A Texas native, Ronny Jackson, who is a retired naval officer and served as the president’s physician under Donald Trump and Barack Obama, was retroactively demoted by the Navy in 2022 for misconduct during his White House tenure.
However, despite the quiet title change of retired Navy rear admiral to retired Navy captain that flew under the radar, Jackson has continued going by his former rank on his congressional website.
“As a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral with nearly three decades of military service,” the site reads, “I understand the commitment and sacrifices made by servicemen and servicewomen to serve our country.”
In 2021 after an extensive investigation by the Department of Defense, Jackson was found to have mistreated colleagues during his time with the White House Medical Unit. His actions included; making sexual and degrading statements about a female subordinate, drinking alcohol while on the job, and taking Ambien while on duty as the president’s physician.
The Department of Defense stated that 56-year old Jackson should be demoted to retired Navy captain after the report was released from the investigation. It was also said that he should not receive the amount of pension afforded to retired rear admirals any longer.
Katherine L. Kuzminski, a military policy expert at Center for a New American Security, said, “Jackson should know better than to continue characterizing himself as a retired admiral. While it is possible that others will mistakenly refer to him as ‘Admiral’ in perpetuity. He himself should not make that mistake.”
In 2021, Jackson clapped-back at the accusations and said they were a political hit to his job. He also said the Department of Defense reported false allegations from his years working in the Obama Administration because he had refused to turn his back against Donald Trump.
