Retired US Lt. Col. Kevin Blaser spoke out on Wednesday about his dismissal from the Tennessee Air National Guard, describing it as a “death sentence.”
Speaking with Military.com, Blaser, though he said he blames himself for the lapse in judgement that led to disciplinary action, believes he deserved a reprimand, not the end of his career.
“My analogy to all of this is I ran a stop sign,” he told the publication. “I should have probably stopped the ceremony. That was bad judgement, I 100 percent admit that… I was given a death sentence.”
On April 13, Blaser was asked to conduct a reenlistment ceremony for Master Sergeant Robin Brown, a public affairs specialist with the Tennessee National Guard state headquarters at the time. Brown surprised Blaser by opting to wear a dinosaur puppet on her hand as she recited the oath. When Blaser saw Brown sporting the puppet, he decided to just go along with it.
“I was very well aware she's a single mom with three young ones at home,” Blaser explained. “She wanted to make a video for her young children to understand the significance of what ‘mom' was doing.”
According to Blaser, Brown also intended to honor the Month of the Military Child, April, which the Defense Department website describes as “a time to applaud military families and their children for the daily sacrifices they make and the challenges they overcome.”
Three days after the video was filmed,…
