Mike McCalister, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, violated U.S. Army regulations by wearing his uniform to a political fundraiser — a move that further fuels the criticisms of veterans and service members who say he’s misleading voters to seem like more of a soldier than he ever was.

A retired colonel in the Army Reserve, McCalister has made his military record central to his campaign, launching the political newcomer into the top tier of Republican candidates.

But his website and campaign speeches have been full of so many strong-sounding claims that he’s now drawing fire from former subordinates, a high-ranking general at United Special Operations Command in Tampa and the veterans group Stolen Valor. The group obtained photographs of McCalister wearing his ceremonial uniform at Feb. 16 fundraiser, the Highland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner.

“The retiree is not authorized to wear his uniform to political events,” said U.S. Army spokesman Troy Rolan. He cited regulations that say current and former service members should wear the uniform only to ceremonial events, such as Memorial Day.

“This is inappropriate,” said Ed Maxwell, a Jensen Beach Vietnam veteran and member of Stolen Valor, a nonpartisan group of vets committed to blowing the whistle on candidates who misrepresent their service.

“He’s exploiting his military service and he’s embellishing it. It’s improper,” Maxwell said. “It [the uniform] shouldn’t be used in a political setting. It shouldn’t be used for commercial purpose.”

Maxwell, like nearly all of McCalister’s military critics, is a Republican who’s not supporting one of the other candidates, including Adam Hasner, George LeMieux and Craig Miller.

McCalister, 59, has refused to answer specific questions from reporters and Stolen Valor about his record. His campaign called Stolen Valor a “front group” but failed to provide any evidence.

After vets complained, his campaign changed his website to no longer say he was a “special operations colonel” — a nonexistent title that could lead someone to believe he was in the Special Forces. He wasn’t.

McCalister had also claimed he once “testified before Congress” on a national security matter. He then claimed he never said he testified. After The Miami Herald noted the misstatement by producing video, he issued a letter to supporters saying he was being nitpicked.

“Although I didn’t recall saying it when asked by the reporter, I did say that I testified,” McCalister admitted. He went on to say that, when he served at SOCOM at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, he accompanied Lieutenant Gen. W. P. Tangney, to a hearing as an expert.

“I sat under the bright Capitol lights with General Tangney, who relied upon my research and counsel to give accurate testimony to Congress,” McCalister wrote. “Although I wasn’t the person sitting behind the microphone, my position on the team was integral to the mission and I considered it our testimony, and the testimony of the United States military, which I so proudly served in for 33 years."

Tangney, however, doesn’t remember it that way — and he barely recalls McCalister.

“He could’ve been in the back of the room someplace holding a briefcase. There were no ‘bright lights.’… It’s a gross embellishment and exaggeration, if he was indeed even there,” Tangney said. He said McCalister’s statement “sounds like he had a position of prominence and importance. And he didn’t.”