CHICAGO, June 3 (UPI) -- Mark Kirk, the Republican congressman running for U.S. Senate in Illinois, apologized Thursday for misstatements about his military record.
In a meeting with the Chicago Tribune editorial board, Kirk blamed most of the errors on an effort to convert military terminology into "civilian-speak." He promised to release his military fitness reports.
Kirk is running against Democratic state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias for the seat formerly held by President Obama. A longtime member of the Navy Reserve, he has continued to serve active-duty deployments while in Congress.
His military record came into question when he acknowledged he had not been named Navy intelligence officer of the year while in Kosovo. His unit, based in Italy, was awarded a citation by a professional group that same year.
He has since admitted other embellishments, including suggesting wrongly he participated in Operation Desert Storm and that he had come under fire during a reconnaissance mission.
"I am sorry, absolutely," Kirk said. "You should speak with utter precision. You should stand on the documented military record. In public discourse, for high office, you should make sure that there is a degree of complete rigorous precession."
