to bolster his campaign, portraying himself as disciplined and loyal. However, military records reveal that Stewart enlisted in the Marine Reserves in 1998 but left in 2000 under conditions indicating poor service, including a discharge characterized as &#8220;under other than honorable conditions,&#8221; and he was separated at the lowest rank of E-1 for failing to participate in training. The marine Corps confirmed his service was incongruent with standards and noted he is ineligible to reenlist. critics consider his claims of Marine service to be misleading or even a case of stolen valor, as he did not serve honorably. Stewart&#8217;s campaign and supporters have defended him by citing medical issues that allegedly cut short his service, but experts suggest his low discharge indicates significant service deficiencies. Despite this, Stewart remains a prominent figure in Tennessee politics, endorsed by groups like Americans for Prosperity and the AFC Victory fund, and often emphasizes his military background in campaigning.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tennessee\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"600\">Tennessee<\/a> Republican primary where every candidate is leaning on their military credentials, one state representative hopeful built his brand around his Marine Corps service. Running in Secretary of War Pete Hegseth\u2019s district, Brian Stewart\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brianstewartfortn.com\/\">campaign website<\/a>, mailers, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/christopher.b.stewart.31\/posts\/pfbid02em8dPeq3AQ3kJsSkN9vLxu2HDA8NA4JwHZbURZDz1Bg9fmGv7b9KNhVgbgXa4GCtl\">social media<\/a> emphasize his time in uniform as proof of discipline and loyalty, and a campaign promise to \u201cbe a watchdog for military families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marine-corps\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2183\">Marine Corps<\/a> records and interviews with military experts tell a different story. Stewart\u2019s service ended before he completed his reserve service obligation because of \u201cfailure to participate.\u201d He left the Marines as a private following a possible demotion. He is ineligible to reenlist, and the Marine Corps has stated that \u201cthe character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps standards.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4636898\/texan-armed-community-defense-for-leftists\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>This Texan led armed \u2018community defense\u2019 for leftists. Now he\u2019s serving 100 years behind bars<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4637261\/final-texas-antifa-cell-associate-sentenced-federal-terrorism-case\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Final antifa cell associate sentenced in federal terrorism case<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4635302\/trump-stock-dividends-crypto-trades-sec\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump made money, bought up stock from crypto companies after his SEC dropped cases against them<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stewart is running for state representative in Tennessee\u2019s District 45, which covers Sumner County, just north of Nashville. Stewart\u2019s campaign identifies him as a conservative businessman, Marine, and community leader.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\">Mailers by Brian Stewart\u2019s Campaign leaning on his Marine service.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/Brian-Stewart-mailers.jpg?w=696&#8243; height=&#8221;517&#8243; width=&#8221;1024&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mailers by Brian Stewart\u2019s campaign leaning on his Marine service.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt would be the equivalent of saying that you were a college graduate when you in fact had flunked out after your freshman year,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/people\/mark-f-cancian\">Mark Cancian<\/a>, a retired colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves and Senior Adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the<em> Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cIt is misleading, even though you had attended college.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Military records, obtained exclusively by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, show that Stewart enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in October 1998 and left in August 2000, serving for less than 36 months. The report lists his character of service as \u201cunder other than honorable conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s the lowest discharge you can get, short of being court-martialed,\u201d Cancian explained. \u201cYou have to really have had unsatisfactory service to get a discharge at that low level.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Marine Corps issued a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>about the nature of the candidate\u2019s discharge: \u201cStewart\u2019s premature discharge and rank at separation indicate that the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps standards. Due to privacy and administrative regulations, further details are not releasable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/military\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"266\">Military<\/a> files on Stewart show that the candidate was asked to leave the Corps due to \u201cfailure to participate.\u201d Cancian explained that Stewart was in a reserve unit. He went to boot camp, infantry school, and then got to go back to his hometown and drill with his reserve unit. Training typically occurs one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe apparently didn\u2019t show up for drills,\u201d Cancian said. \u201cHe was supposed to be there for training, didn\u2019t show up, and eventually they tossed him out.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marine personnel confirm that Stewart completed his initial training, was never deployed, and separated at the rank of E\u20111 (Private), the lowest enlisted rank in the Marine Corps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe fact that he remained at E-1 meant that either he was not promoted, which means that someone decided that he was not ready for increased responsibilities,\u201d Cancian said. \u201cOr he was promoted and was then demoted for some behavior or disciplinary reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Discharge papers show Stewart is not eligible to reenlist in the Corps. A letter sent to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> indicates \u201cno active duty was performed other than for training purposes,\u201d making Stewart ineligible for classification as a qualified veteran under the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit program. Stewart posted a picture of himself \u2014 on his personal and campaign Facebook page \u2014 to celebrate Veterans\u2019 Day and received many comments thanking him for his service.