Last week, GOP U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk seemed ready to face the music. After avoiding local reporters for over three weeks, he held a press conference to discuss the controversy surrounding his numerous resume embellishments, including false or exaggerated statements about his military record and teaching experience. 

"I have made mistakes concerning certain aspects of my accomplishments and experiences," he said, "and I apologize for those mistakes and I pledge to correct those errors."

But at a separate media availibility on Monday, Kirk refused to respond to questions about his answers on a recent candidate questionnaire in which he recalled "getting shot at" while "with a Dutch armor unit in Kandahar" in 2009.  The Huffington Post's Sam Stein was the first to point out the problem with this assertion:

In a questionnaire he filled out for the Chicago Sun-Times this past January, the Illinois Republican was asked to describe the "wildest thing" that he had ever done in his career.

Kirk, who coasted with relative ease to the Republican senatorial nomination, replied: "Last year, I was with a Dutch armor unit in Kandahar, getting shot at."

Such a recollection of his trip to Afghan outpost seems a bit more dramatic than the one Kirk gave to the Lake County News Sun one year prior, in which he explicitly said that "getting shot at" didn't happen.

"It was very much of a combat environment," Kirk told the paper. "Our base got shelled once. We heard small-arms fire. I never got shot at, but it was a very tense situation."

When asked about the inconsistency by reporters on Tuesday, Kirk made no effort to clarify the issue. Rather he said, "I released my officer fitness reports for all 21 years of service in the Navy and will let the official record stand."  Watch the awkward back-and-forth below (full video of the Q&A here):

As for the fitness reports in question, the Tribune reported today that they include "no mention ... of Kirk coming under fire during that time period."

Kirk pledged last week to "correct" any errors he may have made about his military record.  But now it appears he no longer trusts himself to talk about the issue at all.