{"id":69620,"date":"2022-08-26T14:56:11","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T14:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/08\/26\/will-pentagon-whistleblower-yevgeny-vindman-retire-as-a-colonel\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:05:20","slug":"will-pentagon-whistleblower-yevgeny-vindman-retire-as-a-colonel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/08\/26\/will-pentagon-whistleblower-yevgeny-vindman-retire-as-a-colonel\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Pentagon whistleblower Yevgeny Vindman retire as a colonel?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Supporters of Army Col. Yevgeny \u201cEugene\u201d Vindman<\/a> are pushing for the White House to allow the Pentagon whistleblower to retire at his current rank when he leaves the service Wednesday, properly recognizing the unfair treatment he received in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vindman <\/a>\u2014 the brother Alexander Vindman, a key witness in President Donald Trump\u2019s first impeachment trial \u2014 was demoted from his post<\/a> at the National Security Council in 2020 in what the Army inspector general later acknowledged was retaliation for speaking out against improper actions by Trump\u2019s administration.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vindman\u2019s promotion to colonel was delayed by more than a year, leaving him well short of the required three years to qualify for retirement at that rank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe seeks the pure honor of retiring as a colonel, which, by statute, would take President Joe Biden\u2019s waiver,\u201d the group Lawyers Defending American Democracy wrote in an open letter. \u201cA waiver would not raise his pension. Eugene seeks only the honor and recognition due for his service to the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t