Records show Robinson honorably discharged from Army, misstated service timetable in memoir

Military records obtained by Anderson Alerts support Robinson's assertion that he was honorably discharged. But his service record itself and representation of it is more complicated.

As a young adult, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson participated in the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program. (photo courtesy of North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson)

Buried in a 16-page defamation lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s attorneys made a bit of news about the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s background that has long flown under the radar and evaded political operatives looking into his past.

“After graduating high school, Mark Robinson joined the Army Reserve and served until 1993, when he was honorably discharged,” the lawsuit says.

It’s a statement that stands in contrast to personal accounts from Robinson on his length of service and public reporting on the timeframe Robinson had served in the military.

Records obtained exclusively by Anderson Alerts show Robinson was indeed honorably discharged, albeit with a complicated tenure in the military. The documents also reveal Robinson has publicly misstated the timetable of his military service, including in his memoir.