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\">Brian Stewart posted a picture of himself to celebrate Veteran\u2019s Day and received many comments thanking him for his service. (Brian Stewart\/Facebook)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/Brian-Stewart-Veterans-Day.jpg?w=696&#8243; height=&#8221;529&#8243; width=&#8221;1024&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brian Stewart posted a picture of himself to celebrate Veterans\u2019 Day and received many comments thanking him for his service. (Brian Stewart\/Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s no question saying \u2018U.S. Marine\u2019 implies honorable service, and of course, he did not have honorable service,\u201d Cancian said. \u201cThis is an instance of stolen valor because he is claiming a level of service to the nation that he did not in fact perform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bob Davis, who is helping Brian Stewart with his campaign, was asked by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> if the candidate had any response to the Marines\u2019 statement on his service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHis folks and his family have served in the military,\u201d Davis said. \u201cHe had an irregular heartbeat, he had a thyroid that he had, you know, part of his thyroid taken out. So, it cut his service short. But man loves his country, he loves his community, loves his family, no question about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked how a medical issue would explain the Marine Corps\u2019 statement, Davis instead suggested the other candidates in the primary should be looked into.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s just your response,\u201d Davis said. \u201cYou know, that\u2019s my response right there.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cancian did not believe Davis\u2019s response was a reasonable explanation of the discharge. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s nothing in the documentation about <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/health\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"139\">health<\/a> problems, and if he had health problems, that would be perfectly fine,\u201d Cancian said. \u201cThey would have either given him a medical discharge\u2026 or they would excuse him from training for a while until he got his health back together. I can say with some assurance that if it were a health problem, he would not have this kind of bad paper.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>also pulled the service records of the two other candidates in the races, Chris Hughes and John Gentry, and asked Cancian to compare them with Stewart\u2019s records.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large\">Campaign mailers paid for by AFC and AFP leaning on Stewart\u2019s Marine service and calling him a father, though he has no children.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/Mailers-AFP.jpg?w=696&#8243; height=&#8221;517&#8243; width=&#8221;1024&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Campaign mailers paid for by the AFC Victory Fund and Americans for Prosperity leaning on Brian Stewart\u2019s Marine service and calling him a father, though he has no children.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cStewart was thrown out of the Marine Corps for not coming to training and possibly other problems as well,\u201d Cancian said. \u201cThe other two candidates, I\u2019m looking at Hughes here. He was an Army captain, service honorable in the late 1990s. The other candidate, this is Gentry, served in the Marine Corps. He rose to E5 \u2014 that\u2019s a sergeant \u2014 at the end of eight years, and that\u2019s what you would expect. And sergeant is a fairly responsible position, and he was also in a force recon company, which is a Marine Corps element of Special Forces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the campaign trail, Stewart describes himself broadly as a Marine veteran, a label that carries significant weight with Republican primary voters, especially in Hegseth\u2019s district, and has also gotten him the endorsement of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afcvf.com\/\">AFC Victory Fund<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/americansforprosperity.org\/\">Americans for Prosperity<\/a>. Many of the mailers AFP sent out lean heavily on Stewart\u2019s Marine service. One AFP mailer even calls Stewart a father, though Stewart has no children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cObviously, this wasn\u2019t put out by the Brian Stewart campaign,\u201d Davis said. \u201cSo, you\u2019d have to ask AFP whatever their response is. We try to keep our stuff pretty accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4641805\/radical-socialist-democrats-pretend-blue-collar-allies\/\"><strong>IN FOCUS \u2014 WORKING-CLASS ZEROES: RADICAL SOCIALIST DEMOCRATS PRETEND TO BE BLUE-COLLAR ALLIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tori Venable, AFP State PAC Senior Advisor, said in a statement to <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>: \u201cWe are aware of the printing mistake and corrections have already been made. This doesn\u2019t change the fact that AFP State PAC supports Brian Stewart, because he is a no-nonsense, Conservative leader that is needed in the Tennessee General Assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>has reached out to Hegseth for comment and has yet to hear back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tennessee candidate touts Marine service despite limited record<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2745,"featured_media":2629162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Brian-Stewart-and-Pete-feature-image.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[82659,82661,82660,6651,22630],"class_list":["post-2629161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-flag-standards","tag-incongruent","tag-military-conduct","tag-tennessee","tag-usmc"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Brian-Stewart-and-Pete-feature-image.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2745"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2629161"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2629174,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2629161\/revisions\/2629174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2629162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2629161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2629161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2629161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}