The state Republican Party is calling on Democratic U.S. House candidate Jim Hunt to pull his TV ad, saying it violates a Defense Department directive on military personnel in campaigns.

But Hunt, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Montana Army National Guard, said Wednesday he doesn't think he violated any rules and won't be removing the ad.

"I've taken a look at (the directive), and I don't believe we violated it," he said. "We are in compliance with all election laws."

He also chided his potential opponent, U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., for making a false accusation -- although the charge came from the state party rather than Rehberg.

"I'm not going to let a guy who never served a single day in the uniform of our country lecture me about whether I'm doing something wrong with my status as a retired military officer," Hunt said.

Hunt is one of three Democrats in the June 3 primary election, vying for the chance to challenge Rehberg this fall. The others are Robert Candee, a Richey farmer, and John Driscoll, a former state legislator and public service commissioner from Helena.

Republican Party Executive Director Jake Eaton, an Army National Guard veteran of the Iraq War, leveled the charge against Hunt on Tuesday, saying Hunt's ad, campaign Web site and press releases violate a February 2008 directive from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The directive says any candidate who mentions his or her military rank or appears in uniform in political material must place a disclaimer on the material, saying neither the Department of Defense nor the branch of the military endorses the candidate.

Hunt's TV ad, which began airing Sunday night on stations across Montana, briefly shows him in uniform as a guardsman and mentions his status as a retired lieutenant colonel. It had no disclaimer.

The ad focuses on oil and health-care policy, with Hunt saying he won't "take a dime from big oil" interests and won't accept federal health care as a congressman until he secures health care for all Montanans.

His Web site also shows pictures of Hunt in uniform as a guardsman.

Eaton said at least one of Hunt's press releases within the past month have listed Hunt's Guard rank without noting he is retired -- another violation of the directive.

"As a veteran of the Iraq War and a former member of the Montana Army National Guard, I am extremely disappointed in Mr. Hunt's blatant abuse of Department of Defense policies," Eaton said.

"The fact that he didn't even take the time to research this is an unsettling precedent, as to his abilities to serve in Congress," Eaton added. "It's time for Jim Hunt to immediately remove his television ad and Web site from the public eye until he can prove to Montanans he will play by the rules."

Hunt said he'll take a closer look at the Defense Department directive, which came out just three months ago, but that he has no plans at this time to change the TV ad or his Web site.

The Republican Party's accusation is an attempt to divert attention from Rehberg's poor record on funding services for military veterans, Hunt said.

"I'm ready for the conversation about who is going to better serve veterans in this state, because I clearly think it's me," he said.