from a senior Pentagon planning post to a lesser position, which effectively ended his naval career. The Navy Times had previously reported the transfer resulted from Sestak forcing subordinates to work unreasonable hours. However, Sestak himself disputed that accusation and attributed the transfer to the fact that the new top officer, Admiral Michael Mullen, simply wanted to appoint his own team. Sestak called on Specter to stop broadcasting the commercial, accusing the Senator of "Republican-style" negative campaign tactics, which he compared to those used against Senator John Kerry by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth during the 2004 presidential election. Sestak said in a statement, "It's time to tell Arlen Specter: Democrats don't 'swift boat'. We're better than that." A group of veterans gathered in Philadelphia to echo Sestak's call that the commercial should be removed, with retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Robert E. Kelley announcing, "We're all here because we're enraged at the fact that someone, anyone, in the United States today would question someone who has 30 years of service." Specter's campaign replied they would not remove the commercial because it was accurate, and instead called on Sestak to remove his advertisement, claiming it violated United States Department of Defense guidelines because it used military images, references, and jargon without a disclaimer that the department did not endorse it. Sestak gains in closing weeks Sestak and Specter held their first and only televised debate on May 1 at Philadelphia's Fox affiliate. The two candidates bitterly attacked each other's character and honesty. The two began arguing even before the hour-long debate formally began, when Sestak objected to Specter's use of notes and said that the rules did not allow them. The debate organizer ruled that the notes were allowed. Specter criticized Sestak for campaign advertisements that accused the Senator of lying about Sestak's record. Specter said, "Nobody has ever called me a liar," and demanded an apology, to which Sestak did not respond. Specter also repeatedly asked Sestak to publicly release his military records, to which Sestak again refused to respond. Sestak accused Specter of using Republican-style tactics in the vein of Karl Rove, a former adviser to George W. Bush, and said Specter's attacks were meant to mask his record of supporting Bush's failed economic policies. Specter insisted the questions raised about Sestak's naval record were legitimate because much of Sestak's campaign was based on his