Chandler vice mayor OD Harris only served 16 months but highlights veteran status

Chandler Vice Mayor OD Harris often cites his military service at city meetings and in his reelection campaign. However, federal records show that Harris’ service was short, and some veterans question his claim of his military role for political gain.

The Arizona Republic asked Harris and other candidates with military backgrounds to provide a discharge document called a Form DD-214. It proves someone is a veteran and notes a person's rank, length of service and what type of discharge received.

Vets routinely share a copy if they’re running for office. Mike Simon, another Chandler candidate, provided his without issue. As did Scottsdale City Council candidate Steve Casares, Maricopa County recorder candidate Tim Stringham and former Tempe City Council contender David Lucier.

Harris objected, citing “private medical and financial information” on his form that “would take a fair amount of time” to redact. For weeks after that, he did not respond to half a dozen follow-up phone calls or two emails seeking clarification about his service.

Lucier called Harris' reasoning “baloney” because such private information isn’t on discharge papers. Casares said Harris isn't being transparent, adding, "I don't buy" the reasoning.

The Republic obtained a simplified version of Harris' military record form from the National Archives. It confirms that he was enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard in Michigan but that his service was unusually short. The document shows:

• Harris was enlisted for 16 months, in 1998 and 1999. National Guardsmen enlist for a period of at least two years, so Harris did not complete his full term.

• He left the service as a private, the lowest rank. Other veterans like Casares said that’s highly unusual because privates are eligible for promotion after six months, meaning enlistees often achieve a higher rank right after basic training.

• Harris' record shows no military education, which is the next step after basic training in which enlistees learn a specialty like being a mechanic.

• The conditions of his discharge were unclear. His military form only says "discharge" but does not note whether it was honorable or dishonorable.

Stringham, who is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, summed up Harris' service by saying “the story of this guy's military career is a guy who was in the Guard for a year and probably did basic training.”

The Republic reached out to multiple government agencies for additional details, but none provided more information.

The brevity of Harris' military career is a red flag for Lucier, an Army combat veteran who served from 1967 to 1969.

"If you don't make it to the two-year mark, there's something amiss," he said.

Harris has made being a military man part of his political persona. He frequently weaves his service into public comments at City Council meetings, and his campaign website promotes an image of him wearing his "Army veteran" hat.

Casares, who is a former assistant professor of leadership and ethics at West Point, said Harris’ use of his limited-service record in his political career is “extremely disrespectful” of those who have served a full term honorably.

“I do think it's unethical,” Casares said, who served nearly two decades in the Army and reached the rank of major. “If he's touting this on the campaign trail (and) only did (16 months) … I don't think it's appropriate. That's just me.”

Harris responded in an email to The Republic on Tuesday night.

"In the veteran community, the length of service does not define the value of one's service. Whether you served one day or were deployed or not, the mere fact that you signed the dotted line and were willing to give your life earns you the right to be called a veteran," Harris wrote. "I am extremely proud of my time in service, and I always fight for my fellow veterans and our United States of America."

The vice mayor did not provide any additional details about his military service.

Little known about Harris’ 16-month stint in the military

Harris began his stint in the Michigan National Guard in August 1998, the same month he turned 18. He enlisted in Lansing, Michigan, before going to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for basic training.

The National Archives form shows Harris left the service on December 30, 1999, after being stationed in Lansing as part of the 363rd Personnel Services Detachment. In total, he served 489 days — roughly eight months shy of the shortest enlistment term available to a member of the Army National Guard.

Beyond that, the National Archives’ record on Harris provides little information.

“You typically cannot get a contract that’s only a year long. So, what this tells me is that for some reason, he was discharged early before completing his contract period,” Stringham said.

The Republic tried multiple times to contact the Michigan Army National Guard, the Phoenix Veterans Affairs office, the Arizona Department of Veterans' Services and the National Archives for more information. Those agencies either couldn’t or wouldn’t provide it because much of a vet’s record isn’t public information.

Why was Harris' military service so short? Vets weigh in

Absent specifics, other vets and military experts raised questions about Harris' record.

Harris left as a private, meaning he never received a promotion. Most servicemen get bumped up to private second class, the second-lowest Army rank, after finishing their 180-day basic training course, according to multiple vets who spoke with The Republic.

How Harris was discharged would explain his service record, but the National Archives document doesn't specify.

The honorable discharge is the best and most common type, which is granted when an individual’s service meets military standards. A dishonorable discharge is extremely rare, accounting for less than a tenth of 1% of all discharges as of 2015 and is only used for serious crimes like desertion.

Harris' membership in the American Legion, a veterans' organization, rules out the possibility of a dishonorable discharge because that would have disqualified Harris from joining.

Other lesser-known discharge types fall in between those options. They include discharges because of injury or administrative discharges that happen when someone just doesn't make the cut.

Veterans who spoke to The Republic listed several circumstances that would normally lead to such discharges. They include a medical condition, some kind of misconduct not serious enough to warrant a dishonorable discharge, failing to meet physical fitness standards or failing to show up consistently early on in one's tenure.

The ethics of Harris’ claims

Stringham said there is “no one legal definition of veteran,” but Harris likely fits most of the standard definitions used by government offices and veterans’ organizations.

It’s unclear if he’s eligible for federal veterans' benefits, but he is a member in good standing with the American Legion Post 35, which verifies veterans' status before admitting them. Harris also says he has a veteran’s stamp on his driver’s license, which he offered to show The Republic in lieu of providing his discharge papers.

“In order to have my service noted on my driver’s license and license plates, the Arizona Department of Transportation receives my (veteran’s forms), so ADOT has already confirmed that I’ve served,” he wrote in an email to The Republic.

But vets like Casares point to the brevity of Harris' service and the lack of clarity about his service record to say he is abusing the label to bolster his political brand.

“If he's like touting 'I'm a veteran, I'm a veteran,' and there's no other documentation showing that (he) did do additional training … I think it's unethical,” said the former West Point professor, who added that he’s never seen a discharge form with as little substance as the one the National Archives provided about Harris.

“(It’s) disrespectful of individuals who served their time and received honorable discharges,” Casares added.

Lucier questioned Harris’ failure to provide his discharge documents to The Republic or answer questions about his enlistment, despite frequently talking about his veteran’s status.

Stringham said that the vice mayor might fear judgment from other veterans.

“Veterans are harsh on other veterans,” Stringham said. “If somebody was only in the Guard for a year … it's this kind of chauvinistic culture where you don't want to say, ‘I broke my leg and I got kicked out of the Guard after a year.’”

Reporter Sam Kmack covers Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Follow him on X @KmackSam or reach him at sam.kmack@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chandler council candidate OD Harris' military record remains unclear