ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE - The battle for Middle Georgia's 8th Congressional District seat - already rife with allegations of lying and misrepresentation - has a new controversy.

The latest flap deals with Republican challenger Mac Collins' visit to Robins Air Force Base on Saturday and his remarks during a breakfast honoring retired military and civilian workers.

Doug Moore, press aide to incumbent Democrat Jim Marshall, has called for an investigation, saying Collins clearly violated Defense Department guidelines prohibiting campaigning on military installations.

"Mac Collins doesn't come to Robins five weeks before an election unless it's a political event," Moore said during a telephone interview.

Drawing a parallel with the current scandal embroiling a Florida congressman, Moore said, "The only people who would believe Mac's visit wasn't a political event are the same people who believe politics weren't behind the Republican leadership's cover-up of the (Mark) Foley e-mails."

Foley, who resigned from office last week, sent sexually explicit e-mails to teenage male pages.

Ted Prill, Collins' campaign manager, dismissed Moore's charges, claiming Collins' visit to Robins was merely to show his appreciation for retired veterans and base workers.

"He hadn't intended to speak. He was the private guest of three or four people," Prill said, "but he was recognized because he's a 12-year member of Congress who helped save Robins from the BRAC list in 1993 and 1995."

Collins gave up his House seat in 2004 in an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate.

Prill said feedback he has received from Robins indicates Collins' presence at the breakfast and his remarks did not violate regulations.

"Mac made some comments on the need for homeland security and thanked the retired vets and base workers for their service," the Collins aide said.

"I understand from the base that there is nothing wrong with that. Jim (Marshall) is just getting worried and trying to take every shot he can."

Robins officials confirmed they believe no regulations were violated, although they said Collins was not invited by the installation commander.

Defense Department ground rules strictly prohibit the use of military installations and resources for political purposes. Specifically forbidden are "campaigning, political speeches and distribution of leaflets on military installations."

In a statement e-mailed to The Telegraph, 1st Lt. Sequoiya Franks, a Robins spokeswoman, said, "To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Collins made no comments in reference to his political campaign or the upcoming elections. Mr. Collins was allowed the same base access as any other unofficial visitor."

Doug Silvia, a military retiree living in Macon, takes issue with the base's viewpoint and the assessment from the Collins camp. Silvia, who describes himself as a Republican who supports Marshall, said he was "totally shocked" to see Collins at the breakfast.

"He shouldn't have been there. He shouldn't have been speaking," Silvia said. "It was political. He was speaking about his policies, his views, illegal aliens and all that other stuff. He knew what he was doing was wrong. He made the statement that he didn't want to get too much into politics, but he was going to say what he wanted to say."

Arrangements for the visit reportedly began with a call from a Collins staffer to Ernest Munson, the Robins retiree affairs office director and sponsor for the event. The call came late on Friday, the day before the breakfast.

"It was about 4 in the afternoon and they asked if it would be all right if Gen. (Rick) Goddard brought Mac Collins to the breakfast," Munson recalled. "I said yes. I can't tell the general who not to bring. I didn't think it was a big deal. If I had known before 4 o'clock that he was coming, I probably would have called Jim Marshall's office and asked them to send a representative."

Goddard, a retired Air Force major general and former Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander, said a Collins staff member asked if he would escort the candidate.

Goddard's wife, Judy, chairs the Houston County Republican Party.

"I really didn't know about the retiree event," Goddard said. "So I had absolutely no impact on inviting Mac or requesting somebody to accept him. Zero. But I did accompany him."

Upon arrival, Goddard said, the two chatted with Munson, had breakfast, then Munson got up and "out of the blue" asked him to introduce Collins.

"I really didn't want to do that, but it was an awkward situation," the retired general said.

"I got up and said I wanted to introduce a good friend of mine who is a good friend of the military."

He said Collins' first words were he couldn't campaign on base and that he was only there to tell them thanks for their service.

"He said the country has a challenge, the military will be at the front of that and God bless them all," Goddard added. "And that's about it."

Munson echoed Goddard's recollection, although he said he felt like he was caught in the middle. "However, had I thought he (Collins) was saying anything inappropriate, I would have stopped him," the retired chief master sergeant said. "But he didn't criticize Marshall or the base."